The Melbourne Place Making Series completed its 2010 program with a successful October conference. Almost 80% of survey respondents indicated that they would change the way they worked as a result of their conference experience and that is what we were hoping for!

For urban development to deliver high quality, enduring places, a range of interdependent elements must be brought together. These include, but are not limited to, an appropriate development strategy, enabling urban planning, creative urban design, skilful marketing, well structured development finance, sustainable management and an engaged community. While this combination of factors may occur by serendipity, place making is the emerging discipline of systemically bringing these elements together to create great places.

Many questions and perspectives emerged in the conversations over the past 12 months. The Series will remain active and the partners will focus in 2011 on supporting understanding, dissemination and skills growth in this emerging interdisciplinary work practice.

To this end during 2011, the series will:

• Create a forum for interdisciplinary professional dialogue to further explore the continually emerging issues regarding “place”. This will build off the existing website;
• Create a series of activities advancing the principles of interdisciplinary practice as per our statement of actions and principles

We trust this will both expand the resources available to individual and organisational practice and promote new approaches to urban work.