'Monica puts wheels in motion'

The article writes:

Noosa university graduate Monica Romanyk is not setting out for a new career in Germany to reinvent the wheel, just the way it is used to get around.

And for this 24-year-old regional and urban planner, who has just gained her degree from the University of the Sunshine Coast, her lateral thinking will focus on non-motorized eco-mobility.

Monica has gained a six month internship with ICLEI a local government organization committed to sustainability, and flew out yesterday for Bonn.

The international student from Canada, who decided to study at USC after holidaying in Noosa five years ago, said she would be using the Sunshine Coast as a comparison of her overseas research and would be keen to come back and sort out some sustainable cycling options locally.

That is if she is not head hunted in Germany.

"The Sunshine Coast was a really interesting place to study regional planning because of its growth." she said. "I'm excited about working in the field... it has so much potential."

"We have to work with communities and not forget the social implications of planning." Monica persued her interest in social planning through a minor in sociology. "As an intern with ICLEI, I will help plan the first EcoMobility World Congress in Korea in October 2011. This will involve researching successful local government active transport initiatives worldwide, such as bicycle lending."

Monica's studies were enhanced by a recent visit to Wroclaw, Poland as a part of a program with UN Habitat, the United Nations agency for human settlements. "I applied to the European Urban Summer School and was selected to join 50 young professionals and academics from a range of countries to discuss sustainable urban planning with UN Habitat."

"We discussed all aspects of sustainability- social, economic, environmental- in relation to the past and present ways of planning."



The last few months have been some of the busiest for me. I recently wrote my final university exams and have completed my studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast. I can now call myself a regional and urban planner!

It was my intention to make my way to Europe to find work in my field and to gain more of an international perspective. Well it has all happened very quickly! I am writing from Bonn, Germany where I arrived this morning to start a new chapter. As you can see in the article above I will be here to work with ICLEI for six months as an intern in EcoMobility.

I look foward to starting my professional career! Although it was hard to say goodbye to Australia. I will miss it.. I will miss the climate. It was a great experience, I enjoyed my studies and the Sunshine Coast was an ideal place to live while I was a student.


M.

Renzo Piano, Genoa

As mentioned in a previous post I was inspired to visit Genoa by Ottagono Magazines featured 'Viaggio in Italia- Genoa' especially to see its Old Port (Porto Antico) and the success of its large scale redevelopment and restoration project.

Renzo Piano, a famous Italian Architect (He was one of the minds behind the Centre Pompidou in Paris) was involved in the Master Plan to reinvigorate the Port after WWII bomb damaged left it in a pretty dull state. Piano was successful in transforming the Old Port into a busy and thriving tourist attraction converting derelict warehouses into restaurants, shops and museums.

There is a recreation area that can be used for multi purposes, when I visited in April it was a skating rink! The public space is wide and spacious with large trees, benches, parks and look outs for the public to enjoy. Two main Piano structures are the Aquarium that resembles a container (like one on a cargo ship) and La Bolla (The Bubble) that is a massive glass sphere that houses a greenhouse with a large collection of tropical plants and animals.

It has proven to be packed with both locals and tourists and was very user friendly! I great place to wander on a sunny day in Genoa!

Ottagono

Ottagono is one of my favorite magazines and magazines are one of the most exciting things I look forward to buying when I travel. Living in a small town I dont have the plethora of international publications at my fingertips so when I am overseas its a treat to flip through the latest editions of my favorites.

When I was in Milan briefly in February it was edition 226 of Ottagono that featured Viaggio in Italia- Liguria. It featured the state of Liguria that is found in the north western region of Italy. Ottagono is a magazine of reference for anything design related and it also regularly features city planning. Naturally after reading the featured booklet on Liguria I was keen to visit and experience the architecture and newly planned and revitalized port of Genoa and surrounding area.

So I did! and I will post photos and my sightings in a future entry...

If you are at all interested in the world of design, from urban to architecture find this magazine in your nearest specialty newsagent, I would hope they stock it! Also lucky for us it features bilingual texts (Italian and English).

Paris- La Cite de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine

It was a cold and gloomy winter day in February this year when I decided to visit La Cite de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine in Paris. http://http//www.citechaillot.fr/exposition/temporary_exhibitions.php?id=92.

Phillipe my Architect friend had never been and so together we hopped on the metro not knowing what to expect but hoping to discover something new and interesting. Little did we know we would spend 3+ hours loving every moment of the gallery and museum! Paris, such a historical city unfolded bit by bit through the displays of its planning history.



If you are lucky enough to be in Paris before the 1st of July 2010 you must stop through and visit the temporary exhibition 'Towards New Social Housing'. It features 16 recent (less than 5 years old) architectural works in France which represent a revival of social housing.



It was awesome, and inspiring! It made me excited for my future career and made me hope to be involved in such a creative, sustainable, social housing project one day.

Not to mention it had some of the most stunning views of the eiffel tower!

The 'Fun Theory'

Im headed to my Regional Infrastructure Planning class. We recently discussed transportation and peoples behavior and attitudes towards public transportation. The presentation and discussion led to the 'Fun Theory'. Have a look at the video I have posted. The photo, is one I took when I was in Milan in February. Same concept. They were the stairs that led you to a stunning view of Milans Duomo directly in front of you when you reached the top. Very fun and inviting! Way more exciting than the escalator thats for sure.

This is a great example of innovative design to make a change that incorporates the public and demonstrates positive outcomes. They may or may not realize that they are using the stairs instead of their habitual hop onto the escalator but the main thing is they are having fun!

Where to start?!

Im struggling with where to start! There are so many things I would like to share.. So I am going to continue my introduction with a photo I took the other day. It is a photo of the eastern beaches from the northern end of Sunshine Beach (from the edge of Noosa National Park) all the way to Coolum on the Sunshine Coast of Australia. This is where I live, and I have spent the last 5 years, the most part of my adult life. I feel lucky everyday to live somewhere so beautiful and there could'nt be a better place to study!

What brought me to the Sunshine Coast in the first place was travel but what has kept me here and busy for the last few years has been my study towards a Bachelor of Regional and Urban Planning. It has kept me busy, but mostly opened up my eyes to a whole new world! The built enviornment, its influence, impacts, and reason. It has been fun, inspiring and I am only 7 months away from graduation! Woop!