RADICAL LISTENING
What makes 120 people turn up on a hot and windy night, cram into an old un-airconditioned classroom, standing-room only, and talk for two hours about planning? I mean, planning? Seriously?
But that’s exactly what happened last Wednesday with CURATING KU-RING-GAI.
It was an exercise in what we’re calling “radical listening.” Of course, the idea of active listening is familiar enough in personal relationships. But in our civic lives, frayed as they are by grubby politics, sound-byte news cycles and the sheer nastiness of social media, we have all but lost the great art of civilised dissent.
It was in that belief that we invited an array of speakers, each with different messages and political viewpoints. We invited a wide array of speakers, of all stripes - those who favour intensive development and those who want none at all. We had MPs, councillors and candidates, young and old, owners and tenants, YIMBYs, NIMBYs and BIMBYs (Beauty in My Back Yard). All were heartfelt and legitimate. More importantly, all were heard.
Wendy Harmer was a brilliant moderator. Warm but firm, funny but, when necessary, hardline. She was everyone’s idea of the perfect school ma’am – hardly surprising that, as she quipped, her dad was a headmaster.
Here are some quotes from the speakers:
Indu Balachandran, local candidate, housing advocate and government adviser:
“Housing is community design at its finest. We have…the opportunity to create something spectacular in Ku-ring-gai, fearless, ambitious, beautiful.”
Tim Sneesby, local government planner :
“Trickledown housing doesn’t work… there is no evidence that even drastic increase in supply leads to lower housing prices.”
“Urban planning is politics in space.”
Andrew Sweeney, local architect:
“There is a solution and we all need to be involved in creating it.”
And some from those who attended:
Unis Goh, local and housing advocate
“Judging by the people’s response to the Citizen Assembly, I think you would have a number eager to join up! That’s a good sign. The whole process was so cleverly curated and respectful, elegantly presented by you.”
Bob Sudarshan, local entrepreneur
“Thank you for creating a safe space for many local citizens to share their concerns.”
Mel Rumble, local curator
“Great initiative. Good lineup of speakers. Wonderful to see so many engaged residents in one room. I look forward to seeing what we can co-create as a community.”
And really, that sense of respect, co-creation and excitement is what we hoped for, because that’s the key to the future.
Planning creates the future, after all. To leave our kids and grandkids with a future as bright as the one we inherited, we must all be involved.
That’s why we were so delighted, as Curating Ku-ring-gai drew to a close and people refused to leave, for our digital polling and a show of hands to reveal the same outcome. A vast majority of those in the room would support a Citizens’ Assembly in Ku-ring-gai as a means of finding a community consensus.
Even if the court case proceeds, as it may, a Citizens’ Assembly – and the Charter it could produce – would be a fine thing to slap onto the mediation table, don’t you think?
Our next step, then, is to write to the incoming council, after the 14th September election, and propose exactly that. Stay tuned!