Speaker Series | 2020
To get you thinking, and keen to have your say on the future shape of your city, we hosted a free Speaker Series. We heard from the experts, near and far on living comfortably with risk, and bold ideas for a new urban community.
This 2020 Speaker Series was a precursor to city wide engagement on where and how our city might grow.

The new urban community | Thursday 5 March
The new urban community’ discussed emerging ways of living in communities, and Te Aranga Māori design principles in urban planning.
Speakers:
David Sim | Creative Director, Gehl Architect
Rau Hoskins | Director, designTRIBE
Spacecraft Architects | The people behind Urban Habitat Collective
Living comfortably with risk | Thursday 27 February
Being ready for anything’ explores the issues that stress, or shock a city, and how people should both prepare and recover.
Speakers:
Mike Mendonca | Chief Resilience Officer, Wellington City Council
Tim Grafton | Chief Executive, Insurance Council of New Zealand
Margot Christeller | Consultant
A city made for Wellington life | Thursday 20 February
A city made for Wellington Life’ looks at what it takes to be a liveable city in the face of population growth, where and how we live our lives are at the heart of urban design.
Speakers:
Vida Christeller | Manager City Design and Place Planning, Wellington City Council
Scott Ebbett | Senior Planner, MRCagney
Andrew Body | Director, Let's Get Wellington Moving
Leonie Freeman | CEO, Property Council New Zealand
Speaker series | 2019
In March 2019 we hosted Our City Tomorrow: The Speaker Series to kick off engagement for the Planning for Growth Project. The series consisted of three sessions where we heard from the Mayor and the experts on everything from the hopes of our young people, to how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live, to living carbon neutral, to bringing nature to the city.
Check out what the said about being a smart capital, planning for growth, and creating places for people.