Too little too LATE...?

So on Thursday night I went to the Auckland Museum event "from a ripple to a swell", which was all about water stories in Auckland. It featured a panel of experts talking about water issues. Here's the overview...

"In association with The University of Auckland this LATE looks at the importance of New Zealand’s waterways and how we can raise awareness over the value of this vital natural resource.

Moderator Oliver Driver will lead a panel of academic experts who include ecologist Dr Marjorie van Roon, dance studies lecturer and writer Dr Alys Longley and marine scientist Professor John Montgomery. They will discuss issues around water sustainability and the different approaches being used to celebrate water and inspire change. "

I anticipated some insightful and creative solutions about how we could really effectively communicate Auckland's water issues to the public and raise their awareness and get them on board with solutions etc. Alas no such luck. The panel of experts were great and really went into the issues, but in terms of actual solutions, nothing was really specifically laid out. As I sat there I started to think more and more about why solutions weren't so easy to come up with. Why weren't the public sold on changing their water behaviour for a sustainable future? Why weren't Council's laying concrete and direct provisions that mandated sustainable water use and less pollution? Why wasn't the Government taking a harder line?

As I pieced this all together it dawned on me that really a huge barrier to what we try to do as planners is the public acceptance of our proposals. And what, more than anything, influences the public's opinion? THE MEDIA! How frequently are proposed Government policies poo-pooed by the media? How often do catchy headlines slander Council actions, all portraying the cost of the citizen or the ratepayer for what the Council intends to do? Even if the story that follows the headline may eventually tell both sides of the headline, it is nonetheless the headline that influences the public at large's opinion.

Here are some examples....

All images care of www.stuff.co.nz

Yes I admit this is a limited selection, but you get my drift.


So is there a way to get the media on board and convince them to be more responsible in their reporting? Well according to the LATE event's moderator Oliver Driver, the answer is no. "Sexy stories" as he put it, sell, and if there's no attention grabbing statement, no emotionally charged headline, then the paper doesn't sell and doesn't make its money. Ah, so capitalism wins again.
Hmm, so the alternative...counter-attack! If the paper won't properly educate and inform the audience, then planners and urban designers and politicians need to. Useful, interesting, interactive and easy to understand information in various forms and media are invaluable in getting the public on side and explaining to them what is proposed and why.


Which, pleasantly enough, is what this assignment is on. Good conclusion aye?