The Urban Design Forum is a non-profit organisation that supports public interest outcomes in our cities. Governed by an elected committee of its members, UDF brings together expertise and knowledge, leadership, collegiality, and a commitment to creating a better future for all.

“Our purpose is to support public interest outcomes in the design governance of our cities through the creation of a supportive network of urban designers and allied professionals,” says von Eckartsberg. “We believe in knowledge-sharing and community building for best practice urbanism and advocating for positive change.”

In his previous tenure, von Eckartsberg was vice president for the 2023-24 committee, prior to which he was the committee’s secretary. During his time with UDF, the organisation has gone from strength to strength, its membership base now exceeding 200 dedicated industry professionals.

Von Eckartsberg says the last 12 months have seen many highlights for the UDF community, including a swathe of published papers, public conversations, community events, contributions to awards programs, and media opportunities.

Last December, UDF hosted a panel discussion on “Place as Protagonist” for the tenth season of MPavilion, championing the public spaces and landscapes around Melbourne City that have held significant memories for Melbourne locals. Using an online map-based community engagement platform, Place as Protagonist enabled users to plot the locations that had served as backdrops to some of their most poignant memories. The event enabled storytelling that brought together a diversity of voices, sharing the times the city made them laugh and cry.

Another highlight included UDF’s joint submission for Plan Victoria alongside the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), and Planning Institute of Australia (PIA). The forum was actively engaged in advocacy for the scope, contents, and actions for Plan Victoria, helping to ensure the strategy responded to the challenges impacting the state over the coming decades.

During the last 12 months, UDF also convened the Australian Urban Design Awards, helping to define good urban design as a fundamental step in creating places that connect us to each other, while addressing the challenges of climate change and biodiversity crises.

At this year’s AGM, alongside the announcement of the new committee, UDF also announced its next three-year strategy for 2024—2027, which continues to champion the organisation’s key pillars of community building, knowledge sharing and advocacy, but with greater clarity and clearer structure around these core themes and goals.

“My goal as joint-president is to expand our membership beyond purely design professionals,” says von Eckartsberg. “I think urban design touches a wider scope of professionals in the industry, from economists, to planners, to civil engineers, and growing our membership to that next ring of experts will benefit the organisation and our broader mission.”

“We’re also making an effort to appeal to more LGAs outside of metropolitan Melbourne,” continues von Eckartsberg. “We now require a minimum of two emerging members and two public sector employees on the committee, and this year we have representatives from Whittlesea to City of Yarra; it’s a really good mix.”

According to von Eckartsberg, a successful city is one in which people feel they have a meaningful connection to place. The role of good urban design is to ensure the city is a true reflection of its residents, encouraging the active contribution of its citizens in the creation of public spaces.

Urban Design Forum invites active participation, public conversation and respectful debate, helping to inspire change by empowering communities through education and advocacy.

The 2024-25 committee members are as follows: Heinz von Eckartsberg and Katherine Sundermann as joint presidents; Ella McDonald as vice president; Brendan Baxter as secretary; William Priestley as treasurer; Andy Fergus; Ben Thorp; Elisa Casagrande; Diana Bazan; Kim Delbridge; Mrunal Venkatakrishnan; Rebecca Finn.

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Isla Sutherland
Content and Communications Specialist (Australia & New Zealand)