August 2018

CIB W101 – Spatial Planning and Infrastructure Development

New Commission Coordinator
In August 2018 the CIB Programme Committee
appointed Dr. Morten Tor Gjerde as new Coordinator ofthe Working Commission W101 – Spatial Planning andInfrastructure Development.
Contact details

His work around urban transformation builds on
curiosity about how incremental redevelopment canbest be managed. He studies people’s perceptions andaesthetic preferences and link these back todevelopment control processes. The earthquakes thatstruck Christchurch in 2010-11 provided theopportunity to study management processes aroundlarge-scale city making.

Dr. Morten Tor Gjerde
Morten.Gjerde@vuw.ac.nz

Short CVDr. Morten Gjerde has been at Victoria University ofWellington, New Zealand since 2000 and is currently
Head of the School of Architecture. His researchinterests and expertise are supported by 18 years
spent in professional practice in the United States andNew Zealand before that.
Research interests

He also collaborates with others to discover how
culture affects change and perceptions. The Imagining
Decolonised Cities project is one such collaboration;
through this project he and his colleagues have added
to our understanding of Māori perspectives on the built
and natural environment.
Ongoing viability of the built environment over time isalso an area that drives his research and teaching
agendas. In this respect he looks for evidence that cansuggest better ways of building to optimise thelifecycle value of the initial investment. At a building
scale he is interested in how material choices anddetailing can influence the life cycle performance of thefacility. Where building maintenance and renewal areundertaken, how can this be done in ways that
improve building performance so as to extend theiruseful life? At an urban scale he is also interested how
the material qualities and maintenance standards
influence people’s perceptions.

housing at density, managing urban transformationand (architectural) tectonic performance

Teaching and research

Personal Statement
I have academic and professional expertise in spatialplanning. I am an architect and urban designer andthrough my PhD explored spatial planning processes
around urban streets. Through my ongoing interests
in how cities change I have become interested in thehard and soft infrastructures and the support they
provide.

His teaching and research reflect his background as apracticing architect and urban designer. From thisperspective, he views the built environment
holistically, across space and time. Details and discrete
development projects should connect with andreinforce ideas at progressively larger scales, up tothat of the city.

My research addresses important questions about howtransformation of the built environment can bedirected to achieve the best outcomes. I have aparticular fascination with responsibilities that comewith building and am motivated to understand how
places can change to meet the needs of allstakeholders.

Qualifications
Assoc.Arts(Architecture) , B.Arch(Hons),PGCert(Urban Planning) , M.Research(Urban Design)
PhD in Architecture

CIB Newsletter

At the scale of the city this has led me to question theways people experience streets and other public
spaces and how redevelopment of individual sites
along the edges of public spaces affect theirperceptions. Discovering answers to the key questions
about people’s experiences of and preferences forbuildings and spaces requires us to engage withthem. My research methodologies have beendeveloped with reference to social science, providing
me with rich data sets and leading to evidence-based
findings.
I am deeply committed to ensuring that Commission
W101 will have a stronger presence in CIB, engage
more closely with the Membership and also withexternal communities that share its interest in spatialplanning and infrastructure. It appears that we aremoving into a period of intense urban growth andchange, the relevance of the Commission has neverbeen higher. We should work effectively to contributeto the discussions taking place around the world. I will
help orchestrate opportunities for us to do so.
How can the Commission be re-activated? My plan
involves regular meetings of the membership throughdigital platforms such as WebEx and Skype. I believe
it is important for members to connect regularly toplan our activities. Communication is key to the healthand vitality of any organisation. Through theinfrastructure of CIB, I will facilitate communication
between Commission Members and the wider CIB
Membership, utilising newsletters and media releases
among other platforms. It is unfortunate that theCommission has not been represented more regularlyin these media in recent years and I will work hard to
make sure we are.

Those that appear most relevant to such collaborations
include:TG87 - Urban Resilience Benchmarking and Metrics
TG91 - Infrastructure
W110 - Informal Settlements and Affordable Housing
W116 - Smart and Sustainable Built Environment
I welcome the opportunity to coordinate the efforts ofW101 to work toward increased relevance to its
membership, the CIB community and society more
widely.

Information
More information on CIB Commission W101 – Spatial
Planning and Infrastructure Development can be found
here.

There is the opportunity for the Commission toconvene conferences and other meetings to discussand disseminate research. I will look for relevant
partners amongst the other CIB Commissions tobroaden the focus for such conferences and to
stimulate research papers bridging between theirrespective interest areas.

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15-08-2018