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International Cities and Town Centres Conference

The International Cities and Town Centres Conference will be staged in Hobart from 3-6 September 2000. As the second oldest city in Australia, Tasmania's capital offers a great blend of heritage, lifestyle, scenery and vibrant culture.

With fishing vessels at the docks, alfresco dining, easy access to bush tracks and magnificent Mt Wellington, Hobart has much to tempt visitors.

Focusing on planning issues, 'Living, Working Cities &endash; The Real Attraction', the keynote speaker is Alfonso Martinez Cearra, Director of the Association for the Revitalisation of Metropolitan Bilbao Team.

With the renowned Guggenheim Museum as a component of that revitalisation, this should prove to be a most enlightening keynote presentation.

Other keynote speakers include Pat Ledwidge from the Living over the Shop Project in County Cork, Ireland; futurist Phil Ruthven from the IBIS Group; and Donovan D Rypkema, Principal of the Real Estate Services Group in Washington DC.

The Conference aims to examine the future of cities into the new century.

This will include their relevance in society and the interaction between the built environment and the more personal/cultural nature of cities and town centres throughout the Southern Hemisphere and western world.

In addition to the impressive line up of keynote speakers, hands on workshops will be staged at a number of sites throughout Hobart.

These include Incat, builders of the world renowned fast catamarans; waste water re use in Brighton; and history and the urban environment with leading Tasmanian architect, Robert Morris Nunn.

The program promises to examine the challenges faced by city centres around the world and Australia.

'Living, Working Cities &endash; The real Attraction' is aiming to provoke controversy as delegates explore the relevance of a physical environment in what is becoming a virtual world.

Will the things that have traditionally drawn us to city and town centres continue to be of relevance in the age of globalisation or is the attraction now of a new essence?

For further information contact Conference Design Pty Ltd, telephone (03) 6224 3773 or visit the web site at www.hobartcity.com.au/cities2000

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