Hello all!

So excited to embark with you on this journey!

Urban CurioCity is an idea that has been percolating in my brain for quite some time now.

Let me tell you the story...

Three years ago, on a train ride home, I penned a vision statement of the person I wanted to become.  It spoke of my passion for the creation of sustainable integrated cities, and my desire to be an advocate and leader.  To be constantly on the lookout for innovation, and be the epitome of striving to make things better - more efficient, more adaptable, and more low impact.  

I also wrote about my wish to always be surrounded by the company of knowledgeable people – to learn, share, converse and be amazed by what others are doing – on both a  minute and large scale.  I wrote about wanting to be constantly challenged by different ways of thinking and looking at life and the world around us.

A few years on, someone asked me over Friday night drinks, “What would you do if you had five million dollars?” This got me thinking about my vision statement again.  

Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could actually make it all happen?   

What if I was able to:

• Travel the world and learn about cities by actually living in them?  
• Learn about various urban challenges through real-life interactions and observations?
• Learn about the lives of people within cities by actually talking to them?
• Learn about the potential solutions available to tackle these urban challenges, by personally tracking them down and gathering the stories behind them?  

What if I was able to do all this and share my learnings with the rest of the world?  Imagine the opportunities to generate and shake-up conversation about the way we design our cities; challenge pre-conceptions about rights and wrongs about urban design and planning, and profile emerging bright ideas that perhaps haven't been talked of before or considered.

In my head, I saw the launch of an interactive blog, covering my travels, experiences, research, and meetings with people powered by the ideas and recommendations of blog readers all over the world. They would be people from all walks of life, equally interested in being part of a bolder conversation about how we live, what works, what doesn't, and how we shape our cities of the future.

While I didn’t have five million dollars, my conclusion after a weekend of pondering?  

"Katrie, you are the closest you will be ever be in life to having 5 million dollars.  Be bold and just do it."

And that's how great adventures begin!

The first people I shared my idea with were my cousin, Francisca, and her husband, award-winning Sydney film maker, Reuben Field.  Their response was uplifting and absolute gold. Being pop culture buffs, they grinned and asked me 'so...are you going to walk the earth?' and proceeded to show me this classic scene from Pulp Fiction.

And yes.  I am going to 'Just be Jules' and walk the earth.  

But why am I doing this?

I believe that in order to have an educated conversation about the future of our cities, it is important that we understand the whole story behind both the challenges faced, as well as the extent of talent, resources and opportunities available to us to tackle our urban challenges.  We need to invite talent from all walks of life to join the discussion; whether it be engineers, urban planners, urban designers, landscape architects, government planners and policymakers, big industry, local business, community activists or community gardeners, there is a need for us to be better at working together.  We need a more integrated, multidimensional approach to the way we shape our cities, in order to capitalise on the opportunity to create bolder and better solutions.

Through the travel blog and my own real life experiences, I aim to see the functions of a city through the eyes of the everyday person; what city design and policy looks like in real life, instead of on paper.

But I also want to just experience life. Alongside my research, I plan to have some fun as well! I have a 100+ Year Plan with many items to tick off, such as learning to sail, cycling cross-continent, singing live in public, working on a real farm, and working towards being an amazing cook. So it won’t all be about work. After all, I have to make the most of this amazing opportunity!

A big thank you...

I am so grateful for the overwhelming support offered since sharing this idea of mine.  I'm fortunate that many of you are equally passionate about the future of our cities, and I thank those of you that have reached out and offered your support, whether it be via personal introductions to your city, a place to stay, contacts that you think would be of interest to talk to, or uplifting words of encouragement.

I would particularly like to thank the Urban Development Institute of Australia, NSW Chapter, for awarding me the UDIA NSW Roy Sheargold Scholarship in support of this venture.   I am proud to have them on board as my first industry sponsor.

So that’s the basic overview of where this idea came from - and I look forward to having you all along for the journey. Feel free to offer feedback, ask questions, and interact with me!

Much love, Katrie x.

Film credit:  Bender, L. (Producer), & Tarantino, Q. (Director). (1994). Pulp fiction [Motion Picture]. United States: Miramax.