Are we measuring Canberra all wrong?
CHAIRED by Catherine Carter | Speakers: Adam Davey, Heath Gledhill, Elisabeth Judd, Chris Mercer
6 November 2026
Day + Time | Friday | 10am – 11.30am | Followed by refreshments in the NFSA courtyard until 12.30pm
Location | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, 1 McCoy Circuit, Acton ACT 2601
Entry | Free | Registration required
Access | Wheelchair accessible, accessible parking, accessible bathrooms, assistance animals welcome
Are we measuring Canberra all wrong?
If we could publish just five numbers about Canberra every year, what would they be?
Should we judge our city by dwellings per hectare, or by how many children can safely walk to school?
By traffic flow, or by whether an older person can buy milk without getting in the car?
By commute times, or by time spent with family and friends?
By park hectares, or by how often they are actually used?
By the footpaths we build, or the desire lines people create across the grass?
Every metric reflects a judgement about what matters.
People don’t wake up wanting a higher floor space ratio. They want convenience, belonging, safety, opportunity, beauty, and the freedom to move easily through everyday life.
As part of the Craft + Design Canberra Festival theme of Dissent, this conversation asks whether we are measuring the things that matter most. As Canberra grows and changes, are we optimising for the metrics that are easier to count, or for the things that make our city a better place to live?
This discussion will explore how the measures we choose influence the places we create, and whether it is time to broaden the way we define success.
Curated and chaired by Catherine Carter of Salon Canberra, in partnership with the Suburban Land Agency. Presented by the Suburban Land Agency as part of the 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Festival.
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Catherine Carter is the founder of Salon Canberra, Chief Executive Officer at DJAS Architecture, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra. She is a respected leader at the intersection of property, urban development and civic leadership, known for convening conversations that connect diverse perspectives on the future of cities. Through Salon Canberra, she curates discussions that bring together leaders from design, government, business, academia and the community to explore the issues shaping Canberra. She will chair this discussion exploring whether Canberra is measuring the things that matter most, and what new measures might better reflect the city's success.
SEE WEBSITE HERE -
Heath Gledhill operates at the point where ambition, design quality and delivery reality need to hold together in complex place and infrastructure projects.
His focus is integration. Clarifying what really matters, aligning disciplines early, and maintaining coherence as projects move from intent into delivery under pressure.
He brings deep experience working across building and public realm design, operations and governance, particularly within major infrastructure and precinct programs in Australia and internationally. Much of this work has been undertaken in environments with high scrutiny, complex stakeholders and constrained delivery conditions.
Heath is a founding partner of Gledhill Shield, a strategy consultancy focused on the most consequential decisions about place and infrastructure.
SEE WEBSITE HERE -
Elisabeth Judd is an urban designer with more than 20 years' experience working across the public and private sectors on planning, land release, urban development and affordable housing. Her work spans urban policy, stakeholder engagement and the delivery of major planning and development projects, giving her a practical understanding of how the decisions we make shape the places we create.
SEE WEBSITE HERE -
Chris Mercer is Managing Director of the Aboriginal-owned design company Yerrabingin and Co-Founder of Theatre Green Book Australia. His work sits at the intersection of First Nations knowledge, design and environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on the creative, arts and cultural sector. Chris is committed to creating spaces that bring people together to learn, connect and inspire action on climate change, while demonstrating how design can strengthen both communities and Country.
SEE WEBSITE HERE -
Adam joins SLA with a wealth of experience in executive positions both in the Commonwealth government and private sector since 2011. Adam has come from the ACT Government’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive General Manager for Corporate Services & Operations.
Adam’s experience spans from executive leadership roles to operational and governance positions. His most recent employment was the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (Australia) CEO for a period of seven years.
SEE WEBSITE HERE
Proudly presented by the ACT Government Suburban Land Agency
Images
SLA Display Village Whitlam 2026 | Image courtesy of Suburban Land Agency
Suburban Land Agency Brand Shot | Photo by PewPew Studio