Blogs

Future Livable Cities - What New Zealand can Learn from Scandinavia and the Baltics

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 24 days ago
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In June 2026, New Zealand was strongly represented at the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME) World Congress in Helsinki, Finland. The event brought together more than 350 delegates from over 30 countries to explore the theme of "Future Livable Cities", creating a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas on infrastructure, asset management, climate resilience and urban development. Picture: Kiwi Contingent at Helsinki Future Livable Cities Congress 2026 For our NZ delegation, the Congress was complemented by technical visits to Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Bergen, providing a unique opportunity to see first-hand how some of ...

IFME 2026 Continued From Helsinki to the Nordic Tour

By Jared Shilhanek posted 17-06-2026
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Note: Article republished from the Finnish Association of Municipal Engineering (FAME). Original article can be found here . The program of the international IFME2026 conference held in Helsinki also included technical visits to Tallinn, Stockholm and Bergen. An international group of municipal engineering experts got to know the Nordic way of doing urban planning. After the conference held in Helsinki on June 9-11, the trip continued to Estonia, Sweden, and Norway, where local municipal engineering experts welcomed IFME guests and presented their own projects. Participants from 18 countries traveled to Tallinn. ...

IFME 2026 Awards Presented to International Projects

By Jared Shilhanek posted 17-06-2026
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Note: Article republished from the Finnish Association of Municipal Engineering (FAME). Original article can be found here . Four international projects were awarded IFME Awards at the IFME2026 conference in Helsinki. Now, as a new award, the IFME China Awards were presented. Both development and construction projects were considered in all categories. Each project was presented at the conference. We wanted to create our own award series for China, because the projects carried out there are so large in scale and impact, said Ville Alatyppö, Executive Director of SKTY, who also serves as the Chairman of the International ...

IFME 2026 Thesis Winner Interested In Multidisciplinary Urban Planning

By Jared Shilhanek posted 17-06-2026
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Note: Article republished from the Finnish Association of Municipal Engineering (FAME). Original article can be found here . – I am very happy that the municipal engineering thesis award is won by a marketing student, said Maija Korpi-Filppula, who won the award. I am interested in urban planning, and I believe that good planning requires the participation of multidisciplinary contributors. Maija Korpi-Filppula presented her thesis at the Finlandia Hall at the IFME 2026 conference. SKTY traditionally awarded the award for the best thesis at the Municipal Engineering Days, which this year were held in conjunction ...

IFME 2026 Sessions Chaired by Leading Industry Names

By Jared Shilhanek posted 26-05-2026
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The IFME 2026 conference will cover 60 municipal engineering topics through presentations and panel discussions. The sessions will be chaired by top domestic and international experts in the field. Here are a few of them. June 9 | Session 1: Leadership in Transition Heikki Lonka (FI) is an architect and Doctor of Science (Technology) by training. He has held technical management positions in several Finnish cities and has a long career as a consultant in the field. Heikki is an active member of the Finnish Association of Municipal Engineering (FAME) and served as its chairperson from 2015 to 2017. His doctoral thesis focused on cooperation and ...

The Human in an Inhuman World

By Jared Shilhanek posted 09-03-2026
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The Human in an Inhuman World For several years, artificial intelligence has been presented as the solution to efficiency, innovation, and competitiveness. The answer often seems to be the same every time. But according to author and digital ethics researcher Dr. Gry Hasselbalch , we have locked ourselves into a far too narrow conversation. Published 23 February 2026 by Sindre Haarr “We have spent a great deal of energy talking about generative AI as if it were the answer to all societal challenges,” says Hasselbalch. As technology receives increasing attention, the truly fundamental questions fade into the background: Why do we do things the way ...

When Reality Changes, Municipalities Must Also Be Allowed to Change

By Jared Shilhanek posted 09-03-2026
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By Kirsti Kierulf, Managing Director, Norwegian Association of Municipal Engineering I am often struck by how strong the emotions are surrounding municipal buildings, especially schools. When people march in protest to save a school, it says something important about Norway. It is often said that Norway is at a crossroads, and this is not just a cliché. At the Norwegian Association of Municipal Engineering (NKF), we experience this every day in our dialogue with municipalities across the country. While national debates tend to dominate public attention, it is at the municipal level that democracy is actually exercised. This is where reality is felt first. ...

Green Infrastructure: Asset Management’s Sustainability Solution

By Jared Shilhanek posted 24-11-2025
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Infrastructure creates around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for approximately half of all the resources used and waste created on the planet. That is alarming enough, but between 60% and 70% of the infrastructure planned by 2050 has not been built yet. This context, according to Dr Jacqueline Balston, places a big responsibility on asset managers, architects, and engineers to make a major contribution to sustainability, and help limit the impact of climate change in future infrastructure. Balston, who is IPWEA’s Director of Sustainability, told the IPWC 2025 conference that the infrastructure sector had an “enormous responsibility” ...

Warsaw Green Building Standard Development

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 27-03-2025
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Warsaw is the first Polish Municipality to create this green building design standard for the development of public buildings. Encompassing blue green design concepts, water conservation and retention, energy efficiency and circular economy design features, some of which are mandatory and others only if applicable. This is a great resource! Public building investors and developers will have to comply with this design standard commencing mid 2025. Here is the link to the Warsaw Green Building Standard in English on the website: https://eko.um.warszawa.pl/documents/63448/113528428/WGBS_10.03.2025_en_final+1.pdf/0dac5f96-4429-a4c7-310d-920393ae1ef1?t= ...

Podcast #3: Kirsti interviews IFME Vice President Priyani de Silva-Currie

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 04-11-2024
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Learning From our Past to Create Better Communities Kirsti Kierulf, our podcast host from NKF Norway, interviews IFME Vice President Priyani de Silva-Currie from Beca and Āpƍpƍ NZ. In this honest discussion they discuss what New Zealand and Norway can learn from each other and how infrastructure decisions are made in each country. Click on the link here: https://www.ifmeworld.org/viewdocument/podcast-3-kirsti-interviews-priya Priyani describes the role that indigenous culture plays in blue green and grey infrastructure decisions and how we can learn from our generations past to make better decisions for our communities. Priyani reflects ...

IFME Podcast #2 - Sponge Cities with Liam Foster from New Zealand

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 04-11-2024
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This is podcast #2 in the 2024 IFME-series, Meet a Municipal Engineer, hosted by Norway NKF’s Kirsti Kierulf. Click on Link here: https://www.ifmeworld.org/viewdocument/ifme-podcast-2-liam-foster This episode is about Sponge Cities, with Kirsti interviewing Liam Foster, Chartered Water and Environmental Manager at WSP New Zealand. https://www.ifmeworld.org/viewdocument/ifme-podcast-2-liam-foster In this podcast you can listen to our conversation about why there is a term Sponge-City and how WSP have implemented this in Brisbane. We do hope you get inspired to look for sponge-opportunities in projects you are working with as a municipal ...

Building the Future Green City: A New Collaboration Between IFME and World Urban Parks 🌍

By Scott Grayson posted 11-10-2024
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Building the Future Green City: A New Collaboration Between IFME and World Urban Parks 🌍 We are pleased to announce the Utrecht Commitment , jointly agreed upon by the IFME International Federation of Municipal Engineering and World Urban Parks (WUP), during the Future Green City World Congress 2024 in #Utrecht, The Netherlands. This collaboration, borne out of our joint hosting of the congress, underscores the vital role municipal engineers and public works professionals, and urban parks managers and practitioners, play in shaping cities that are sustainable, resilient, biodiverse and vibrant. We recognise that tackling today’s urban challenges ...

Sustainability: “Everything in perfect working order” An engineer’s journey through environmental science, anthropology and back!

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 31-07-2024
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John Milne, a member of the APWA Sustainability and Resiliency Committee, shares his journey through engineering, environmental science, and anthropology to develop back-to-basics sustainability strategies. His approach focuses on creating thermodynamic order in resource management by mimicking natural processes, moving away from engineered stormwater facilities to watershed-based methods. This holistic method combines physics with human and sociological inputs. He stresses the importance of incorporating indigenous knowledge in sustainability initiatives. These practices offer deep understanding of local environments, though their effectiveness varies. Anthropology's ...

Welcome to Our First IFME Podcast - Innovative Energy Solutions in Norway

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 28-06-2024
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Welcome to our first IFME Podcast hosted by Kirsti Kierulf . In this podcast we bring you great insights into a new school project utilising innovative energy solutions for energy efficiency in design and usage. You will meet Morten Marþy , who is the project leader in Trondheim Kommune, Norway’s third largest city. Click on the link to view the video/podcast to the video library on the IFME website at: https://www.ifmeworld.org/viewdocument/ifme-podcast-energy-smart-rebuild Morten will share his insights into how a joint energy system for Nidarvoll and Sunnland schools was developed, rebuilding an old school into a new school with innovative ...

IFME meets PZiTB in Poland

By Scott Grayson posted 22-06-2024
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IFME meets PZiTB in Poland In June 2024, Pieter Wiekeraad, Treasurer of IFME, joined the conference of Deans of civil engineering and building faculties in Polanczyk, Poland. Also, Board Members of PZiTB, the Polish Association on Civil Engineering, were present. Pieter also met Mr. Andrzej Drewiecki, an individual member from Poland and liaison to the Polish Association. Andrzej joined us in San Diego at the PWX2023 of APWA and is an IFME friend and contact. Andrzej is very determined to get Poland involved in IFME and the international network of civil engineers. Together, we prepared a roadmap to welcoming the Polish Association PZiTB as a member ...

International Women in Engineering Day 2024!

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 22-06-2024
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International Women in Engineering Day celebrates the talent of all women in engineering fields International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) provides a clear call to women to shape the world. This years’ theme is ENHANCED BY ENGINEERING! International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is celebrated annually on June 23rd to honour the outstanding achievements of women engineers and to encourage more girls and women to pursue careers in engineering. The day highlights the contributions of women to the engineering field and promotes gender diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Engineering shapes the world ...

May 2024 Update From Sanne - Connecting People and Sharing Knowledge Worldwide

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 30-04-2024
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Connecting People and Sharing Knowledge Worldwide It has been really good to come together ‘down under’ in Melbourne Australia at the IFME Congress. I am happy to share a few key points from our in person Board Meeting this week: · IFME Awards – each country to please submit two (2) award nominations before the end of May 2024. · VP Election – the process for the election of Vice President was discussed. A voting portal link will be sent by Chris Champion (IFME Secretary General). · Committee Reports – verbal reports were received from the three sub committees, Technical, Marketing & Communications ...

Today is World Asset Management Day!

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 15-04-2024
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Today is world asset management day - a date to celebrate all the amazing professionals that work within our asset management & public works field and for communities around the world. New Zealand is the first country in the world to see the sunrise off the east coast of Gisborne, so sharing this lovely asset management story with you all! https://apopo.co.nz/celebrating-world-asset-management-day/

Intergenerational Equity Considerations in New Zealand

By Priyani de Silva-Currie posted 08-04-2024
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Intergenerational equity focuses on ensuring that we, as the current generation, act as caretakers for the planet, "borrowing" it from future generations with a commitment to maintaining its health and resources. Intergenerational equity is also about ensuring human wellbeing, where future populations are free and able to continue to observe cultural practices and sustain their livelihoods. Achieving intragenerational equity requires us to think about the decisions we are making today and how that may impact on future generations. The three principles of intergenerational equity are: · Options : Ensuring future generations ...

Welcome to the Future Green City World Congress!

By Scott Grayson posted 06-02-2024
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WELCOME TO THE FUTURE GREEN CITY WORLD CONGRESS! From 23 until 26 September 2024, over four days, more than 3000 experts from around the world will share their passion and knowledge about the liveable green city with a future here. The Future Green City World Congress is an initiative of the Royal Association Stadswerk the Netherlands and the Royal Dutch Society for Garden Designers and Landscapers (VHG) In Utrecht, they bring together the worlds of green and civil engineering, in cooperation with World Urban Parks (WUP) and the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME). The congress connects construction, greenery, infra and water. By ...