podcasts

MesoSpace Conversations on Cemeteries of Tomorrow is created for professionals, leaders, and communities who are shaping the future of cemetery and crematorium services across Australia and internationally. This podcast is for anyone interested in sustainable cemetery planning, landscape architecture, urban design, memorial infrastructure, governance, digital memorialisation, community engagement, and the evolving role of cemeteries in contemporary cities.

Our audience includes cemetery operators and managers who are navigating real operational pressures such as land scarcity, ageing infrastructure, tenure reform, maintenance challenges, cultural expectations, and financial sustainability. It is also valuable for council teams responsible for public land management, master planning, urban greening, asset management, and long-term city resilience planning. Policy makers, regulators, and government agencies working on legislation, burial tenure models, environmental compliance, or sector reform will also find practical insights and future-focused perspectives.

Urban planners, landscape architects, architects, engineers, environmental consultants, GIS specialists, ecologists, and design practitioners will gain an understanding of how memorial landscapes can contribute to biodiversity, climate resilience, ecological restoration, and integrated green infrastructure networks. The podcast highlights how cemetery land can support nature-based solutions, sustainable drainage, natural burial, carbon reduction strategies, and circular-economy models for the crematoria and funeral industry.

We also welcome funeral directors, crematoria operators, grief support workers, social researchers, historians, artists, cultural leaders, and community organisations who are exploring how memorial spaces can better reflect diversity, cultural identity, storytelling, heritage values, and inclusive community needs. As digital transformation accelerates, this series will be particularly relevant for innovators working in digital memorialisation, virtual remembrance platforms, cemetery mapping systems, data governance, and technology-enhanced user experiences.

Students and academics in landscape architecture, planning, anthropology, sociology, environmental studies, and death studies will also discover emerging ideas, new models, and evidence-based research that challenge traditional thinking about cemeteries. For members of the public, community advocates, and anyone curious about the future of remembrance within rapidly growing cities, this podcast offers accessible, thought-provoking insights into how cemeteries can evolve into multifunctional, sustainable, community-centred landscapes.

Whether you manage cemetery operations, design memorial parks, develop policy frameworks, plan sustainable cities, or simply want to understand how future cemeteries will look, feel, and function, this podcast will equip you with knowledge, inspiration, and practical tools for navigating the changing landscape of death care, memorialisation, and sustainable land use.

The podcast discussion focused on heritage conservation for cemeteries and their overall management, featuring Benjamin Gall from Australian Heritage Specialists. Ben shared his background in heritage consultancy and detailed how cemeteries in Australia are commonly recognised as heritage sites, particularly those with historical burials from European settlement. He highlighted a successful case study of a repurposed cemetery in Tingalpa, Brisbane, which was saved from development and transformed into an active community space through continued burials and community engagement. The conversation explored challenges around cemetery accessibility and maintenance, while also discussing opportunities for sustainability through heritage tourism and associated opportunities. Ben concluded by discussing future trends in cemetery management, including the potential use of AI technology for virtual interpretation of memorials and the evolving nature of burial practices toward cremation and columbaria.

Preserving Historical Cemeteries Through Community Action

Benjamin shared a case study about a Tingalpa Pioneer Chapel and Cemetery in Brisbane, which was saved from being sold for industrial development through community action. The cemetery, which contains historical burials including prominent early settlers, is now actively used by the community for events, rehearsals, and maintenance, with new burials having recently resumed to ensure its continued use and preservation. Benjamin emphasized thatcemeteries need to remain active spaces for burials to maintain their heritage value and community connection.

⁠https://www.ahspecialists.com.au/blog/tingalpas-pioneers-chapel-celebrates-150-years/⁠

Cemetery Repurposing and Management

Benjamin shared his experience with repurposing cemeteries as active urban spaces, highlighting the success of Tingalpa Pioneer Chapel and Cemetery in hosting community events while respecting buried remains.

He emphasised the importance of using ground-penetrating radar to map burial sites and avoid developing on top of them. Benjamin also discussed the challenge of managing cemeteries as public spaces, noting that while visitors respect the site, others can cause additional wear and tear to pathways and grounds if the number of visitors suddenly increases.

Cemetery Heritage and Protection

Ben discussed his experience with cemetery heritage, including listing and protecting cemeteries on local heritage registers and managing statutory approvals under local or state planning provisions. Hamed introduced Ben as a guest on the “Cemeteries of Tomorrow” podcast series, highlighting his role as Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Australian Heritage Specialists, the largest integrated heritage practice in Queensland.

Heritage Consultancy and Cultural Practices

Ben discussed his background in heritage consultancy, focusing on cultural heritage practices across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. He explained that his work often involves multidisciplinary teams, including landscape architects, designers, archaeologists, historians, and planners, particularly in areas such as cemeteries and churches, which are generally accepted as having heritage value. Ben shared his personal journey from an early interest in history and conservation, influenced by family and a formative trip to Europe in 1981, to his current role in heritage management. He highlighted the practical aspects of his work, including collaboration with local governments on cemetery management, and emphasised the evolving nature of heritage practices in Australia.

Most of us walk past cemeteries without a second thought. Florence Jaquet, one of Australia’s leading cemetery landscape architects, shows how memorial grounds can become places of beauty and healing, from a children’s memorial garden to Macarthur Memorial Park and the steppes of Mongolia.

Australian cities have more urban forest strategies than ever, yet many neighbourhoods keep getting hotter. RMIT’s Dr Thami Croeser explains why urban greening keeps falling short, what testing 2.5 million buildings against the 3-30-300 rule revealed, and why the real barrier is how cities make decisions, not a lack of evidence.

Cities aren’t shaped by plans alone, but by relationships, trust and power. Strategic designer and Accredited Partnership Broker Sarah Patterson, founder of The Good Cartel, shares why change must be done with people, not to them, and what cartels can teach us about collaborating for good.

We all want greener, more sustainable cities. But what happens when one “sustainable” model is copied around the world without asking the people who live there? Dr Alban Mannisi, landscape urbanist and founder of SCAPETHICAL, joins us from South Korea to explore why landscape is never neutral, and why designing ethically means listening before we design.