Launceston 'one of the best places' says Placemaking US representative

Mr Smolar is spending one month in Australia representing Placemaking US, a non-profit organisation that focuses on transforming communities and public spaces across the United States "into thriving hubs of social connection, health, prosperity, and joy".

"In the US, they created these very inhuman environments that people started to recognise were destroying our cities with the wrong sort of principles - cars, traffic, parking, not having beautiful places or social environments," Mr Smolar said.

"I was working locally in my city in southern California on these types of issues, and got connected to a much more global group of people who really care about this - not just on the business side of things, but on the social side, the health side, the inclusivity side."

A perk of Mr Smolar's job is visiting communities all over the world to observe how they work and what makes them both unique and similar to others.

"I love to go out and visit overseas examples and learn and observe what's going on. And maybe share a few things about what I've seen or what we've experienced in the US," he said.

Out of the many cities to visit in Australia, Mr Smolar has visited Perth and surrounding towns as well as Launceston. He will then travel to Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney before flying home.

"It's been a really interesting experience because America and Australia are really similar and very different in cultural ways and the built environment and organisational structures," he said.

"This was an opportunity to come and socially meet with a lot of people and have a good time, and see what some of the parallels and shared interests are."

Mr Smolar said he didn't know what to expect before visiting Launceston, and was happily surprised to discover a vibrant and welcoming city.

"The passion people have not just for what they do, but for each other and this collective whole is really irreplaceable."

"And that is set in this beautiful ecology where you have these microclimates and this wonderful river and valley and tradition of small-scale agriculture - it's just what I would declare as being one of the best types of places there is."

Drawing upon his experiences and career, Mr Smolar said he would love for Launceston's music and nightlife scenes to flourish by gaining some more support and traction.

"It really feels like the people in this town are hungry to do something for their community."