Spaces of Becoming: Spatial Strategies and the Formation of Modern Identities in Urban South Asia. The intensification of urbanisation in South Asia calls for new ways of understanding the politics of identity, and social complexity. This project will explore ways in which urban spaces (such as places of worship, streetscapes, markets, festival grounds, procession routes, and 'neighbourhoods') are used by different groups as a fundamental principle of organising social relations, including trans ....Spaces of Becoming: Spatial Strategies and the Formation of Modern Identities in Urban South Asia. The intensification of urbanisation in South Asia calls for new ways of understanding the politics of identity, and social complexity. This project will explore ways in which urban spaces (such as places of worship, streetscapes, markets, festival grounds, procession routes, and 'neighbourhoods') are used by different groups as a fundamental principle of organising social relations, including transmission of culture and creation of identity.
This interdisciplinary project argues that historicism - an exclusive temporal emphasis - can not capture the fundamental relationship between spaces and social processes that shapes contemporary cultural and social complexity in South Asia.
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What is successful public art today?: exploring how contemporary public art and memorial design shapes public engagement, perceptions and behaviour. Much public money is invested in public art and memorials. The research explores critical questions of value: what the public enjoys about such artworks, if and how artworks contribute amenity to public spaces, and whether recent artworks engage effectively with social memory, identity and politics. The research situates local practice within intern ....What is successful public art today?: exploring how contemporary public art and memorial design shapes public engagement, perceptions and behaviour. Much public money is invested in public art and memorials. The research explores critical questions of value: what the public enjoys about such artworks, if and how artworks contribute amenity to public spaces, and whether recent artworks engage effectively with social memory, identity and politics. The research situates local practice within international trends, to inform Australian designers, policymakers, art patrons and public space managers about recent innovations in technology, craft, creativity and critique, so they can create and choose public artworks and memorials which engage with the potentials of contemporary arts practice, the complexities of contemporary culture, and the diversity of social behaviour in public spaces.Read moreRead less
HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE: A STUDY OF THE PETER LALOR HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE, 1947-2004. This project is a comprehensive study of an innovative urban housing development in northern Melbourne. Formed by ex-servicemen who shared a vision of a better future for themselves and their families in post-war Australia, the Peter Lalor Housing Co-operative brought together veterans, the organised labour movement and government in a constructive partnership. The history of the Lalor Co-op and the men and women w ....HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE: A STUDY OF THE PETER LALOR HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE, 1947-2004. This project is a comprehensive study of an innovative urban housing development in northern Melbourne. Formed by ex-servicemen who shared a vision of a better future for themselves and their families in post-war Australia, the Peter Lalor Housing Co-operative brought together veterans, the organised labour movement and government in a constructive partnership. The history of the Lalor Co-op and the men and women who forged a suburb on farmland in the Shire of Whittlesea has been virtually ignored by historians and the significance this important social experiment has been largely lost. It is a story that deserves to be rescued.Read moreRead less
Configuring low carbon cities: an exploration of the role of spatial parameters in monocentric and polycentric examples in China. This project will firstly strengthen Australia's position in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction practices and research. Secondly, the project will provide timely information relevant to debates about GHG emission control with an economy that grows fast and has the potential to emit a volume equivalent to the global total. Thirdly, the collaborative nature of the effort (l ....Configuring low carbon cities: an exploration of the role of spatial parameters in monocentric and polycentric examples in China. This project will firstly strengthen Australia's position in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction practices and research. Secondly, the project will provide timely information relevant to debates about GHG emission control with an economy that grows fast and has the potential to emit a volume equivalent to the global total. Thirdly, the collaborative nature of the effort (linking up with scholars in China) will not only strengthen relations between the two countries but also contribute to the internationalisation program of Australian universities. Fourthly, the project will also assist to train future generations of China-literate Australian scholars.Read moreRead less
Closed Circuit Television Surveillance, Security Networks and Australian Public Space. This project will make a significant contribution to our understandings of how visual surveillance systems impact upon the way public spaces are experienced and utilised. By examining the social impacts of surveillance this study will facilitate the development of security measures that facilitate greater inclusiveness and community cooperation. It will also assist the development of security measures cognizan ....Closed Circuit Television Surveillance, Security Networks and Australian Public Space. This project will make a significant contribution to our understandings of how visual surveillance systems impact upon the way public spaces are experienced and utilised. By examining the social impacts of surveillance this study will facilitate the development of security measures that facilitate greater inclusiveness and community cooperation. It will also assist the development of security measures cognizant of local variation and potential social consequences. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354668
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Australian City and Regional Network. The Network aims to sponsor, sustain and encourage multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research into problems in and of Australian cities and the reasons for their form and structure. It will develop a national collaborative research training program. The network will develop a communication path between academics, industry and government enabling the development of a more informed exploration of urban development policies. It will also lead to the ident ....Australian City and Regional Network. The Network aims to sponsor, sustain and encourage multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research into problems in and of Australian cities and the reasons for their form and structure. It will develop a national collaborative research training program. The network will develop a communication path between academics, industry and government enabling the development of a more informed exploration of urban development policies. It will also lead to the identification of new economic opportunities for the development of cities and regions.Read moreRead less
Transnational and temporary: place-making, students and community in central Melbourne. Fostering a community in a place is place-making. When many residents are temporary and new arrivals, like tertiary students in central Melbourne, place-making acknowledging current and past residents is complex. This project will develop an innovative place-making strategy in central Melbourne, centred on enhancing the public-private interactions residents have in built spaces and social relations. For tempo ....Transnational and temporary: place-making, students and community in central Melbourne. Fostering a community in a place is place-making. When many residents are temporary and new arrivals, like tertiary students in central Melbourne, place-making acknowledging current and past residents is complex. This project will develop an innovative place-making strategy in central Melbourne, centred on enhancing the public-private interactions residents have in built spaces and social relations. For temporary residents, public-private interactions have greater significance than for long-term residents more settled in their networks of belonging. Outcomes will be: new policy frameworks of institutional partnerships, building morphology and public space design; workshops with stakeholders; and articles in scholarly journals.Read moreRead less
Planning the 'creative' city: reconciling global strategies with local subcultures. Increasing land values in all major Australian cities are placing pressure on local creative initiatives. Displacement of small cultural producers and the consequent dispersal of local networks is damaging to the urban social and economic fabric. This research will assess the challenges to strong and thriving creative subcultures in gentrifying cities. By identifying cases of best practice in Australia, and with ....Planning the 'creative' city: reconciling global strategies with local subcultures. Increasing land values in all major Australian cities are placing pressure on local creative initiatives. Displacement of small cultural producers and the consequent dispersal of local networks is damaging to the urban social and economic fabric. This research will assess the challenges to strong and thriving creative subcultures in gentrifying cities. By identifying cases of best practice in Australia, and with reference to similar practices overseas, the project will expand the range of regulatory and negotiating tools available to state and local governments to maintain their valuable creativity and local cultural diversity.
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CATCH: Children, Active Travel, Connectedness and Health. This project will explore built and social environmental influences on children's independent mobility, active travel and health. The research will provide necessary evidentiary support to justify government and development industry policy supportive of healthy and child-friendly environments.
Virtual Environments and Autonomous Agents for Urban Park and Garden Management. Urban parks and gardens are a heavily used resource. The quality of the recreational experience and the physical environment are at risk from over-use. Modelling recreator behaviour can identify management decisions that maximise benefit. Autonomous agents are an emerging approach to modelling people's movements based on their beliefs, desires and intentions. The behavioural characteristics of various agents will be ....Virtual Environments and Autonomous Agents for Urban Park and Garden Management. Urban parks and gardens are a heavily used resource. The quality of the recreational experience and the physical environment are at risk from over-use. Modelling recreator behaviour can identify management decisions that maximise benefit. Autonomous agents are an emerging approach to modelling people's movements based on their beliefs, desires and intentions. The behavioural characteristics of various agents will be assessed using surveys and controlled experiments in virtual environments. Agent-modelling based on these experiments will be applied in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. This is an ideal test environment but the results will have applicability in a wider international context.Read moreRead less