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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Reassembling the city: understanding resident-led collective property sales. This project aims to investigate the emerging phenomenon of residential collective sales - where neighbours come together to sell their properties in one line - and the implications for urban residents and governments at local, metropolitan and national levels. It intends to provide the first ever detailed empirical analysis of this phenomenon, including mapping, case studies and stakeholder and expert interviews across ....Reassembling the city: understanding resident-led collective property sales. This project aims to investigate the emerging phenomenon of residential collective sales - where neighbours come together to sell their properties in one line - and the implications for urban residents and governments at local, metropolitan and national levels. It intends to provide the first ever detailed empirical analysis of this phenomenon, including mapping, case studies and stakeholder and expert interviews across Sydney and Vancouver, two cities at the forefront of collective sales activity. The project aims to make significant contributions to both policy and academic debates, by advancing knowledge on how shifting dynamics of neighbourhood change will affect the planning and development of global compact cities in the 21st century.Read moreRead less
New paradigms for urban public transport planning in Australia: assessing the capacity of institutions and infrastructure. Current urban transport policies cannot be sustained in the face of climate change, peak oil and economic instability: dramatic increases in public transport use will require new standards of service delivery. This project will use international experience to shape new approaches to planning public transport in our largest cities.
Emerging transport technologies: finding new practices in urban governance. This project will explore the rapidly changing political economy of Australia’s urban transport systems as private companies deploy new technologies. Many new and existing policy instruments are available to governments to manage this difficult technological transition. In-depth case studies of emerging policy responses in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney will be set in the context of fast-moving international developments. T ....Emerging transport technologies: finding new practices in urban governance. This project will explore the rapidly changing political economy of Australia’s urban transport systems as private companies deploy new technologies. Many new and existing policy instruments are available to governments to manage this difficult technological transition. In-depth case studies of emerging policy responses in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney will be set in the context of fast-moving international developments. This work will deliver new insights into the design and use of better instruments for policy, planning and governance to meet the needs of businesses and the public and to ensure that the potential benefits of the new technologies are fully realised in Australian cities. Read moreRead less
Problem gambling: development and application of a new conceptual framework for aetiology and treatment. Around 470,000 Australians (3.3% of the adult population) are estimated to have 'significant' or 'severe' gambling problems. This project responds to the call for a new framework for theorising and researching problem gambling (Productivity Commission, 1999). Currently, the research literature is characterised by disagreement about definition, causes, and treatment. At the community level, di ....Problem gambling: development and application of a new conceptual framework for aetiology and treatment. Around 470,000 Australians (3.3% of the adult population) are estimated to have 'significant' or 'severe' gambling problems. This project responds to the call for a new framework for theorising and researching problem gambling (Productivity Commission, 1999). Currently, the research literature is characterised by disagreement about definition, causes, and treatment. At the community level, different stakeholder constructions of problem gambling have deadlocked debate. There is a clear need to re-think existing approaches. This project applies an innovative, social-scientific methodology specifically designed to analyse complex, real-world social problems in order to develop a new conceptual framework for understanding and treating problem gambling.Read moreRead less
DETERMINANTS OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN CITIES: The South East Queensland Urban Region in Comparative Perspective. This is the Australian component of an international project on quality of life (QOL) in cities. It examines people's perceived QOL and relates this to objective indicators such as employment levels and neighbourhood safety. We examine the South East Queensland urban region; our collaborators focus on Detroit (USA) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil). Our research tests the recent propositio ....DETERMINANTS OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN CITIES: The South East Queensland Urban Region in Comparative Perspective. This is the Australian component of an international project on quality of life (QOL) in cities. It examines people's perceived QOL and relates this to objective indicators such as employment levels and neighbourhood safety. We examine the South East Queensland urban region; our collaborators focus on Detroit (USA) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil). Our research tests the recent proposition that QOL is the key element in the rise of the new economy characterised by increasing emphasis on consumption and expansion of the services sector. Understanding the relationship between QOL and the new economy is vital for future urban planning.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
Improving the life chances of young disabled Australians. This project will determine the social and economic impact of disability on young people and identify why some young people experience more negative outcomes. The outcome will be a model of the impact of disability which can be used to guide and monitor progress towards Australia's social inclusion agenda for people with disabilities. A substantial benefit will be growth in Australia's capacity in disability disadvantage research.
Who owns the sustainable city? Urban redevelopment, sustainability and the politics of property rights in Australia, Brazil and Chile. Around 15 million people are currently displaced due to urban redevelopment. Such redevelopment is often branded ‘sustainable’, and yet the social injustice caused does not fit sustainability principles. Displacement is driven by the power of private property rights over less-recognised ways of occupying land. This connection between redevelopment and how differe ....Who owns the sustainable city? Urban redevelopment, sustainability and the politics of property rights in Australia, Brazil and Chile. Around 15 million people are currently displaced due to urban redevelopment. Such redevelopment is often branded ‘sustainable’, and yet the social injustice caused does not fit sustainability principles. Displacement is driven by the power of private property rights over less-recognised ways of occupying land. This connection between redevelopment and how different kinds of property rights are recognised is rarely studied and yet is central to the way that rapidly growing cities develop. Using a comparative approach of cities in Australia, Brazil and Chile, this research analyses that connection. This offers a more precise understanding of the role of property rights in city development, and contributes to socially sustainable urban policy.Read moreRead less
Australia’s new cities: past, present and future. This project aims to investigate the conceptualisation, creation and promotion of new cities in Australia since the mid-20th century. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of urban planning and architectural history, leading to new understandings of community engagement with planning and architecture and dialogue on decentralisation, housing affordability and metropolitan primacy. Expected outcomes of this project include cont ....Australia’s new cities: past, present and future. This project aims to investigate the conceptualisation, creation and promotion of new cities in Australia since the mid-20th century. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of urban planning and architectural history, leading to new understandings of community engagement with planning and architecture and dialogue on decentralisation, housing affordability and metropolitan primacy. Expected outcomes of this project include contribution to the national conversation regarding political vision for large-scale infrastructure through a book, short film and media engagement on the topic. This project should provide significant benefits to community dialogue on issues of heritage, housing and environment.Read moreRead less