Measuring the impact of urban regulation on housing affordability in Australian cities and regions. Urban planning must ensure that development meets new environmental goals, but stringent regulation may reduce housing supply and affordability. This project uses new local planning data and econometric studies to quantify and monitor planning regulation impacts on housing supply and affordability in Australian cities and regions.
Regional resilience to economic shocks: Australia’s COVID Economic slowdown. This project is designed to analyse how employment outcomes in Australian regions respond to economic shocks such as that caused by COVID-19. Set within the emerging literature dealing with employment resilience, the project uses unique data (Payroll Jobs index) to measure employment resilience and understand the factors that impact diverse regional outcomes. Understanding these patterns is significant as a region's ec ....Regional resilience to economic shocks: Australia’s COVID Economic slowdown. This project is designed to analyse how employment outcomes in Australian regions respond to economic shocks such as that caused by COVID-19. Set within the emerging literature dealing with employment resilience, the project uses unique data (Payroll Jobs index) to measure employment resilience and understand the factors that impact diverse regional outcomes. Understanding these patterns is significant as a region's economic performance has the potential to impact the well being of individuals and their families, as well as the sustainability of local economies and communities. The project will result in a nuanced understanding of regional employment performance that will inform policy in both government and non-government sectors. Read moreRead less
Communities, Kava, Court Orders: The Ways of Possessing the Pacific City. This project aims to understand how urban tenure security is negotiated, claimed and/or recognised amid increasing stress on urban resources and competing potential sources of value for urban land. Through small-scale community-facing research, it intends to produce evidence of how residential tenure works on customary lands around Port Vila, Vanuatu. Expected outcomes include case studies and typologies showing the types ....Communities, Kava, Court Orders: The Ways of Possessing the Pacific City. This project aims to understand how urban tenure security is negotiated, claimed and/or recognised amid increasing stress on urban resources and competing potential sources of value for urban land. Through small-scale community-facing research, it intends to produce evidence of how residential tenure works on customary lands around Port Vila, Vanuatu. Expected outcomes include case studies and typologies showing the types of tenure relationships in place. This should have significant benefits for government and donors working to prevent displacement and developing plans for inclusive urbanisation into the future. Local populations should also benefit through increased awareness of the value and standing of customary tenure arrangements. Read moreRead less
The long-term effects of autonomous cars on land use, access and travel . Historically new transport technologies have significantly changed urban form in Australian cities with important business, economic, congestion, social and environmental impacts. Autonomous cars are said to revolutionise tomorrows transport but no research has yet considered long term impacts on land use and city structure. This project explores how land use and travel will change adopting innovative land use and transp ....The long-term effects of autonomous cars on land use, access and travel . Historically new transport technologies have significantly changed urban form in Australian cities with important business, economic, congestion, social and environmental impacts. Autonomous cars are said to revolutionise tomorrows transport but no research has yet considered long term impacts on land use and city structure. This project explores how land use and travel will change adopting innovative land use and transport models. Outcomes will better prepare Australia for an autonomous travel future.Read moreRead less
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
Remaking Post-industrial Plans: Urban Industrial Zoning Past and Future. This project aims to examine the changing functions and roles of urban industrial land. Planning for industrial land remains rooted in approaches that are out of step with existing and emerging conditions. Urban policymakers sacrifice dwindling employment lands for property value growth and miss opportunities to incorporate industrial activity in sustainable planning goals. Through digital archival mapping, on-site analysis ....Remaking Post-industrial Plans: Urban Industrial Zoning Past and Future. This project aims to examine the changing functions and roles of urban industrial land. Planning for industrial land remains rooted in approaches that are out of step with existing and emerging conditions. Urban policymakers sacrifice dwindling employment lands for property value growth and miss opportunities to incorporate industrial activity in sustainable planning goals. Through digital archival mapping, on-site analysis, and planner interviews, this project seeks to develop a deeper understanding of how industrial lands and their regulatory settings are linked to changes in urban development over time. This should lead to new knowledge to reinvent industrial zones to meet contemporary needs and adapt to future disruptions.Read moreRead less
Responsible Urban Innovation with Local Government Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) is not only becoming an integral part of urban services, but also impacting and shaping the future of cities and societies. However, the current AI practice has shown that urban innovation without responsibility generates more problems than it solves. Especially, the absence of a deep understanding of the costs, benefits, risks and impacts of deploying government AI systems creates negative e ....Responsible Urban Innovation with Local Government Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) is not only becoming an integral part of urban services, but also impacting and shaping the future of cities and societies. However, the current AI practice has shown that urban innovation without responsibility generates more problems than it solves. Especially, the absence of a deep understanding of the costs, benefits, risks and impacts of deploying government AI systems creates negative externalities and serious concerns in the society. This project will generate new knowledge on the most appropriate approaches for local governments to engage with AI to achieve responsible urban innovation. The project outcomes will include responsible AI adoption and implementation pathways for Australian local governments.Read moreRead less
A night shift: planning for night time economies and workers in Australia. We need to talk about the night. If cities are now increasingly recognised as ‘24/7’ places, little attention is paid to their nights and even less so to those workers who keep cities functioning afterhours by supporting a $134bn night-time economy. This project aims to deliver this needed shift to night-time thinking in urban planning and policy. It offers detailed assessments of the role of night-time work in 14 Austral ....A night shift: planning for night time economies and workers in Australia. We need to talk about the night. If cities are now increasingly recognised as ‘24/7’ places, little attention is paid to their nights and even less so to those workers who keep cities functioning afterhours by supporting a $134bn night-time economy. This project aims to deliver this needed shift to night-time thinking in urban planning and policy. It offers detailed assessments of the role of night-time work in 14 Australian capital and regional cities. It investigates conditions, contributions, voices and spaces that characterise night-time work. Partnering directly with local councils, it experiments with transferrable action-oriented and policy-ready methods, seeking to build capacity for ‘night literacy’ in cities and urban research.Read moreRead less
Green shoots? Exploring the genesis and development of a Green Economy in Australia. Creating a green economy is fundamental to the sustainability of Australia in the twenty-first-century. This project will explore the genesis of this new economy, and for the first time, develop a classification of green industries, measure their significance and map the geography of the nation's green economy by sector and region.
Spatial network analysis for multimodal urban transport systems: a planning decision support tool. This research explores and assesses the development and use of accessibility tools for integrated land use and transport planning. It will establish international benchmarks for sustainable accessibility providing evidentiary support for government decision making and investment in sustainable urban development and public transport infrastructure.