Renewing the compact city: economically viable and socially sustainable approaches to urban redevelopment in a complex multi-stakeholder environment. This project will investigate a key challenge facing city planners in Australia over the next 30 years: how to renew older areas of multi-unit housing, providing not only economically but also socially viable solutions within a market context and enable all players -developers, policymakers and residents - to benefit from the coming city redevelopm ....Renewing the compact city: economically viable and socially sustainable approaches to urban redevelopment in a complex multi-stakeholder environment. This project will investigate a key challenge facing city planners in Australia over the next 30 years: how to renew older areas of multi-unit housing, providing not only economically but also socially viable solutions within a market context and enable all players -developers, policymakers and residents - to benefit from the coming city redevelopment.Read moreRead less
Local Government and Housing in Australia for the 21st Century. This project plans to analyse survey data, qualitative interviews and detailed case studies to investigate and theorise trends in the relationship between local government and housing supply and demand. It aims to answer a number of questions: What is the role of local government in housing Australians in the 21st century? How have changing economic, social, demographic and political processes affected the interaction between local ....Local Government and Housing in Australia for the 21st Century. This project plans to analyse survey data, qualitative interviews and detailed case studies to investigate and theorise trends in the relationship between local government and housing supply and demand. It aims to answer a number of questions: What is the role of local government in housing Australians in the 21st century? How have changing economic, social, demographic and political processes affected the interaction between local government and housing over the past decades, and what are the likely impacts in the future? How might a reshaped Australian Federation recast the role of local government in this area of social and economic policy? The research aims to consider inner urban, suburban and regional and rural areas; and to contribute to a healthier and more productive Australia by providing local governments with evidence on their role in the housing market and how they can prepare for the future.Read moreRead less
Digital technologies and the private rental sector in Australia. This project aims to show how digital technologies are transforming the private rental sector in Australia. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the growing global reach of digital technologies aimed at private renters, landlords and property managers. The expected outcomes of this project include the production of social scientific knowledge about the potential of digital technologies to be both socially pernicious ....Digital technologies and the private rental sector in Australia. This project aims to show how digital technologies are transforming the private rental sector in Australia. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the growing global reach of digital technologies aimed at private renters, landlords and property managers. The expected outcomes of this project include the production of social scientific knowledge about the potential of digital technologies to be both socially pernicious and socially progressive. This project should provide significant benefits for Australian renters and our tenant advocacy partners who represent them, and to show how digital technologies can be used to create a better housing system.Read moreRead less
Securing the essential: assisting Indigenous communities and their service providers to sustainably manage water and energy supply. The provision of water and energy supplies to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) communities is a critical challenge for service providers. This project uses a novel unobtrusive smart metering system, aligned with culturally appropriate consultation with ATSI communities, to reveal patterns of household water and water related-energy consumption. Si ....Securing the essential: assisting Indigenous communities and their service providers to sustainably manage water and energy supply. The provision of water and energy supplies to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) communities is a critical challenge for service providers. This project uses a novel unobtrusive smart metering system, aligned with culturally appropriate consultation with ATSI communities, to reveal patterns of household water and water related-energy consumption. Significantly, the research aims to identify effective behavioural and technological water and energy efficiency strategies in three remote ATSI communities in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. A key outcome is to provide an adaptive evidence-based and community-driven handbook to facilitate the secure long-term supply and efficient use of energy and water resources in remote ATSI communities.Read moreRead less
Tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing. This project aims to address growing concerns that building quality issues are threatening the appeal of higher density multi-unit housing for city dwellers, which could undermine urban planning goals. The project will investigate the prevalence of defects, why they occur and how multi-unit housing quality can be improved. The findings will be used to inform options for changes to planning and development policy resulting in significant economic and ....Tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing. This project aims to address growing concerns that building quality issues are threatening the appeal of higher density multi-unit housing for city dwellers, which could undermine urban planning goals. The project will investigate the prevalence of defects, why they occur and how multi-unit housing quality can be improved. The findings will be used to inform options for changes to planning and development policy resulting in significant economic and social benefits including more effective construction regulation, improved building quality and safety, lower costs and stress for owners, more resilient urban communities and better urban planning outcomes.Read moreRead less
The impact of governance on regional natural resource planning. The management of natural resources in regional Australia is challenged by complex decision-making and poorly integrated planning systems at the federal, state and local levels. This project will develop an evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness of planning and natural resource management governance at the regional scale.
The impacts of industry restructuring. This project aims to shed light on how Australia's workforce and communities will engage with the world of work in a future shaped by new business models and disruptive technologies. Using the closure of the automotive industry as a lens into this topic, the project will provide new insights into how displaced workers find work, use services, relate to others, and reshape their futures. It sheds light on the community-wide impacts of restructuring, providin ....The impacts of industry restructuring. This project aims to shed light on how Australia's workforce and communities will engage with the world of work in a future shaped by new business models and disruptive technologies. Using the closure of the automotive industry as a lens into this topic, the project will provide new insights into how displaced workers find work, use services, relate to others, and reshape their futures. It sheds light on the community-wide impacts of restructuring, providing new perspectives on how local resources and public policies best advance the process of adjustment.Read moreRead less
Building sustainable social capital in new communities. Industry partners and investigators have identified the need for foundation knowledge about social capital and the development of new communities in Australia. The current environment is of increasing responsibility for property developers to account for their social responsibility/corporate citizenship, and manage increasing responsibility for developing communities which provide social, economic and cultural benefit to Australia's well-be ....Building sustainable social capital in new communities. Industry partners and investigators have identified the need for foundation knowledge about social capital and the development of new communities in Australia. The current environment is of increasing responsibility for property developers to account for their social responsibility/corporate citizenship, and manage increasing responsibility for developing communities which provide social, economic and cultural benefit to Australia's well-being. The study identifies the extent to which planning and strategic interventions in new communities contribute to, or detract from, social capital building. The results will be used to identify long term theoretical and practical strategies for strengthening and sustaining social capital in new communities.Read moreRead less
Community variations in crime: A spatial and ecometric analysis. Collective Efficacy (CE) is a new theoretical construct (that has never been investigated in Australia). It is a task-specific process for mobilising social capital to tackle specific neighbourhood problems. Research in Chicago finds that communities with high levels of CE experience lower levels of violence regardless of poverty levels. We will conduct a spatial and ecometric analysis of CE and crime using a survey of 3000 residen ....Community variations in crime: A spatial and ecometric analysis. Collective Efficacy (CE) is a new theoretical construct (that has never been investigated in Australia). It is a task-specific process for mobilising social capital to tackle specific neighbourhood problems. Research in Chicago finds that communities with high levels of CE experience lower levels of violence regardless of poverty levels. We will conduct a spatial and ecometric analysis of CE and crime using a survey of 3000 residents in 50 Brisbane communities. We will compare similar data from Chicago and Stockholm to investigate the Australian contribution of CE to spatial crime patterns and its potential for future crime prevention programs.Read moreRead less
Urban Accessibility Re-Shaped - Transport disadvantage and urban socio-spatial change. The project directly addresses 'National Research Priority 2: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health - Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric' by assisting governments to solve problems of communities' poor access to employment and services. Good urban accessibility is crucial to achieving good economic, social and environmental outcomes from land-use and transport planning in Australian cities. ....Urban Accessibility Re-Shaped - Transport disadvantage and urban socio-spatial change. The project directly addresses 'National Research Priority 2: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health - Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric' by assisting governments to solve problems of communities' poor access to employment and services. Good urban accessibility is crucial to achieving good economic, social and environmental outcomes from land-use and transport planning in Australian cities. The project will assist state and local government's to address unmet and often unidentified community needs. The project will be of immense national importance in providing new methodologies to assess urban access employment and services. Internationally this project will mark Australia as a producer of high quality urban research.Read moreRead less