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.
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
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.
Involving local communities in defining town character in Victorian coastal towns. Many Australian coastal towns are experiencing rapid growth from tourism. In such places it is common to hear residents complain that the ?character? of their town is being lost due to inappropriate development. Local planning authorities are now attempting to respond to these concerns by undertaking studies to define what it is people feel is being lost. This project will involve local communities in defining tow ....Involving local communities in defining town character in Victorian coastal towns. Many Australian coastal towns are experiencing rapid growth from tourism. In such places it is common to hear residents complain that the ?character? of their town is being lost due to inappropriate development. Local planning authorities are now attempting to respond to these concerns by undertaking studies to define what it is people feel is being lost. This project will involve local communities in defining town and neighbourhood character in affected rural coastal areas of Victoria. Questions concerning residents' conceptualisation of town character and relationships between psychological and biophysical attributes associated with the notion of town character will be explored.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
The role of investor landlords in restructuring Australia's major cities. With their property acquisition activity reaching record levels, investor landlords are now key players in Australia's housing market. This has sparked vigorous public debate on the contribution of this activity to a 'housing price bubble' and the crowding out of first home buyers. Given new research indicating private rental provision growing fastest in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, another effect may be to exace ....The role of investor landlords in restructuring Australia's major cities. With their property acquisition activity reaching record levels, investor landlords are now key players in Australia's housing market. This has sparked vigorous public debate on the contribution of this activity to a 'housing price bubble' and the crowding out of first home buyers. Given new research indicating private rental provision growing fastest in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, another effect may be to exacerbate the socio-spatial polarisation of our major cities. This project will therefore investigate the drivers and consequences of growing private rental investment in Australia's major cities, especially in disadvantaged areas. Project findings are expected to inform national housing, planning and urban policy.Read moreRead less
What makes a community resilient? Examining changes in the adaptive capacities of Brisbane suburbs before and after the 2011 flood. This project will be the first study to examine the key community processes and structures associated with community resilience both before and after the 2011 Brisbane floods. Drawing on a longitudinal study of Brisbane suburbs, it will critically assess the conditions under which suburban communities respond to and recover from a major disaster.
Conceptualizing and Measuring Regional Endogenous Growth: A Collaborative International Comparative Investigation. Policy for regional economic development in Australia is placing more emphasis on facilitating regional self-help. For the first time this project will provide an actual measure of regional endogenous performance. It identifies those features of regional economies and local populations are most important in explaining differences in the performance of regions, and it shows how inst ....Conceptualizing and Measuring Regional Endogenous Growth: A Collaborative International Comparative Investigation. Policy for regional economic development in Australia is placing more emphasis on facilitating regional self-help. For the first time this project will provide an actual measure of regional endogenous performance. It identifies those features of regional economies and local populations are most important in explaining differences in the performance of regions, and it shows how institutional arrangements and leadership can enhance or detract from regional development performance. This will help public agencies formulate better policies and mechanisms to help regions maximise their capacities to achieve enhanced endogenous growth. International comparative studies provide wider significance for policy formulation in regional development.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Australia's suburbs: advancing urban planning knowledge to limit oil vulnerability and build household resilience. The vulnerability and resilience of Australian suburbs to declining petroleum security and climate change is a national issue because half of Australia's population lives in suburbs. This project will advance national knowledge of the challenges facing Australian suburbs. This includes supporting National Research Priority 4: Protecting Australia's Infrastructure by ad ....Strengthening Australia's suburbs: advancing urban planning knowledge to limit oil vulnerability and build household resilience. The vulnerability and resilience of Australian suburbs to declining petroleum security and climate change is a national issue because half of Australia's population lives in suburbs. This project will advance national knowledge of the challenges facing Australian suburbs. This includes supporting National Research Priority 4: Protecting Australia's Infrastructure by addressing the vulnerability of suburban transport systems and infrastructure to declining global petroleum security. The project will strengthen community capacity to cope with these challenges through improved planning understanding that can support new measures to overcome oil vulnerability and build suburban resilience.Read moreRead less