Indigenous Placemaking in Central Melbourne: Representations, practices and creative research. This project will contribute to making a place of belonging, gathering and cultural exchange for and with Indignenous Australians in Melbourne, through dialogic research processes aimed at generating a more inclusive and dynamic understanding of Indigenous identity. It will provide a platform for reconciliatory activities in Victoria with the support of Victorian Indigenous Communities, Reconciliation ....Indigenous Placemaking in Central Melbourne: Representations, practices and creative research. This project will contribute to making a place of belonging, gathering and cultural exchange for and with Indignenous Australians in Melbourne, through dialogic research processes aimed at generating a more inclusive and dynamic understanding of Indigenous identity. It will provide a platform for reconciliatory activities in Victoria with the support of Victorian Indigenous Communities, Reconciliation Victoria, and the Melbourne City Council and educate the public regarding the need for such a facility. It will increase Melbourne's national and international profile by contributing to the provision of a world class cultural centre that engages international tourists and informing future institutional programs.Read moreRead less
Designing green spaces for biodiversity and human well-being. Designing green spaces for biodiversity and human well-being . This project aims to determine mechanisms linking urban design to socio-ecological benefits from green spaces. Ecological restoration in urban green space could attract more biodiversity into urban environments, reduce maintenance costs, provide market advantage for the development industry and improve a sense of place for residents. However, how best to encourage biodiver ....Designing green spaces for biodiversity and human well-being. Designing green spaces for biodiversity and human well-being . This project aims to determine mechanisms linking urban design to socio-ecological benefits from green spaces. Ecological restoration in urban green space could attract more biodiversity into urban environments, reduce maintenance costs, provide market advantage for the development industry and improve a sense of place for residents. However, how best to encourage biodiversity using urban design is poorly understood, and little is known about how green spaces create health and well-being. This project will alter levels of green space design explanatory variables in modular experimental plots, in both Royal Park, the City of Melbourne’s largest public green space, and Melbourne’s CBD; conduct biodiversity and human wellbeing experiments; and develop urban design recommendations that support biodiversity and human wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Intensifying places: transit-oriented urban design for resilient Australian cities. The population of Australian cities is rising sharply at precisely the time we also need to achieve dramatic reductions in carbon emissions. While there is debate about the degree to which we can extend urban growth boundaries, there is no doubt that intensification in activity centres and along transit lines will be realised in the near and medium future. This is both a threat to established suburban ways of lif ....Intensifying places: transit-oriented urban design for resilient Australian cities. The population of Australian cities is rising sharply at precisely the time we also need to achieve dramatic reductions in carbon emissions. While there is debate about the degree to which we can extend urban growth boundaries, there is no doubt that intensification in activity centres and along transit lines will be realised in the near and medium future. This is both a threat to established suburban ways of life and a wonderful opportunity to enhance them. What kinds of new urban places will be created and how can design quality be managed to ensure the beauty, amenity, pedestrian accessibility, sociability and public transport efficiency of our cities?Read moreRead less
Walk-quality: A multi-criteria design platform to facilitate active travel. This seminal cross-disciplinary study aims to combine key ‘walk-quality’ urban design factors: pedestrian accessibility, slope, thermal comfort, pedestrian risk, and pollution, into a design decision platform to enable systematic evaluation of precincts and test ‘what-if’ future scenarios.
With 60% of Australians not meeting recommended physical activity targets costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually, the projec ....Walk-quality: A multi-criteria design platform to facilitate active travel. This seminal cross-disciplinary study aims to combine key ‘walk-quality’ urban design factors: pedestrian accessibility, slope, thermal comfort, pedestrian risk, and pollution, into a design decision platform to enable systematic evaluation of precincts and test ‘what-if’ future scenarios.
With 60% of Australians not meeting recommended physical activity targets costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually, the project envisions development of acutely lacking spatio-temporal analysis and design tools to help prioritise urgently needed active transport infrastructure investment.
Anticipated ‘walk-quality’ improvements to facilitating active journeys have vital foreseeable community benefits through increased incidental physical activity.Read moreRead less
Optimising permeable pavements with underlying reservoirs to enhance urban tree performance. This project will determine the optimal configuration of permeable pavements with underlying storage reservoirs and water delivery system to resolve the water security challenges that trees face in urban environments. This project will promote the healthy growth of urban trees and will lead to more liveable and healthier cities.
Map My Say - An innovative participatory mapping tool for TOD evaluation. This project will directly engage with the community through the development of an innovative public participatory mapping tool ("Map My Say") to evaluate community experiences of infill development and to identify the determinants of community support for, or resistance to, densification in urban development sites correlated with public transport. The findings of the project will support future planning and land use deci ....Map My Say - An innovative participatory mapping tool for TOD evaluation. This project will directly engage with the community through the development of an innovative public participatory mapping tool ("Map My Say") to evaluate community experiences of infill development and to identify the determinants of community support for, or resistance to, densification in urban development sites correlated with public transport. The findings of the project will support future planning and land use decisions related to creating resilient urban environments and provide decision planning tools to support appropriate solutions for urban communities. Working with our industry partners the findings will be used to directly inform the planning and design of future Metronet station precincts in Western Australia.
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Understanding how local and regional accessibility are associated with active travel, and related health and economic impacts. Exercise and walking are vital for a healthy lifestyle and wellbeing. The accessibility and ’walkability’ of where one lives and works is key to supporting physical activity. Consequently, public health practitioners, urban planners and the transport sector face a common strategic challenge; shifting people from private vehicles to active forms of transport. This project ....Understanding how local and regional accessibility are associated with active travel, and related health and economic impacts. Exercise and walking are vital for a healthy lifestyle and wellbeing. The accessibility and ’walkability’ of where one lives and works is key to supporting physical activity. Consequently, public health practitioners, urban planners and the transport sector face a common strategic challenge; shifting people from private vehicles to active forms of transport. This project aims to model the health and economic impacts of the ease of: walking and cycling within neighbourhoods; and travelling across wider geographical areas on time spent walking and cycling for transport among both adults and children. This project aims to enable the research team to maximise the opportunities the environment provides for both positive health and well-being in Australia.Read moreRead less
Species traits, substrates and stormwater grates: improving the health of urban trees by using polluted stormwater as a resource. This project uses plant traits to select existing and novel tree species for glasshouse studies to quantify the uptake of stormwater and polluting nutrients as well as drought tolerance in stormwater street tree systems. In collaboration with water industry and tree nursery industry partners and a syndicate of local councils, the project aims to install passive stormw ....Species traits, substrates and stormwater grates: improving the health of urban trees by using polluted stormwater as a resource. This project uses plant traits to select existing and novel tree species for glasshouse studies to quantify the uptake of stormwater and polluting nutrients as well as drought tolerance in stormwater street tree systems. In collaboration with water industry and tree nursery industry partners and a syndicate of local councils, the project aims to install passive stormwater street tree systems into existing suburbs and new greenfield developments in Melbourne. Models will be used to design and predict the performance of these stormwater street tree systems, and the glasshouse/field research outputs are expected to refine the leading industry and government relevant urban catchment model.Read moreRead less