Planning

Worldwide, cities are growing rapidly. Not only because the world population is rising, but there is also an increase in the urbanisation of the population. According to the United Nations, around 50% of the world population is now urban, with 60% expected to be urban by 2030. Growing cities place increasing pressure on the natural environment, and there is increasing pressure within cities and their suburbs to provide the houses, services, space, and quality-of-life that residents expect.

Development pressures extend to peri-urban areas where agriculturally productive lands and natural vegetation are often found. But the pressures of urban development do not end there. They extend to the places from where we obtain energy, water, food, and construction materials, where we recreate, and where we discard waste. In this way, the impact of cities on the environment is global.

Cities are changing to accommodate more people. They are also changing to adapt to, and mitigate against, climate change. We can reduce development pressures on scarce resources, and conserve natural places and processes on which we depend. A diverse set of knowledges and skills are required to continue change and create sustainable cities.

Researchers in the institute have been working with industry and government to improve the planning, design and development of Australian settlements and communities through research, education and practice since the early 1990's. Research is focused on all aspects of urban sustainability, including how cities can be designed and managed to be resilient in the face of changing conditions. Specific areas of research include:

• Low carbon communities
• Strategic planning and policy analysis
• Urban design
• Transport planning and modelling
• The impact of transport on urban form
• Urban response to climate change

For further information, please contact Jon Kellett

Key projects

Key Barbara Hardy Institute projects within this research capability include:

• Adapting to heatwaves - A framework of adaptation of Australian households to heat waves (NCCARF funded)
  
• Adelaide: Fire and Natural Hazards (Barbara Hardy Institute Icon Project)
  
• Coasts and climate change - management options and decision making tools for local government
  
• Low Carbon Living CRC - overcoming identified market barriers preventing adoption of cost effective low carbon products and services
• Regional climate analogues - Learning from regional climate analogues (NCCARF funded)
  
• Settlements and Infrastructure - assets that are vulnerable to climate change (NCCARF funded project)
  
• Sustainable design culture - Re-considering sustainable building and design: A cultural change approach (ARC Linkage project)
  
• Sustainable in-fill development - using low-carbon CLT prefabrication: Adaptation for the Australian context (Barbara Hardy Institute Icon Project)
  
• TODs & trains - The potential role of transit-oriented development in Australian cities: a critical assessment using a suburban rail corridor (ARC Linkage project)
  
• Towards electricity without fossil fuels: finding the best mix of renewables, demand management and storage (Barbara Hardy Institute Icon Project)
  
• Urban sustainability - An integrated model for the assessment of urban sustainability (ARC Linkage project)