Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
School of Natural and Built Environments
School of Natural and Built Environments
Planning for Sustainable Success and Success for Sustainable Planning
May was an excellent month for all of the disciplines in the School of
NBE and for Urban and Regional Planning in particular. News of a
significant number successful ARC Linkage grant applications was
received and the Planning discipline achieved spectacular success in
leading and receiving not one but two of the four applications that were
gained by staff from within the School (and most noticeably of the 10
received overall throughout the University!).
Professor Steve Hamnett, along with Professor Michael Taylor from ISST
Transport Systems, received a grant of $360K over 3 years to fund a
study on Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in Australian Cities and
suburbs. This research will provide an assessment of the soon to be
electrified suburban rail corridor in northern Adelaide and a study of
how to support more sustainable patterns of travel whilst seeking to
identify the mix of land use policies, transport infrastructure
provision and governance. This is likely to be most effective in growing
and developing areas of urban Australia in times of concern over
sustainability, ‘peak oil’ and adaptation to climate change.
In conjunction with the SA Land Management Corporation (LMC), whose
General Manager Strategic Planning and Business Development Mr Sandy Rix
is a CI on the project, and with the SA Government’s Department of
Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) and also with a number of
northern Adelaide Councils as co participants, the group will be
studying how to reduce dependence on private car ownership for mobility
in the northern suburbs, an area already feeling the effects of growing
suburban redevelopment along the Gawler train line. The timing could not
have been better for this study to have been supported as it was almost
coincident with the State Government’s budget announcements of high
level funding for promoting sustainable public transport during our
increasingly nervous times of energy shortages and petrol fuel price
increases.
At the same time, although unrelated to this project, DTEI and its
TravelSmart program is looking to support NBE staff in Planning (Andrew
Allan) and GEM (Barb Koth) in the development of a Sustainable Green
Travel Strategy for our Mawson Lakes Campus and possibly for the
University as a whole. The patterns of travel to work by our staff and
to study by our students will be under further scrutiny to seek more
sustainable solutions with the aim of reducing transport-related
greenhouse emissions by promoting walking, cycling and public transport
in place of the private vehicle.
The second ARC linkage success in Planning was the project led by Dr Jon
Kellett, Head of the Discipline who, along with Drs Alpana Sivam, Lou
Wilson and Sada Karapannan, received $240K over three years on a project
to investigate urban sustainability policy via integrated modelling and
assessment of urban growth and its inter-relationship with
infrastructure systems and services (including transport, energy, water,
affordable housing, education and other land-use issues in Adelaide’s
southern suburbs).
This project however, further demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature
of our growing research interests as it also involves Dr Stephen Pullen
from the Building discipline and David Ness, also an adjunct in
Building, who will be adding an assessment of building-related energy
use, embodied energy in construction, energy efficiency of build-ins and
efforts at cyclical use of materials to the project. Partners in the
project again include the DTEI plus the City of Onkaparinga council, as
this project will study urban growth and sustainable development in the
south where in Noarlunga and Seaford urban growth and suburban expansion
are current imperatives.
However, the other disciplines in the School are not being left behind
and they also featured strongly in ARC successes and in demonstrating
industry linkages by showcasing our student awards, achievements and
scholarships during May. As an example, we hosted a very successful
awards presentation for the Civil Engineering and Environmental
Management Disciplines at Mawson Lakes on Friday, 9 May. Industry
presenters included Mr Lou George (DTEI), Mr Greg Leaman (DEH), Mr Phil
Cornish (Built Environs), Mr Steve Kochergan (IPWEA), Mr Karl Christ (Lysaght),
Mr Duart McLean (Bluescope Steel), Mr Ken Renfry (Steel Assoc) and Dr
Jeremy Woolley (AITPM). I was able to welcome industry visitors, parents
and students whilst Prof Simon Beecham chaired the ceremony. At the
Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) Annual Dinner on
the same evening, I received the GV Allen medal on behalf of 3rd year
student Josh Ward for his best overall performance in Level 2 courses in
the Civil Engineering program.
Returning to the ARC award announcements, the School of NBE again
achieved success in the other disciplines. In GEM, our former Head of
Discipline Prof Graciela Metternicht was a member of a team who received
a linkage grant to study the future of the electricity distribution
network in Australia, along with other CI’s from ISST. This project will
analyse spatial patterns of change in demand patterns for energy due to
demographic, socioeconomics and climate change variables as well as how
more diversified and less centralised (alternative) energy sources will
be integrated into new electricity grids.
It is likely that since Graciela has left the School to work with UNEP
(by the way, she says hi and good wishes to all at NBE from her office
overlooking to the Panama Canal in Panama City), Ass Prof David Bruce
will take over a lead role in this project. This aligns very well with
the work that he and current PhD student Alec Townsend are undertaking
using GIS and spatial modelling to better understand the spatial
distribution of power generation and usage throughout Australia and its
significance for reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions and sustainable
energy policy.
Likewise, the Civil Engineering discipline has many recent successes to
report. In terms of ARC grants, A/Prof Linda Zhou has recently been
appointed as Deputy Director in the CWMR and now should bring with her a
newly won ARC linkage grant which focuses on developing low energy
desalination techniques. I hope that many of you will get to meet and
welcome Linda to Mawson Lakes soon as she has just arrived to take up
her new role. In Civil Engineering, the Water Centre has also received
news of increased infrastructure funding through the Urban Water
Research Centre with David Pezzaniti, who has managed to upgrade his
$556K National Water Initiative infrastructure grant to a spectacular
$1.13m. In addition, funding for more symphonic roof drainage research,
permeable pavements and biofiltration systems as well as a steady “flow”
of new PhD students, clearly demonstrates that Prof Simon Beecham is
continuing to lead the successes of Civil Engineering and the Water
Centre in an exemplary way.
It is most pleasing to me therefore, that the policies that we have been
pursuing as a School following our strategic plan are forging ahead
(i.e. increasing the time available for research; reducing teaching
loads; increasing funding for conferences; and encouraging disciplinary,
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research into many of the
current issues facing a sustainable society and the environment). We
thus appear to be making significant progress in our attempts to Plan
for Sustainable Success and also to, of course, be Successful in
Sustainable Planning!
Professor Patrick James
Head: School of Natural and Built Environments
