Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailablePresent Day and Future Cooling Enabled by Integrated Water Management(IAUC, 2023)As critical input to development of future Australian urban water policy we were engaged by the Australian Government to use TARGET1.(The Air temperature Response to Green infrastructure Evaluation Tool) to assess urban heat amelioration associated with various levels of IWM (amounts of water and green infrastructure in the urban landscape) for nine Australian cities (Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Albury-Wodonga and Townsville) for two future time frames (2030 and 2050) and for multiple emissions scenarios (SSP 1.2-6, 3.7-0 and 5.8-5). In further work (not discussed here), the results from the urban climate modelling were then to be used to develop estimates of the potential health-economic benefits of using IWM to deliver cooler climates under current and future climates.
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ItemEssential work and emergency childcare: identifying gender differences in COVID-19 effects on labour demand and supply(Oxford University Press (OUP), 2023-03-15)We examine whether the COVID-19 crisis affects women and men differently in terms of employment, working hours, and hourly wages, and whether the effects are demand or supply driven. COVID-19 impacts are studied using administrative data on all Dutch employees up to December 2020, focussing on the national lockdowns and emergency childcare for essential workers in the Netherlands. First, the impact of COVID-19 is much larger for non-essential workers than for essential workers. Although female non-essential workers are more affected than male non-essential workers, on average, women and men are equally affected, because more women than men are essential workers. Second, the impact for partnered essential workers with young children, both men and women, is not larger than for others. Third, single-parent essential workers respond with relatively large reductions in labour supply, suggesting emergency childcare was insufficient for them. Overall, labour demand effects appear larger than labour supply effects.
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ItemIncome polarisation, expenditure and the Australian urban middle class(SAGE Publications, 2023-04-17)Recent years have seen growing concern about the ‘hollowing out’ of the middle class, due to processes of polarisation. In this paper, we examine different conceptualisations of polarisation, and introduce the concept of expenditure-adjusted polarisation that considers not only income, but also various key categories of expenditure at a household level: housing, groceries and meals, transport and energy. Analysing longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, we show that the Australian society is significantly more polarised, with fewer middle-income households, when the relative size of income groups in a given year is based on expenditure-adjusted income rather than pre-expenditure income. Such polarisation is particularly prominent when housing expenditure is considered and has distinctive spatial patterns. In contrast, our analysis finds no evidence of a temporal pattern of polarisation in Australia between 2005 and 2019, with no substantial change in the size of income groups over time, regardless of which income measures are used. We argue that a more nuanced conceptualisation of polarisation, and its relation to processes of ‘hollowing out’ and rising inequality, is needed to inform urban scholarship and policy.
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ItemHigh water use plants influence green roof substrate temperatures and their insulative benefits(Elsevier BV, 2023-12-01)Green roofs are amongst the solutions employed to deliver sustainable buildings in cities. Their vegetation and substrate layers can reduce the heat transfer through the roof, thus potentially reducing energy used for building cooling and heating. However, little research has investigated the insulative properties of drought-tolerant plants which also have high water use. These plants have been found to improve runoff retention by removing larger volumes of water from the substrate through higher transpiration rates than succulents. This planting strategy may also enhance green roof cooling performance due to their greater evapotranspiration rates. In this study, the thermal performance of three drought-tolerant species with high water use — Lomandra longifolia, Dianella admixta, and Stypandra glauca — was evaluated and compared with a commonly used succulent species (Sedum pachyphyllum) and a bare unplanted module. L. longifolia had the best insulative performance during the entire investigated period, reducing green roof substrate surface temperature up to 1.86 °C compared to succulent S. pachyphyllum. In summer, the mixture reduced heat gain to a greater extent than monoculture plantings of all species except L. longifolia. Summer measurements also suggest that plants with high leaf area index (LAI) and higher albedo should be selected to reduce surface temperatures. High evapotranspiration rates of high water use L. longifolia led to greatest reduction of bottom surface temperatures during a heatwave when decreasing its water content from 18.5% to 2.9%. Results obtained using an analytical hierarchical partitioning technique indicated air temperature had the most significant impact on temperatures at both the surface of the planting substrate and the bottom of each green roof unit, accounting for 48% to 58% of the variation.
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ItemWood for the trees: Design and policymaking of urban forests in Berlin and Melbourne(Taylor and Francis Group, 2023)This article considers the potential of Fourth Nature urban forestry tactics at Birrarung Marr—the City of Melbourne’s largest open space contribution in over 100 years—as a speculative planting and maintenance strategy for adapting to excessive heat and drought. This paper is structured in three parts. The first section briefly discusses the theoretical and adaptation qualities of spontaneous planting practices, such as Kowarik’s Fourth Nature philosophy, and its impact on the design and maintenance of Natur-Park Schöneberger Südgelände (Berlin). The second part introduces the designed landscape of Birrarung Marr and provides an overview of its evolving planting strategies and urban forest since 2002. It analyses how climate change, municipal policy and recent planting designs such as the Woody Meadow insertion have impacted—and continue to impact—changes to the park’s forest. Lastly, part three utilizes Schöneberger Südgelände as a reference to speculate on future planting design approaches and climate adaptation tactics for Birrarung Marr as the City of Melbourne seeks new design responses to predicted urban heating.
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ItemPlanning and maintaining nature-based solutions: lessons for foresight and sustainable care from Berlin, Jakarta, Melbourne, and Santiago de Chile(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023-08-08)Nature-based solutions in their most basic and accessible form as public green spaces and urban trees are often in dire condition, exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Lack of maintenance further reduces the ability to provide ecosystem services and hinders long-term sustainability. Examples from four cities in Australia, Asia, Europe, and Latin America are used to discuss the importance of strategic planning for implementing nature-based solutions as well as proper maintenance. We suggest (1) specific legal and political frameworks, (2) foresight in planning stages, (3) optimized provision of benefits by considering scale, design, and distribution, (4) prioritization of nature-based solutions with both high social and ecological benefits, (5) careful retrofitting of existing green spaces, (6) balanced ratio of resource input and benefits, (7) sustained commitment for long-term care, and (8) enhanced public participation.
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ItemRenovation Machizukuri in Contemporary Japan: The Cases of Suwa, Kokura and Onomichi(SAHANZ, )The increasing number of vacant properties is a pressing challenge in Japan today. Depopulated towns and neighbourhoods are experiencing socio-economic decline. In response, citizen groups have carried out diverse activities known as “machizukuri” to improve the quality of life in their communities and living environments. Since the 2000s, machizukuri practices that involve the renovation of vacant building stock came to be known as “renovation machizukuri” (renovation town-making) which emphasizes social engagement through participatory design and do-it-yourself (DIY) building methods. This paper presents examples of renovation machizukuri that have emerged in recent years and are still ongoing in three Japanese cities – Suwa, Kokura and Onomichi. These three case studies shed light on the evolving role of architects and professionals who work together with citizens and volunteers in the sharing of knowledge and resources drawn together through strong social networks both online and offline. They are part of a larger movement in the rise of renovation culture, signifying a new era in contemporary Japanese architecture and town planning.
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ItemA Wide Open Road(Oro Editions, 2023-07-31)Most celebrated designers and academics have a good origin story: graduating from an esteemed design school or scoring a breakthrough moment working in a major designer’s office. Richard’s career has no such story—a rarity in the design disciplines, where networks and affiliations underpin much individual success. Shaped by a deep interest in design and a dose of serendipity, his career has taken him from Sydney to Berlin, to Perth, and to Philadelphia, with many side trips along the way.
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ItemInstitutionalising 100 Resilient Cities governance experiments in cities with no metropolitan government: A case study of Living Melbourne (Resilient Melbourne), Australia(Elsevier BV, 2023-10)This paper investigates the institutionalisation of 100 Resilient Cities [100RC] governance experiments in cities that lack a metropolitan government. In examining this phenomenon, the research develops a novel analytical framework that builds upon the ‘beyond experiments’ literature and two conceptual foundations: the role of urban governance context, particularly cities lacking a metropolitan government, and the role of transnational city networks. The framework is then applied to review the case study of Living Melbourne (Resilient Melbourne) – a 100RC governance experiment implemented in Melbourne, Australia. Key findings show that the institutionalisation of 100RC governance experiments occurs in cities lacking a metropolitan government by generating new changes in governance, particularly around two key domains: ways of thinking and ways of organising. The study also reveals that most changes generated via institutionalisation are incremental and reformistic, rarely transformational adjustments that can directly bring about urban sustainability transitions. In addition, this research suggests that the extent of institutionalisation is influenced by three key factors: (1) existing metropolitan governance conditions, (2) internal conditions of governance experiments and (3) city networks (only to a limited extent).