Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019 - School of Global, Urban & Social Studies - RMIT University
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Higher Degree by
Research Projects
2019
School of Global, Urban
& Social Studies
Version 4.0 July 2019
1 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019
Contents
About the School ...................................................................................................................................5
The GUSS Higher Degrees by Research Program.................................................................................6
How to apply...........................................................................................................................................6
Centre for Urban Research.....................................................................................................................7
CUR HDR Projects for 2019
Low carbon urban governance and urban sustainability transitions.................................................8
Governance for regional sustainability transitions.............................................................................8
Climate Change hotspots: examining adaptation-mitigation intersections........................................9
Of what, to what, and who gets to say? The political, institutional challenges of adaptation and
transformation.................................................................................................................................9
Disasters, development, and resilience..........................................................................................10
Integrated urban water governance for transitions to sustainable, adaptive urban development: a
case study of the Kalkallo precinct................................................................................................10
How might adaptation planning support transformation?...............................................................11
Planning, climate and agrifood systems in metropolitan regions.....................................................11
Implementing the SDGs: Regions, disruptions and enablers..........................................................12
The relationship between campus landscape components and students’ psychological
restoration.....................................................................................................................................12
Critical urban governance..............................................................................................................13
Urban experiments accelerating urban sustainability transitions: Evaluating UN Global Compact
Cities programme projects.............................................................................................................13
Transforming urban governance....................................................................................................14
Rethinking good governance.........................................................................................................14
Hotter and Smarter? How Does Smart City Governance Engage with Hotter Cities?.....................15
Trust, Technology and Transformation for Urban Land Governance...............................................15
Preparing for treaty: Rethinking urban governance in light of Indigenous sovereignties..................16
Property, governance and contemporary urban development.......................................................16
The role of national urban policy in Sustainable Development Goals implementation.....................17
2 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019
The role of city networks in achieving global agreements for sustainable urban development........17
Understanding and enhancing community consultation.................................................................18
The social outcomes and impacts of urban greening and waterway restorations...........................18
Measuring the influence of the built environment on the social and active behaviours of older people
transitioning into retirement............................................................................................................19
Apartment living and health and wellbeing.....................................................................................19
Examining the relationship between liveability and equity...............................................................20
Understanding the role of economics in city planning decision-making in Australia.......................20
Exploring Urban Heat Islands........................................................................................................21
Understanding Urban Forests........................................................................................................21
How to re-frame animal management to minimise public backlash................................................22
Understanding the synergies and trade-offs between conservation and ecosystem service supply
and demand in rural and urban areas............................................................................................22
Permeably-paved paradise: Street surface renewals as an opportunity for urban renaturing..........23
What types of green space are good for us?................................................................................23
Understanding the environmental, cultural and learning benefits of the Iconic Species in
Schools.........................................................................................................................................24
Reducing large carnivore human- wildlife conflicts in urban and rural areas of India and
Nepal............................................................................................................................................24
Towards a public internet policy framework for Australia................................................................25
Culture-led urban development: Evaluating the UNESCO Creative Cities Network........................25
Modelling the spatial distribution of key trip generators to manage traffic congestion and support
public transport use......................................................................................................................26
Planning for cities with new transport/ICT technologies.................................................................26
Exploring the alignment of public transport provision with development planning..........................27
Mode shift - what works?..............................................................................................................27
Social and Global Studies Centre.........................................................................................................28
SGSC HDR Projects for 2019
Unison Housing Research Lab: Industry PhD scholarship available.....................................................29
Conflict resolution and peacebuilding in complex heterogenous states................................................29
Protection of civilians in the context of civil war & humanitarian emergencies: Addressing conceptual
confusion, strategic disagreement and operational tensions...............................................................30
International law, humanitarian crises and threats to liberties.........................................................30
Weapons of Mass Destruction (In) security in the 21st Century......................................................31
The abstraction of violence and the deployment of new technologies globally...............................31
The future of humanitarian values in Australia................................................................................32
Humanitarian priorities and Indigenous Australians........................................................................32
Humanitarian aid governance in the Australian context..................................................................33
Decolonising International Development: Power Dynamics in the Knowledge Sector.....................33
3Topics in loneliness, mental health and housing precarity...............................................................34
Forensic aspects of borderline personality disorder........................................................................34
Migration policy and practice.........................................................................................................35
Scholarship of teaching and learning.............................................................................................35
Place-Based Services and Diversity...............................................................................................36
Disability Policy, Practice and Advocacy........................................................................................36
Implementing national standards for working with interpreters in Victorian Courts and
Tribunals........................................................................................................................................37
Exploring successful program support and work-based learning in Emergency relief settings.......37
Globalisation and educational transformations...............................................................................38
Forced Migrants in the Western Balkans: Between Transit and Settlement....................................38
Transitional Justice and Reconciliation: Culture of Remembrance and Arts...................................39
After gay marriage: Marginalisation, discrimination and the transformation of LGBTQ lives............39
Tackling Islamophobia: assessing the effectiveness of existing programs in disadvantaged suburbs
(Masters by Research) .................................................................................................................40
Experiences of sexual assault in the sexually explicit entertainment sector.....................................40
The changing contours of sex work in Australia.............................................................................41
Preventing Violence Against Women..............................................................................................41
Powerlessness Within Power: Alienated Masculinities and Online Child Sexual Exploitation..........42
Primary prevention of violence.......................................................................................................42
How do victim-survivors tell their own stories? An analysis of narratives provided to an online
confidential and anonymous sexual assault reporting tool in Victoria, Australia..............................43
Gender and social change............................................................................................................43
Who makes anonymous reports of sexual assault and why? An analysis of survey data collected
from users of an online confidential & anonymous sexual assault reporting tool in Victoria,
Australia........................................................................................................................................44
Reproductive and gynaecological health among LGBTQ People Assigned Female at Birth...........44
Experiences of cancer and immunotherapy...................................................................................45
Language and culture education: Praxis of policy and practice in local and international
contexts........................................................................................................................................45
Community Languages Education in Local, National and Global Contexts....................................46
Language, law and justice.............................................................................................................46
Rethinking remoteness - land, language and lifeworlds..................................................................47
4 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019About the School
Located in the heart of Melbourne on RMIT’s valuable research, generating more than $6
City campus, the School of Global, Urban million each year of external research funding and
and Social Studies (GUSS) is one of RMIT’s continuing to build research networks that extend
largest schools and provides programs from globally. In the most recent national Excellence in
certificates to PhDs. Research for Australia (ERA) ranking, the School
secured a ranking of 4 in Urban and Regional
The School is a community of socially concerned
Planning and in Cultural Studies. This ranking
and globally engaged scholars who instinctively
places the quality of the School’s research above
challenge conventional ideas about globalisation,
sustainability, language, crime and social care world standard.
through action-oriented teaching and applied
research. The international experience of staff in Professor Robin Goodman
the School broadens the knowledge of students
Dean, School of Global, Urban and
and challenges their ideas, preparing them for a
Social Studies.
global career.
Most of the School’s academic programs are
considered the top programs in Victoria. They
are in extremely high demand and are rated
highly by students. Contributing to the success
of programs are an experienced team of award-
winning staff, who have won external teaching
awards and regularly win College and University
awards.
Within the School, we maintain strong links
with industry and professionally recognised
bodies. RMIT’s programs within Planning; Social
Work; and Translating and Interpreting are all
professionally accredited, and reviews by external
assessors have placed these programs as the
best professionally accredited in Australia.
The School is also successful in engaging in
5The GUSS Higher Degrees by
Research Program
GUSS has a large and vibrant higher degrees by research program, with over 150 students studying for
a Masters by Research or Ph.D. All our students receive dedicated supervision by academics who are
themselves highly engaged in research. All HDR candidates are also aligned to one of our two major
research Centres; The Centre for Urban Research and The Social & Global Studies Centre. The work
of these centres spans a range of fields in the social sciences and humanities, and our HDR students
become part of a community of scholars dedicated to undertaking research that is both intellectually
rigorous and often highly applied.
Information on our Research Centres and on GUSS supervisors can be found at:
Centre for Urban Research Social & Global Studies Centre
GUSS HDR Project Listing for 2019 & How to Apply
From mid-2018, RMIT is introducing a new Expression of Interest (EOI) process for HDR applications. All
applicants, both local and international, will be required to submit a HDR ‘EOI’ through the RMIT School
of Graduate Research (SGR). Your EOI will be assessed by SGR and GUSS and, if successful, you will
then be invited to complete your application for admission to a research degree.
As part of this EOI process, applicants must submit a number of documents, including a Research
Proposal.
In preparing this research proposal prospective candidates for a research degree in GUSS (Masters by
Research or Ph.D.) are requested to identify a project (and supervisory team) from the list below and
ensure that their research proposal closely addresses the project description. Applicants should
also outline (as part of this proposal) how their academic and/or professional background equips them to
undertake the proposed research project outlined in the description.
If you have any questions about this process you should contact SGR or the GUSS HDR Program
directly. You should also feel free to contact individual supervisors for further advice in relation to specific
projects.
guss.research@rmit.edu.au
6 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019Centre for Urban
Research
Cities are the foundations of our economic, social and environmental
wellbeing. This demands better understanding and insight into
policy, planning and decision-making in areas such as urban
environments, resource and energy use, infrastructure and mobility,
liveability and, resilience and adaptation.
The Centre for Urban Research (CUR) is a dynamic hub for
interdisciplinary urban research. Through its research, the CUR is
directly responding to the globally important need to shape cities
that are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.
Website
7CUR HDR Projects for 2019
(Masters by Research & PhD)
Climate Change and Transformations
Low carbon urban governance and Governance for regional
urban sustainability transitions sustainability transitions
Project description Project description
There is an emerging literature focusing on There is growing interest in the contributions
the role of the cities and local scale actors in that regions can make in transitioning to
responding to climate change which include more liveable, just and sustainable forms of
responses from local governments, non- development. Enabling such transitions requires
government and community organisations theoretical and practical understanding of
and private enterprises. Action, innovation and how different governance approaches can
transformation at the local scale are of interest for enables and constrain action across different
researchers and activists frustrated by the lack sectors. While there are a range of theoretical
of significant progress at the international scale approaches for enabling sustainability transitions,
around multi-lateral treaties and targets. There little is known of their efficacy in different
is a need for further conceptual and empirical regional contexts, and tailored responses are
work to better understand processes of change required in order to address the unique sets of
and uptake across a range of local actions and circumstances operating in specific contexts.
whether we are starting to see systemic changes
Supervisors
across different policy and practice domains.
Dr Susie Moloney
This project seeks to contribute to this body of
Dr Karyn Bosomworth
knowledge.
Dr Brian Coffey
Supervisors
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Dr Susie Moloney
Climate Change Transformations
Professor Ralph Horne
Enabling Capability Platform
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Urban Futures
Climate Change Transformations
Social Change
Critical Urban Governance
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
8 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019Climate Change hotspots: Of what, to what, and who gets
examining adaptation-mitigation to say? The political, institutional
intersections challenges of adaptation and
transformation
Project description
Climate change is a social phenomenon involving Project description
emerging efforts to reduce greenhouse gas While the study and practice of adaptation
emissions as well as efforts to tackle climatic and transformation advances apace, ethical
shifts and their flow-on effects. But vulnerability questions such as what and who ‘should’
to climate change is typically still discussed only adapt and to what are growing. Such questions
in relation to the latter. This project will identify raise ethical issues and inevitable questions of
and analyse the challenges of a small selection of power and politics. A small but growing body
‘climate change hotspots’: groups, organisations, of scholarship is increasingly concerned with
activities or places that are highly exposed to both these ideas in transformation and adaptation and
climate-based effects and pressure to rapidly cut their governance through critical re-evaluation
emissions or avoid emissions pulses (‘transition of beliefs, values, and associated institutions.
risk’). These could include, for example, certain Projects developed under this broad theme will
coal mining communities (e.g. in the La Trobe examine various political, ethical, and normative
Valley), an airline or a beef farm. Alternatively, one assumptions and challenges presented by the
class of case study will be chosen an international need for and efforts to enable adaptation in all
comparison will be conducted (e.g. coal areas in its ‘forms’, including the idea of transformative
Australia and Germany). In each case, the project adaptation.
will analyse the interplay between the imperatives
to adapt and mitigate and examine the tensions
and synergies between them. It will analyse Supervisors
and reflect on how facing acute adaptation and Dr Karyn Bosomworth
mitigation pressure simultaneously encourages Dr Susie Moloney
or tempers the possibilities for transformational Dr Brian Coffey
change (of a progressive or regressive kind) in Associate Professor Lauren Rickards
different contexts. Overall, the project will use this Affiliate CUR Research Program
empirical base to contribute to scholarship on the Climate Change Transformations
concepts of adaptation and mitigation and seek
Enabling Capability Platform
to identify how they may be better conceptualised
Urban Futures
in relation to each other. If an energy case is used,
Social Change
there is also strong potential to contribute to the
energy social science literature where discussions
of adaptation are only nascent.
Supervisors
Associate Professor Lauren Rickards
Associate Professor Susie Moloney
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Climate Change Transformations
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
Social Change
9Disasters, development, and Integrated urban water governance
resilience for transitions to sustainable,
adaptive urban development: a case
Project description
study of the Kalkallo precinct.
Preventing the creation of disaster risk,
responding to and learning from disasters is a Project description
key activity in the context of climate change. Achieving sustainable, liveable precincts with a
CCT researchers focus on the social drivers of sense of place for future communities involves
disasters, notably urban planning, settlement working with multiple complexities. These include
and housing design and approaches to enabling renewable energy, transport, integrated
implementation using qualitative and quantitative water management, walkability, health, affordable
analytical tools and insights to help reduce housing, and urban greening, that all address
Disaster Risk and position them within climate climate resilience and social imperatives and
change adaptation. Their work aims to help challenges. It also includes working with a diversity
develop approaches to potential disasters that of actors, and their various needs, equities, and
foster socio-ecological resilience, justice and the objectives. As such, enabling sustainable precincts
achievement of UN Sustainable Development demands new ways of thinking and working,
Goals. For example: owner-driven housing which in themselves require the bringing together
reconstruction as a means to enhancing socio- of different yet related approaches to urban
ecological resilience of communities in India planning and development. Industry research and
(PhD, RMIT, 2018); Resilience Action Plan for and experience has seen water sensitive urban design
by Tarnagulla community (Action Research, RMIT, and third pipe technologies become best practice
2019); Refuge Project (Arts House, Giant Grass, in Australian urban developments. However, to
2019-20). The program invites project propsals in date, wider issues of liveability, integrated urban
line with these themes. water management, and climate resilience have
generally been explored in somewhat isolation and
Supervisors
sporadically. Understanding how water authorities
Dr Karyn Bosomworth
and related policy agencies can support and
Others TBC
enable a transition to resilient and adaptive urban
Affiliate CUR Research Program development remains a challenge for policy and
Climate Change Transformations in practice. In partnership with Melbourne Water,
Enabling Capability Platform this PhD study will investigate the governance,
Urban Futures policy, and practical possibilities and implications
of connecting and enabling key agendas of
sustainable development, liveability, integrated
water management, and climate change
adaptation, within the context of a large urban
development.
Supervisors
Dr Karyn Bosomworth
Professor Jago Dodson
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Climate Change Transformations
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
10How might adaptation planning Planning, climate and agrifood
support transformation? systems in metropolitan regions
Project description Project description
There are plenty of decision-making tools The field of urban food systems (production)
to guide those seeking to undertake climate research is well established, but often distant
change adaptation planning. Yet within the to policy/decision making, at least beyond
context of the growing call for ‘transformation’ peripheral notions of urban farming as community
(transformative adaptation, transformative development activity. This project is investigating
governance, and other monikers), there has been climate change responsive approaches to land
little evaluation of what the existing tools have use planning for food and agriculture in broad
achieved and are achieving, or an understanding city regions, including peri-urban landscapes.
of how, where and why they may be enabling It will primarily focus on the contestation of
‘transformation’. Let alone engaging with the policy, practice and community perspectives
socio-institutional dimensions and questions on future farming (including within the urban
of transforming what, to what, and for and by area) with a specific perspective on the role of
whom and what. Therefore, there is a pressing planning systems and practitioner knowledge in
need to identify adaptation planning tools and transitions to climate-smart agriculture in both
guidance that enable engagement with these contested landscapes and locations. The project
issues. Doing so requires a critical examination should seek to investigate the interactions of
of the efficacies of various tools in engaging planning (as an exercise of land categorisation
with the discourse, practice and institutional and strategic consideration of urban morphology)
conditions within which current planning must with adaptive farming under a market-orientated
operate and potentially transform/change. Such food regime. This recognises that movements
an examination has yet to occur. This project and processes of change in farming systems are
aims to critically examine the discourse, practice highly spatially differentiated, and that planning
and institutional conditions within which current systems have scope to reimagine agriculture
tools need to operate and potentially challenge as an activity, land use and ‘problem’ category.
and/or transform (in case study policy domains This project also considers the global agenda
or organisations), evaluate the efficacy of of ‘climate smart agriculture’ within a localised
several adaptation planning tools and methods context of urban and regional planning policy and
of engaging with these socio-institutional practices – in effect setting this as a critical issue
dimensions of transformative adaptation and its of understanding, categorisation and adaptive
governance, and develop coherent methods for policy.
enabling such tools to engage with these issues.
Supervisors
Supervisors Associate Professor Andrew Butt
Dr Karyn Bosomworth Associate Professor Lauren Rickards
Dr Susie Moloney Professor Bruce Wilson
Dr Brian Coffey
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Affiliate CUR Research Program Climate Change Transformations
Climate Change Transformations
Enabling Capability Platform
Enabling Capability Platform Urban Futures
Urban Futures Social Change
Social Change
11 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019Implementing the SDGs: Regions, The relationship between campus
disruptions and enablers landscape components and students’
psychological restoration
Project description
Countries and organisations around the world Project description
have signed up to the United Nations Sustainable Recent research indicates that one in five
Development Goals (SDGs). How different university students experience anxiety or
groups strive to implement them, however, depression. How can the design of university
remains to be seen. It is likely that place-specific landscapes combat this and create a more
approaches will emerge thanks to differences relaxing environment? Research has found
in the dominant issues and formal and informal that exposure to green spaces contributes to
institutions that exist in different locations. This restorative psychological and physiological health
project will explore the role of supra-national benefits, such as recovery from fatigue. This
and sub-national regional differences in how the proposed project will investigate the relationship
SDGs are being approached, the advantages between campus landscape components and
and disadvantages of using “the region” as a students’ psychological restoration. The use of
vehicle for SDG implementation, how regions eye-tracking in landscape and urban research
are altering under climate change and other is an emerging and exciting area. Using eye
processes including SDG-based initiatives, and and GPS tracking movement to record visual
whether the SDG agenda in particular places is patterns of students interacting with the campus
resilient to various disruptions and stressors. In landscape components, the data will help inform
these ways, the project will contribute valuable planners how to improve the design of university
knowledge to the critical question of how to campuses to benefit students.
enable global sustainable development in the Supervisors
context of particularity and change, and how Associate Professor Marco Amati
sustainable development and regions are Dr Chayn Sun
mutually constituted. Associate Professor Adrian Dyer
Supervisors Associate Professor Joe Hurley
Dr Karyn Bosomworth Affiliate CUR Research Program
Assoociate Professor Lauren Rickards Climate Change Transformations
Associate Professor Wendy Steele
Enabling Capability Platform
Affiliate CUR Research Program Urban Futures
Climate Change Transformations
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
Social Change
12Critical Urban Governance
Critical urban governance Urban experiments accelerating
urban sustainability transitions:
Project description
Evaluating UN Global Compact
This project focuses critical attention into how
Cities programme projects
cities are governed, who by, and for whom both
In Australia and internationally. The governance Project description
of cities is consequential for all who make Urban sustainability transitions are in vogue and
cities their home. This project aims to raise ideas of experiments, urban living labs, and
important questions, shape debates, create a variety of innovation niches and disruptions
new knowledge and provide an inclusive space are offered across a nascent yet burgeoning
for discussion about the challenges facing literature. This mainly optimistic and hopeful
contemporary cities including for example a genre is accompanied by a vast array of urban
focus on: planning systems and reform politics, projects and programmes seeking to steer the
urban renewal and displacement, critical fate of cities in the urban century towards a more
urban infrastructure, policies for a just city, ecologically and equitably acceptable direction.
emergent modes of urban govern mentality and The projects are proposed by and in turn leading
comparative urbanism at the international scale. to a plethora of global urban frameworks,
including the Sustainable Development Goals,
Supervisors
the New Urban Agenda, the Sendai Disaster Risk
Associate Professor Wendy Steele
Agreement and the COP21 Paris Agreement.
Professor Libby Porter
This research will investigate the progress of and
Affiliate CUR Research Program prospects for urban transitions resulting from
Critical Urban Governance urban experiments, specifically, a set of projects
of the UN Global Compact – Cities Programme.
Enabling Capability Platform
The project will apply and critically evaluate both
Urban Futures
a range of projects and, through this inquiry, the
value of middle range transitions related theories.
It will seek to investigate how transition ideas
are percolating into global policy organisations
and city networks and examine the fate of city-
level responses. Methods will include empirical
cases of projects using mixed-method document
analysis, interviews, and potentially surveys.
Supervisors
Dr Andreanne Doyle
Dr Susie Moloney
Dr Trivess Moore
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Critical Urban Governance
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
13Transforming urban governance Rethinking good governance
Project description Project description
In the face of the many pressures of urban Cities shape us and we shape them. A positive
change (population growth, uneven urban vision of the ‘good city’ as an achievable utopia
development, climate change, questions of has been a recurring idea of the ideal city and
sovereignty etc.) there are growing calls for the imaginaries of ‘the good life’ for human society.
need to transform urban governance in response Notions of the city and citizens are grounded in
to the challenges of cities in a climate of growth- what it means to be human, with the ambition
led change and develop new understandings to be civilised as articulated by the ‘good city’
of urban governance systems and processes. values and ideals. But if our concepts of civility
The emphasis is both on the drivers to transform are grounded in landscapes and discourses
urban governance as well as what this actually of exclusion then we need to ask the following
means in practice, and the diversity of policy questions: what has a focus on the good
and planning approaches as mechanisms for city obscured from our view? And what new
change. This project focuses on critical social imaginary of the good city is now required within
science questions around transformative change the context of a climate of change? This is
and governance possibilities and constraints in project builds from an ARC DECRA that explored
contemporary cities notions of good governance in wild cities
within the context of climate change. This is an
Supervisors
opportunity for a critically engaged student to be
Associate Professor Wendy Steele
at the forefront of theoretical and praxis based
Professor Libby Porter
approaches to the question of what constitutes
Dr Brian Coffey
‘good governance’ in cities.
Dr Benjamin Cooke
Supervisors
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Associate Professor Wendy Steele
Critical Urban Governance
Dr Benjamin Cooke
Enabling Capability Platform
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Urban Futures
Critical Urban Governance
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
14Hotter and Smarter? How Does Trust, Technology and
Smart City Governance Engage with Transformation for Urban Land
Hotter Cities? Governance
Project description Project description
Significant policy, planning and regulatory efforts A sustainable urban future demands good land
have been directed at the problem of rising information and trustworthy land administration
urban heat threats and disasters in Australia. systems as critical public infrastructure. However,
Yet, a largely unexplored area of research and less than 50% of countries have mapped or
practice concerns the governance implications registered land in capital cities and less than 30%
integrating new smart city technologies with of countries maintain digital land data for effective
existing adaptive strategies and frameworks urban decision-making. Further, land administration
that respond to climate-related threats. chronically rates amongst the most corrupt of public
Australian state and local authorities, like their institutions and often falls to poorly capacitated local
international counterparts, are investing in smart governments. This leads to dissonance between
city infrastructure to assist with prediction, public expectations and government performance
mitigation, communication, and recovery in – i.e. (dis)trust, creating immense risk for current
emergency situations. This project seeks to and future urban populations, especially women
unpack assumptions that urban policy will and other vulnerable groups. In response, emerging
manage the prospect of hotter cities by making geospatial technologies empowering communities
them ‘smarter’. This project focuses on the to co-produce land information are embraced as
following questions: 1) In what ways are policy transformational interventions and attract millions
and regulatory frameworks utilising emerging in donor-funding. Yet, there is little evidence that
smart city governance technologies? 2) What measures the impact of these technologies on the
specific policies, strategies and technologies are performance of urban land administration systems,
directed towards the mitigation and management or to support the design of policies to harness these
of urban heat threats and similar climate-related technologies and data to transform urban land
problems? 3) How do citizens engage with smart governance.
city governance, both generally and in relation
This project aims to develop a data and technology-
to emerging problems of hot cities? 4) What
oriented model for evaluating the trust outcomes of
are the progressive new directions in smart city
geospatial technologies used in participatory urban
governance, and how do these engage with
land projects. The investigation can encompass
the new urban challenges brought by climate
single or comparative uses of technologies, focusing
change?
on the process, output and outcomes. The research
Supervisors is expected to contribute to land-related technology
Associate Professor Wendy Steele investment policy as well as more generally to the
Associate Professor Marco Amati notion of responsible technological innovation.
Dr Ian McShane
Supervisors
Affiliate CUR Research Program Professor Libby Porter
Critical Urban Governance Dr Serene Ho
Enabling Capability Platform Affiliate CUR Research Program
Urban Futures Critical Urban Governance
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
15 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019Preparing for treaty: Rethinking Property, governance and
urban governance in light of contemporary urban development
Indigenous sovereignties
Project description
Project description This project will use emerging thinking from
Negotiation of treaties between Aboriginal critical property theory to consider new ways
nations and Australian settler governments are of undertaking development and place-making
currently underway in three Australian states. in contemporary cities. Building off recent work
At the same time, the demands made in the that re-thinks property from the margins, the
Uluru Statement from the Heart remain untested project will examine case studies of ‘subversive
in terms of a respectful response from settler property’ in different global South and global
governments. This project will critically examine North contexts. The project aims to advance
what will be required to rethink urban governance new knowledge about contemporary forms of
from a Treaty framework, and the implications for place-making and belonging particularly those
redistribution, reparation and reconciliation. that can contribute to thinking differently about
Supervisors how we make and develop cities for just and
Profesor Libby Porter sustainable futures. It will also lead to significant
Professor Mark McMillan new publications.
Affiliate CUR Research Program Supervisors
Critical Urban Governance Professor Libby Porter
Dr Benjamin Cooke
Enabling Capability Platform Associate Professor Wendy Steele
Urban Futures
Social Change Affiliate CUR Research Program
Critical Urban Governance
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
Social Change
16 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019The role of national urban policy The role of city networks in
in Sustainable Development Goals achieving global agreements for
implementation sustainable urban development
Project description Project description
This project responds to the emergence of Since the mid-2010s an array of global
a growing array of international agreements agreements with goals of achieving greater
and agendas relating to urbanisation. These urban sustainability have been signed by UN
frameworks include the New Urban Agenda Member States. These include the Sustainable
(NUA), the Sustainable Development Goals Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda,
(SDGs), the Paris Agreement, the Sendai the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the
Agreement and the Cancun Agreement. The Sendai Agreement on Disaster Risks, among
NUA and SDGs (Goal 11) will be focused on others. How these ‘top-down’ agreements
cities but operate via the national member state. can be most effectively implemented remains
This is occurring in the context of a long-term unclear as they are agreements of nation states
weakening of nation states as economic and whereas their application will principally be at the
political actors. This project will investigate the metropolitan or municipal spatial scale. Meanwhile
emerging role of national level urban policy an array of city networks have emerged over
in articulating between global urban-related the past decade which are offering ‘bottom-
agreements and city-level urban policy and up’ responses to problems of unsustainable
practice. Drawing on links to the OECD and UN urban development. These networks often
Habitat the project will provide new insights into have thematic foci, such as resilience or
the emerging field of national-level urban policy climate change. Although knowledge of their
development. purpose, mode of organising, governance, and
influence is growing there remains a knowledge
Supervisors
gap as to their significance and effectiveness
Professor Jago Dodson
in implementation of global sustainability
Dr Brian Coffey
agreements. This project will investigate the work
Affiliate CUR Research Program of the UN Global Compact Cities Programme
Critical Urban Governance which is a partnership between the UN, cities, civil
Enabling Capability Platform society, the private sector and academia, hosted
Urban Futures at RMIT University. The project will assess the
historical emergence and evolution of the Cities
Programme, its response to the SDGs and related
frameworks and its model of operation involving
city-level partnerships.
Supervisors
Professor Jago Dodson
Associate Professor Lauren Rickards
Associate Professor Wendy Steele
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Critical Urban Governance
Climate Change Transformations
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
17 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019Healthy Liveable Cities
Understanding and enhancing The social outcomes and impacts
community consultation of urban greening and waterway
restorations
Project description
There is an existing need to understand how local Project description
governments currently engage and consult with In Australian cities, there is considerable investment
communities to inform local policy development and occurring in the ‘re-naturing’ of urban waterways
a need to develop and test better methods for this to reorient past engineering projects that sought
purpose. This project would also need to investigate to simply and efficiently move excess or storm
the role of evidence in this process. water away from residential areas. Yet little is
known about what constitutes success for these
The project provides applied PhD policy focused
projects, in particular, how different kinds of urban
research opportunities for the candidate and
green space, particularly waterways, support
have considerable involvement with existing local
mental and physical health and wellbeing at the
government partners. It will teach multi-dimensional
neighbourhood level and how such projects
research skills, the direct link between policy and
foster human-nature connections. This project
research and demonstrate how academic research
will investigate the impacts of urban greening and
can have impact in the policy and practice settings.
waterway restoration projects in Australian cities,
focusing on riverine restoration projects. It aims to
Supervisors understand resident or community expectations,
Dr Melanie Davern preferences, uses and values of restored urban
river corridors, potentially using mixed methods and
Dr Claire Boulange
a pre- and post- design. This project will provide
Affiliate CUR Research Program multiple outcomes of significance. It will help to
Healthy Liveable Cities provide empirical data on the success of large-
scale urban greening interventions, provide an
Enabling Capability Platform
opportunity for benchmarking and comparison with
Urban Futures
other sites around Australia and globally, and help
with effective planning, policy, and funding targeted
towards urban greening and waterway restoration.
These outcomes are crucial for planning liveable and
sustainable cities of the future.
Supervisors
Dr Cecily Maller
Dr Melanie Davern
Dr Leila Farahani
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Healthy Liveable Cities
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
18 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019Measuring the influence of the built Apartment living and health and
environment on the social and wellbeing
active behaviours of older people
Project description
transitioning into retirement
Apartment buildings now account for one third
Project description of all residential building approvals in Australia,
The built environment, being one that is designed effectively doubling in the last decade. Architect
and made by mankind, has been established as and developer decisions about the design
an important influence on people’s health and and siting of apartment buildings can have
wellbeing. Specifically, the design of the built implications for a range of resident health and
environment in cities can maintain the health of wellbeing outcomes, including physical activity
those within them which is becoming increasingly and sedentary time, social isolation, mental
important since over half of the worlds’ population wellbeing, noise annoyance, and respiratory
now live in urban environments. Research is health. The project would capitalise on the skills
now uncovering that built environments with high and expertise of the candidate to develop a
density areas, shops, services, public transport, project related to an aspect of apartment living
and amenity lead to healthier inhabitants. However, that could impact on resident health. This PhD
it is less well understood how the built and social project is part of The HIGH LIFE Study, a multi-
environments might affect the health of older people city study examining the apartment design
transitioning into retirement. This project will use features, and ‘the dose’ of these features, that
data on middle to older aged people to understand impact on residents’ health and wellbeing.
if there are environmental and social characteristics
Supervisors
related to the layout of cities that impact their
Dr Sarah Foster
behaviours and health. The population of Australia
Other Supervisors TBC depending on project
is continuing to age, and older people carry a
focus
significant amount of chronic disease burden that
is avoidable if the built and social environment Affiliate CUR Research Program
are supportive of healthy behaviours. However, Healthy Liveable Cities
it is not well understood what kinds of social and
Enabling Capability Platform
built environments can lead to healthy behaviours
Urban Futures
for middle and older aged people who transition
from work to retirement. For example, during the
working years, the transport network may support
active transport to work, however, after retirement
recreational amenities such as parks may support
leisure time physical activity. This project will use
statistical models of physical activity data to explore
which social and built environments support a
healthy and active transition to retirement.
Supervisors
Distinguished Professor Billie Giles-Corti
Dr Lucy Gunn
Dr Belen Zapata-Diomedi
Affiliate CUR Research Program
Healthy Liveable Cities
Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
19Examining the relationship between Understanding the role of
liveability and equity economics in city planning
Project description
decision-making in Australia
There is growing recognition internationally that Project description
more ‘liveable’ neighbourhoods positively impact Cities are constructed from urban environment
the health and wellbeing of residents. However, features that are shaped by urban planning,
the field is hampered by methodological transport systems and urban design. An
limitations, making it difficult to draw conclusions externality is a side-effect experienced by a
and form subsequent policy recommendations third party from the activity of another. A type
for creating cities that enhance health and of externality arises from the provision of public
wellbeing and reduce inequities. It is well known goods, including the delivery of city planning
that those who are more disadvantaged tend to and associated infrastructure (e.g. public
have poorer health, but it is unknown whether transport, green space, road infrastructure).
living in more liveable neighbourhoods can When the provision of infrastructure is left to
change health, wellbeing, and social trajectories the public sector an evaluation of it is required
for those more disadvantaged. to assess whether the benefit from its provision
exceeds the costs. In addition, public investment
This project will investigate whether those who
evaluations should account for issues related
reside in more liveable neighbourhoods, but are
to distributional equity in the provision of
of lower socioeconomic position experience a
infrastructure, where some areas have better
‘pulling up’ effect on their health, wellbeing, and
infrastructure than others. In Australia we lack a
social trajectories over time. To do this, well-
clear understanding of how to define externalities
conceptualised, empirical measures of liveability
in the context of city and infrastructure planning,
will be applied and compared with longitudinal
and how they might be accounted for in the
population data to detect inequities and
policy- and/or decision- making process. This
trajectories for those of differing socioeconomic
HDR project seeks to understand how to define
position. Quantitative findings will be further
and measure externalities and to develop and
contextualised using qualitative research
apply a framework and methods to evaluate
approaches. Taken together, the intention of this
externalities for inclusion in major infrastructure
project is to provide an in-depth understanding
policies and decisions. The aim is to apply the
of whether, and what components of liveability,
evaluation framework and developed methods
moderate the socioeconomic - health and
to current government policies relating to
wellbeing relationship over time.
major transport projects (e.g. public transport
infrastructure).
Supervisors Supervisors
A/Prof Hannah Badland Distinguished Professor Billie Giles-Corti
Dr Sarah Foster Dr Lucy Gunn
Affiliate CUR Research Program Dr Belen Zapata-Diomedi
Healthy Liveable Cities Affiliate CUR Research Program
Enabling Capability Platform Healthy Liveable Cities
Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
20 GUSS Higher Degree by Research Projects 2019People, Nature, Place
Exploring Urban Heat Islands Understanding Urban Forests
Project description Project description
Urban heat islands (UHI) are common Urban forests are starting to receive attention
phenomena globally and are contributing to globally for their ability to create sustainable and
making cities increasingly unliveable. With liveable cities. Whilst this increased attention is
climate change exacerbating the UHI problem, welcome, considerable work is required to enable
urgent research is needed to better understand us to understand how urban forests work, how
the scope of the issue, to investigate how UHIs best to manage them and what contributions
vary spatially and temporally, to explore lived they make to the functioning of urban systems.
experiences of the phenomena, and to examine This research project considers both biophysical
how best to combat them. This research and socioeconomic aspects of urban forest
project will use a combination of field research management and involves working closely with
and analysis of existing global datasets to a wide range of industry partners, including
contribute to our understanding of UHIs and can local councils, water authorities, not for profit
adopt an approach that is purely biophysical, organisations and community interest groups.
socioeconomic or some combination of those The research may also involve field research
two. using cutting edge, real-time sensor technologies
Supervisors to understand how trees respond to stresses.
Melissa Neave Supervisors
Ben Cooke Melissa Neave
Brian Coffey Brian Coffey
Affiliate CUR Research Program Ben Cooke
People, Nature, Place Affiliate CUR Research Program
Enabling Capability Platform People, Nature, Place
Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform
Urban Futures
21Interdisciplinary Conservation
Science (ICON)
How to re-frame animal Understanding the synergies and
management to minimise public trade-offs between conservation
backlash and ecosystem service supply and
demand in rural and urban areas
Project description
It is often necessary for land managers to remove Project description
numbers of both feral and native species from There has been significant progress in
an area, often to preserve ongoing conservation, understanding how we value and measure
land management and the biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, much of this work
ecosystems it contains, or to avoid undue has been focused on the supply of services, with
suffering to the individuals of the overabundant a less research on understanding the dynamics
species (e.g. kangaroo culls, koala populations of the demand for services. In addition, more
on Kangaroo Island). Often the most humane work is needed to properly understand the likely
(and often cost effective) method of removing synergies and tradeoffs that may occur between
these animals is to kill them. However, such prioritizing ecosystem services and biodiversity
management approaches are often seen as conservation. This project will focus on one or
unpalatable or unacceptable by the public. It more case studies in Australia, collating socio-
is also well accepted that how concepts are economic, environmental and biological data
framed can dramatically influence how people in rural and urban contexts. This will allow an
respond. This project will investigate how can examination of how the supply and demand
this kind of responsible animal management can profile of ecosystem services varies between
be re-framed to avoid or minimise backlash. The urban and rural contexts, both spatially and
application of framing concepts to biodiversity through time. This data will then be used to
conservation is relatively new, led recently examine the conservation implications for
by Interdisciplinary Conservation Science prioritizing areas for ecosystem services. The
researchers. An HDR student taking on this project will require extensive use of modelling
project would have the benefit of solid grounding with spatial data, and will provide valuable
whilst also being at the forefront of practical information for allocating land uses as cities
research that may be both influential and directly grow.
informative for biodiversity conservation policy. Supervisors
Supervisors Dr Ascelin Gordon
Professor Sarah Bekessy Dr Georgia Garrard
Dr Georgia Garrard Professor Simon Jones (School of Science)
Dr Alex Kusmanoff Affiliate CUR Research Program
Affiliate CUR Research Program Interdisciplinary Conservation Science (ICON)
Interdisciplinary Conservation Science (ICON) Enabling Capability Platform
Enabling Capability Platform Urban Futures
Urban Futures
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