Local Governance and Community Building in Urban Planning

This research cluster seeks to re-think how suburban fringe development is undertaken. The researchers investigate the community building dimensions of new residential suburban estate development in terms of the necessary relationships between different levels of government and their agencies, and between the public, private and community sectors. The project will focus on what are considered the most appropriate relationships regarding urban design, soft and hard infrastructure and economic development.

Project Descriptions

The individual research projects nested within this cluster include:

Collaborative Implementation Of Transit-Oriented Development in Urban Regions

Researcher: Annette Kroen

Annette’s research analyses the implementation process of transit-oriented developments (TOD) and their ability to contribute to a more sustainable settlement development. It examines transit-oriented developments with the perspective on local governance and collaboration to see in which way cooperation between the different stakeholders helped to implement the development. Annette will describe and analyse the cooperation structures of different case studies in North America, Europe and Australia. The different structures and the success of the collaborations will be assessed for their ability to help implementing TOD and to contribute to a more sustainable regional development. Annette aims to make recommendations to the City of Whittlesea on how to implement TOD.

The Spatial Economy of Melbourne’s North

Researcher: Anthony Kent

Anthony's thesis will be an examination of the spatial economy of the northern suburbs of Melbourne and more specifically the operation of labour markets as they relate to the City of Whittlesea. The working title is an acknowledgement that economic policies and impacts play out unevenly across metropolitan areas. One result is locational disadvantage where particular areas have considerable difficulty in 'shaking off' unemployment and other problems. The study is motivated by a concern with the resilience of locational disadvantage and more generally by the observation that with a few notable exceptions, there is a paucity of research on how labour markets operate across metropolitan areas in Australia.

Sustainable Urban Design at the Urban Fringe

Researcher: Caroline Speed

Caroline Speed’s research is focusing on how psychological and cultural conceptions of the relationship of humans with the natural environment relate to debates over sustainable urban design in residential estates. The aim is to provide an understanding of how these values have contributed to, and are embedded in, sustainable urban design, and thus develop an agenda for change towards a more sustainable outcome with reference to urban design.

Images Of Redemption: Planning For Sustainability In Outer Suburban Melbourne

Researcher: Nicole Pepperell

Nicole will be examining the history of the development process in the City of Whittlesea and how the legacy of past planning frameworks have contributed to sustainable outcomes. She will be sitting in on planning meetings for various development projects and interviewing key actors in the process to decipher how their values have transferred into urban development.