Professor Jago Dodson

With a wide interest in theoretical and applied urban questions, Professor Jago Dodson has an extensive record of research into housing, transport, urban planning, infrastructure, energy and urban governance problems. He has contributed extensively to scholarly and public debates about Australian cities and has advised national and international agencies on urban policy questions.

Before taking his current role at RMIT, Jago held positions at Griffith University, as a Research Fellow from 2004–2014 and as Director of Griffith’s Urban Research Program from 2011–2014.

Jago’s PhD studies investigated problems in housing policy reform in Australia and New Zealand focusing on the production of policy ‘truths’ and the subjective constitution of housing assistance recipients. During his early post-doctoral enquiries, he investigated transport questions including important interventions into transport policy debates in New Zealand and provided new insights into transport disadvantage in Australian cities. Subsequent work addressed a wide range of problems relating to transport, housing and metropolitan governance as well as the energy dimensions of suburbanisation.

A highlight has been his new insights into the problem of ‘oil vulnerability’ in Australian cities, particularly household socio-economic stresses from rising housing and transport fuel costs, and a new method – ‘the VAMPIRE index’ – to assess this phenomenon. This work won the John H Taplin Prize for Best Paper at the 2006 Australasian Transportation Research Forum. Jago has also provided summary reviews on housing and social theory and on planning and human geography, to key reference texts. Recent work has studied questions of urban socio-technical practices within suburbia and the challenges of managing compact urbanisation and housing markets, as well as problems of urban governance and infrastructure planning. In addition Jago has assessed the role of the private development sector in climate change adaptation; the national broadband network and metropolitan planning; private motor vehicle fuel efficiency; and national level urban policy making in Australia, among other topics. His most recent book is Australian Environmental Planning (2014) co-edited with colleagues Jason Byrne and Neil Sipe which won the Planning Institute of Australia National Award for Cutting Edge Research.

Jago's research record includes more than 70 publications, with one sole author, one joint author and one joint-edited book and 26 refereed journal articles, 18 book chapters and 30 refereed conference papers. He has contributed extensively to scholarly, policy and public debates on urban problems in Australia and internationally.

Jago currently supervises 6 PhD students and welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD scholars on topics relevant to his expertise.

Jago is the Director of RMIT's Centre for Urban Research. In this role he manages and participates in the vibrant scholarly life of this rapidly growing group of highly engaged and productive scholars.

Jago is the Director of RMIT's Centre for Urban Research. In this role he manages and participates in the vibrant scholarly life of this rapidly growing group of highly engaged and productive scholars.

• 2002 – Doctor of Philosophy (Urban Policy and Planning), University of Melbourne
• 1995 – Master of Regional and Resource Planning with Distinction, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
• 1993 – Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology), University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

• 2015 – Member, Ministerial Advisory Roundtable, Minister for Planning, Victoria, Australia
• 2015 – Peer Reviewer, Excellence in Research Australia 2015 Assessment Exercise, Australian Research Council.
• 2015 – International Assessment Panellist, National Research Grants Scheme, New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Environment
• 2013-2014 – Member, Expert Group Meeting on National Urban Policies, UN Habitat Program
• 2011-2013 – Chair, Social and Population Data Expert Group, Australian Urban Infrastructure Research Network, University of Melbourne and Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research, Australia
• 2011-2013 – Member, Technical Committee, Australian Urban Infrastructure Research Network, University of Melbourne and Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research, Australia
• 2012 – Expert Advisor, Urban Transport Review Group, Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Queensland, Australia
• 2011-2012 – Member, Gold Coast Transport Strategy Steering Committee, Gold Coast City Council, Australia
• 2011 – Expert Advisor, National Urban Policy Workshop, Major Cities Unit, Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Australia
• 2010-2011 – Member, Academic Strategic Transport Research Alliance, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland, Australia
• 2011 – Expert Advisor, State of Environment Report Cities Working Group, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
• 2010 – Consultant, Working Group on National Climate Change Principles for Planning Systems, Council of Australian Governments
• 2009 – Consultant, Working Group on National Principles for Planning Systems, Council of Australian Governments
• 2006-2010 – Member, Griffith University Node, Centre for Governance and Management of Urban Transport, University of Melbourne