Australian Urban Observatory

2020 (ongoing)

The Australian Urban Observatory launched in Feb. 2020. This ground-breaking digital platform is set to transform how we map liveability in Australia. Register now to view FREE liveability indicators across LGAs!

Data to Decisions: Using big data for designing neighbourhood built environment indicators for early childhood development

2020 (ongoing)

Does neighbourhood design make a difference to early childhood development (ECD)? This project connects urban design and planning disciplines with ECD to explore the impacts of where we live on young children and families.

Onsets not offsets for real biodiversity gains

2020–2022

This project will make conceptual and methodological advancements required to develop a working approach for onsets. Case studies in urban development and agriculture will highlight how the approach work s in practice.

Planning for the 21st Century Municipal Markets in Victoria

2020 (ongoing)

The aim of this project is to draw on local and international expertise to develop and disseminate new models and planning guidelines for 21st century municipal markets in Victoria.

Labour Nature Relations in Australia: Experiments in Collective Agency by Workers in the Climate Change Era

2019–2022

In an economic hegemony underwritten by the burning of fossil fuels – the fossil fuel regime – meeting the challenge of climate change will alter patterns of production and consumption and have far-reaching consequences for workers.

Green Job Guarantee Policy Development

2019–2020

Working with the Australian Unemployed Workers' Union, we are exploring the possibilities of a Green Job Guarantee in the Australian context.

Enhancing urban resilience to climate change impacts and natural disasters: Honiara

2019 (ongoing)

The overarching aim of this project is to enhance the resilience of the city and its inhabitants to current and future climate impacts and natural disasters.

The Climate Change Exchange

2019 (ongoing)

The Climate Change Exchange is a project that is establishing a collaborative climate change research-practice network to meet the knowledge sharing, capacity building, and research needs of various government and policy stakeholders.

Can cities be liveable and sustainable? a comparative study of Melbourne and Dhaka

2018–2022

The PhD project is informed by an interpretivist theoretical approach, to look at the comparative case studies of Melbourne and Dhaka. The findings will be informed by semi-structured interviews, secondary document analysis, and a literature review.

Linking the work of RMIT academics on climate change with that of civil society

2017–2020

This project provides links between RMIT academics working on climate change with civil society groups and individuals whose work has a similar focus.

Talking Country: Sharing Indigenous stories of place through mobile media

2019–2023

This project aims to investigate how media technologies can facilitate cross-cultural engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Digital innovations, PropTech and housing – the view from Melbourne

2019 (ongoing)

This research is concerned with the collection, digitisation and use of housing information in Australia.

Democratic Urban Development in the Digital Age (DEMUDIG)

2019–2021

This international research project is examining citizens’ use of the Internet and social media to participate in urban development processes, and city governments’ efforts to engage and respond to citizens through these channels.

The Healthy Liveable Communities Urban Liveability Checklist

(ongoing)

Benchmarking, monitoring, modelling and valuing the healthy liveable city

2019–2020

Along with our Department of Health and South Australia Health partners, this project builds on our national liveability indicator work to improve understandings of the relationship between built environments, daily activities and travel choices.

HABITAT: A study of how areas in Brisbane influence health and activity.

(ongoing)

Designing cities to promote health and well-being: the HABITAT multilevel longitudinal study of Brisbane (Australia) neighbourhoods and their ‘baby boomer’ residents.

Measuring, monitoring, and translating urban liveability in Bangkok

2018–2020

RMIT urban health scholars will partner with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to develop and test a suite of open source liveability indicators aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals for the city of Bangkok.

Creating Liveable Cities in Australia – Scorecards

2018 (ongoing)

A scorecard and priority recommendations for Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane developed using results from the 'Creating Liveable Cities in Australia' (2017) report.

HEET: Housing Energy Efficiency Transitions

2018–2021

This project aims to provide an analysis of housing retrofit and its links with household energy costs.

Building Connections: Schools as Community Hubs

2018–2022

Building Connections is investigating how best to plan, design, govern and manage schools to operate successfully as ‘more than a school’, encouraging the development of resilient and connected communities.

Optimising apartment design policy to equitably enhance mental health

2018 (ongoing)

This study will generate evidence on the key health enhancing design requirements that should be entrenched in the new Design WA Apartment Design Guidelines.

Possibilities and practicalities of more inclusive urban governance

2018 (ongoing)

Research on the governance of selected wicked problems in Melbourne, Bristol and Mannar (Sri Lanka) aim to flesh out a workable understanding of emergent, inclusive and multi-scale governance.

Latest Healthy Cities Research

(ongoing)

Click here to review the latest in healthy cities research.

Network of Integrated Study Sites

2018 (ongoing)

This project aims to establish a network of integrated urban greening study sites to understand, quantify and qualify the multiple benefits of urban greening, including for biodiversity outcomes and for human health and wellbeing.