News & Events

It takes more than words and ambition: here’s why your city isn’t a lush, green oasis yet

07 July 2021

The idea of transforming cities from concrete jungles to urban forests is a popular one, and there have been some truly inspiring, exemplar projects in recent years. But has your city actually turned into a lush oasis yet? No, neither has ours.

News & Events

Smart city tech keeps Bendigo residents cool by mapping hot spots

11 December 2019

A new smart technology platform launched today in Bendigo will help residents keep cool this summer by mapping the location of urban hot spots in the city to avoid on hot days.

News & Events

Mapping our urban forests

05 April 2019

How do we ensure we have thriving and extensive urban vegetation as our cities develop, consolidate and grow? This is one of the key urban challenges of Australian cities.

News & Events

How tree bonds can help preserve the urban forest

20 March 2018

Great cities need trees to be great places, but urban changes put pressure on the existing trees as cities develop. As a result, our rapidly growing cities are losing trees at a worrying rate. So how can we grow our cities and save our city trees?

News & Events

We’re investing heavily in urban greening, so how are our cities doing?

28 September 2017

Governments at all levels invest a lot in greening Australian suburbs. Yet, in a recent report, we show that the greening efforts of most of our metropolitan local governments are actually going backwards.

News & Events

Urban hotspots: why poorer suburbs can be 10C hotter

26 September 2017

Poor and disadvantaged Australian suburbs risk having urban hotspots that are more than 10 degrees higher than those found in greener, wealthier areas, an RMIT University study has found.

News & Events

RMIT leads the conversation on climate change and the future of cities

25 May 2017

RMIT is teaming up with industry in Europe to plan for the impacts of climate change on cities, such as droughts and flooding, and to take stock of what city leaders around the world are doing.

News & Events

Getting smarter about city lights is good for us and nature too

21 December 2016

A network of street lighting links these “islands of illumination”. The effects of this can, in some large cities, result in “sky glow” that interferes with star visibility at distances of more than 300 kilometres.