Systems thinking, involving tipping points, phase shifts and entropy, usefully underpins investigation of anthropogenic interaction with the natural milieu. Since the stakes in environmental management are no longer local or regional but global, analysis must move beyond the natural sciences’ cataloguing of the symptoms to probe the causes of the cumulating disruptions gripping the world. … Continue reading
UQ|UP’s David Wadley presented an interactive seminar, quite informal and highly pragmatic. It offered some new angles from project management which can help those who are intending to write, or are currently completing, a research thesis. Emphasis was placed on initial aspects (project scope, initiation and risk management) which can condition the entire thesis exercise. … Continue reading
Forced relocation is the process of intentionally displacing people and moving them to a new location. People affected by forced relocation experience heightened impoverishment risks and severe and long-lasting economic, psycho-socio-cultural impacts and spatial marginalisation. The documentation of these impacts is underreported in urban contexts, where the forced movement of people are more likely to … Continue reading
Drawing from theories of urban and environmental planning, Dr. Elnaz Torabi will share her research to date in the field of resilience and adaptation to climate change for critical infrastructure. Using the key findings from interviews with experts in the water sector in Australia, the seminar will explore the main resilience strategies and some of … Continue reading
Third places, i.e. not home (first place) or work (second place), provide opportunities for people to meet and interact on neutral ground and to develop ties to place. As the world population becomes increasingly urbanised and mobile, ‘third places’ take on greater importance for introducing new residents into their neighbourhood and reducing social isolation by … Continue reading
Alongside People and Plans and The Urban Revolution, Whose City? ushered in a significant sophistication of urban theory. Yet, ironically, the question of which city has become one we less often ask ourselves these days. The two questions – of whose city and which city – are hardly separate. Yet rarely is the city treated … Continue reading
As cities grow, both the productivity of their inhabitants and their income distribution are expected to change. While the empirical literature has widely shown how productivity (and income) changes with city size, empirical evidence on the effects on income inequality remains very limited. In addition, the few papers that study the relationship between city size … Continue reading