
CITBA Research Clusters Urban Design and Planning
Urban Design and Planning
- Courses
- Future Students
- Current Students
- Research and Teaching
- Partners and Community
- About JCU
- Celebrating 50 Years
- ALTAR
- Anton Breinl Research Centre
- Agriculture Technology and Adoption Centre
- Living on Campus
- Advanced Prawn Breeding Research Hub
- Advanced Analytical Centre
- Applying to JCU
- Alumni
- AMHHEC
- AusAsian Mental Health Research Group
- ARCSTA
- Area 61
- Australian/NZ Students
- Australian Lions Stinger Research
- Boating and Diving
- ATSIP
- Australian Tropical Herbarium
- Careers at JCU
- Association of Australian University Secretaries
- Careers and Employability
- Australian Quantum & Classical Transport Physics Group
- CITBA
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology
- Chancellery
- CMT
- CASE
- College of Business, Law and Governance
- College of Healthcare Sciences
- WHOCC for N&M Education and Research
- College of Medicine and Dentistry
- College of Science and Engineering
- CPHMVS
- COVID-19 Advice
- Centre for Disaster Solutions
- CSTFA
- Cyclone Testing Station
- The Centre for Disaster Studies
- Daintree Rainforest Observatory
- Diploma of Higher Education
- Discover Nature at JCU
- Research Division
- Services and Resources Division
- Education Division
- Division of Tropical Environments and Societies
- Division of Tropical Health and Medicine
- Economic Geology Research Centre
- eResearch
- ERC
- Estate
- Financial and Business Services Office
- Fletcherview
- Foundation for Australian Literary Studies
- Gender Equity Action and Research
- GetReady4Uni
- Give to JCU
- Governance
- Information for JCU Cairns Graduates
- Art of Academic Writing DRAFT
- Graduate Research School
- Graduation
- Indigenous Education and Research Centre
- Indigenous Legal Needs Project
- Inherent Requirements
- IsoTropics Geochemistry Lab
- IT Services
- International Schools
- International Students
- JCU Connect
- JCU Contact Information
- JCU Eduquarium
- JCU Events
- JCU Global Experience
- JCU Ideas Lab
- JCU Motorsports
- JCU Prizes
- JCU Sport
- JCU Turtle Health Research
- Language and Culture Research Centre
- LTSE
- LearnJCU
- Library
- Mabo Decision: 30 years on
- MARF
- Marine Geophysics Laboratory
- New students
- Off-Campus Students
- Office of the Vice Chancellor and President
- Virtual Open Day
- Orpheus
- Outstanding Alumni Awards
- Parents and Partners
- Pathways to university
- Planning and Performance
- Planning for your future
- Placements
- Policy
- PAHL
- Publications
- Professional Experience Placement
- Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Rapid Assessment Unit
- RDIM
- Researcher Development Portal
- Safety and Wellbeing
- Scholarships
- Contextual Science for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems
- Staff
- State of the Tropics
- Strategic Procurement
- Student Equity and Wellbeing
- Student profiles
- SWIRLnet
- TARL
- TESS
- TREAD
- TropEco
- TQ Maths Hub
- TUDLab
- Unicare Centre and Unicampus Kids
- UAV
- VAVS Home
- Work Health and Safety
- WHOCC for Vector-borne & NTDs
- Media
- Copyright and Terms of Use
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine
- Indigenous Engagement
Sustainable Tropical Urban Planning and Design
We are living in an age of technological advancement, heightened social mobility and the advent of the knowledge economy, in a world also affected by climate change, increasing spatial shortage and the threat of cultural depletion through globalisation. Never has there been such an important time to holistically address these issues through the design of more sustainable urban habitats, and in particular within the tropical belt – a geographical zone which is experiencing rapid socio–economic and environmental change.
Given such a context, the CITBA seeks to engage researchers and practitioners in various aspects of Sustainable Urban Planning and Design in the tropical belt to find solutions to these pertinent issues through an interdisciplinary design approach that blends latest industry ‘best practice’ with urban theory, underpinned by a rigorous understanding of the Green agenda, use of tropical passive design techniques and knowledge of green technologies.
This research cluster will focus on the following topics:
- Designing cities, towns and communities to cope with climate change
- Population growth and change and rapid urbanisation
- Planning to include cultural diversity
- Social and planning policy development
- Urban and regional planning
For further information on the Sustainable Tropical Urban Planning and Design research being conducted by CITBA please contact Dr. Simona Azzali at simona.azzali@jcu.edu.au
2020 Update
Expected publication, Q4 2020
Constrained environments are unique territories characterised by challenging circumstances, limited land and natural resources. They can be places with a small municipal boundary or cities in which parts around them may be consumed by ocean, bay or mountains. Those places face hard physical boundaries like coastlines and mountains, and, often, policy decisions that may limit capacity for business expansion and community survival. The book intends to address ways in which businesses and communities adapt to constrained environments. The literature on tropical urbanism has been growing over the years but have focused mainly on climate and environmental related conditions. However, little attention has been paid to investigate constrained environments in tropical and sub-tropical regions and the mutual relationship between urban planning, communities, and businesses. This book aims to fill this gap by consolidating existing lenses of urbanism and creating new knowledge and practices that identify the changes in the environment and business landscapes with differing responses from communities by tracing their changes, interrelations, and evolution over the years.
27 September 2019
The 1st Sustainable Tropical Urbanism Symposium: Tropical Cities in a Warming World brought together more than 70 academic researchers, practicing planners and architects, local government officers, and students in urban planning and design from Singapore, Australia, and the ASEAN region. Attendees discussed various issues facing the contemporary tropical city with a focus on how tropical cities respond to climate in an era of climate change; creation/curation of tropical space and place; and methods for tropical urban research. Best contributions have been selected and will be published in a special edition of JCU's journal eTropic expected to be published in September 2020. The second edition of the symposium, Sustainable Tropical Urbanism: Building Tropical Cities of the Future, is scheduled for October 2021. Themes to be discussed will include building tropical resilience; creation/curation of tropical space and place; sustainable tourism planning; heritage and conservation of tropical spaces and landscapes; methods for tropical urban research and professional projects. Best contributions will be published in a special edition of the open-access journal Sustainability.
Caroline Wong, Simona Azzali, Taha Chaiechi
This pilot study, a collaboration between CITBA Australia and Singapore, seeks to evaluate the suitability of design practices to meet the needs of an ageing population retirement community project. Specifically, the research aims to develop a qualitative and quantitative index termed the Silver Population Wellbeing Index (SPWI) to assess the wellbeing of seniors vis-à-vis the performance of residential age-friendly buildings. It is hoped the findings will contribute to public housing projects in Southeast Asia and tropical Australia. In a fast ageing world, this research will help in building capacity and design thinking by engaging with industry and bridging academic knowledge and real-world planning and design endeavours.
For an update on the project, visit this page.