Abstract
Rapid urbanisation generates risks and opportunities for sustainable development. Urban policy and decision makers are challenged by the complexity of cities as social–ecological–technical systems. Consequently there is an increasing need for collaborative knowledge development that supports a whole-of-system view, and transformational change at multiple scales. Such holistic urban approaches are rare in practice. A co-design process involving researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders, has progressed such an approach in the Australian context, aiming to also contribute to international knowledge development and sharing. This process has generated three outputs: (1) a shared framework to support more systematic knowledge development and use, (2) identification of barriers that create a gap between stated urban goals and actual practice, and (3) identification of strategic focal areas to address this gap. Developing integrated strategies at broader urban scales is seen as the most pressing need. The knowledge framework adopts a systems perspective that incorporates the many urban trade-offs and synergies revealed by a systems view. Broader implications are drawn for policy and decision makers, for researchers and for a shared forward agenda.
Highlights
The level of global urbanisation continues to increase with 66% of global population living in cities by 2050, so that essentially all future population growth is projected to be in urban areas (UNDESA 2014)
Researchers can contribute through collaborative knowledge development with urban stakeholders, capturing and translating learning for decision makers in a more systematic way, and facilitating innovation, evolutionary codesign and adaptive management of our cities
The co-design process started early in 2015 with a oneday workshop of researchers to share insights from their varied perspectives and agree on the steps including stakeholder engagement approaches. This led to identification and initial contact with stakeholders; a review of current published metropolitan strategies and plans for the national capital (Canberra) and each state capital (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth), with a focus on distilling the urban goals and strategic design principles reflected in those plans; a summary of the relevant coverage of current Australian-based collaborative urban research programs; and a first-pass literature review on urban systems and transformation
Summary
The level of global urbanisation continues to increase with 66% of global population living in cities by 2050, so that essentially all future population growth is projected to be in urban areas (UNDESA 2014). The co-design process started early in 2015 with a oneday workshop of researchers to share insights from their varied perspectives and agree on the steps including stakeholder engagement approaches This led to identification and initial contact with stakeholders; a review of current published metropolitan (i.e. whole-of-city) strategies and plans for the national capital (Canberra) and each state capital (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth), with a focus on distilling the urban goals and strategic design principles reflected in those plans; a summary of the relevant coverage of current Australian-based collaborative urban research programs; and a first-pass literature review on urban systems and transformation. The outcomes in the ‘‘Insights on Australian urban issues from the co-design process’’ section were derived directly from the collaborative work with stakeholders; those of ‘‘A knowledge framework for sustainable urban development’’ and the ‘‘Discussion and conclusions’’ sections partially so, but supplemented by insights from the international literature
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