Research to empower local action and better decision-making

Our researchers are exploring decision-making pathways for complex built environment challenges, to benefit people and planet. Our research targets nature loving and nature inspired solutions. We are committed to place-based approaches that deliver socially supportive and resilient outcomes. We invite you to join our journey through the following research areas.

Research Projects

  • Enabling community action for local food contingency
  • Closing the loop on organics in cities: At-scale food-waste composting
  • Fostering resilient infrastructure through biomimetic design and engineering
  • Harnessing data for decision-making towards Biophilic (nature-loving) cities
  • Normalising access to Nature: Green spaces in buildings
  • Remote immersive collaboration spaces for calm, pragmatic future-facing decision-making
  • Citizen Science for Cooler Schools (CS2): improving heat resilience in educational settings

We invite you to scroll below and join our journey through these research agendas.

Our Researchers

Our researchers seek ‘nature inspired’ (biomimetic), ‘nature loving’ (biophilic) and digital-spatial (‘place based’) design and decision-making enquiry towards resilient and regenerative cities. Building upon extensive research and experience in sustainable development and engineering, we draw on a strong multidisciplinary research capacity of academic colleagues spanning architects, civil and coastal engineers, land use and transport planners, urban designers, systems analysts, economists and lawyers and public health specialists.

Our work engages with ‘Foundation Research’ that is usually multi-disciplinary. This often involves surveying the emerging consensus on emergent topics, building the language and framework for mainstreaming, and establishing priorities for evolving research agendas. We invite industry and government colleagues, postgraduate and undergraduate researchers to work with us to create precedents and build momentum towards vibrant and thriving cities.

Professor Cheryl Desha

Cheryl is Theme Leader for the 'Digital Earth and Resilient Infrastructure' research agenda, Cities Research Institute (CRI) and Engagement Director (Industry) for the School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University. With the reality that "everything is connected and 'where' is critical to thriving, now and into the future", Cheryl is working towards resilient and regenerative cities through enabling evidence-based decision-making that is locally relevant.

See more on Cheryl's work here

Our PhD Scholars

Enabling community action for local food contingency

Community-led decision-making empowers communities to share responsibility for their food resilience in times of need. This research team is connecting community and government to build capacity for accessing local food and to thrive in uncertain times.

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Citizen Science for Cooler Schools: improving heat resilience in educational settings

Whilst the State Government Cooler Schools program has ensured that all teaching spaces in Queensland will be air conditioned, there may be other indoor spaces that need cooling or other places like playgrounds, eating areas, the school hall, or drop off zones where cooling would be beneficial. Further, heat-health risk relates to both heat exposure and opportunities to cool via hydration and activity modifications.

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Closing the loop on organics in cities: At-scale food-waste composting

Sending food waste to landfill has significant social and environmental impacts. This research team is exploring strategies for ‘closing the loop’ on food waste recycling, applying ‘lean and green thinking’ to help farmers, industry and government make the most of precious resources.

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Fostering resilient infrastructure through biomimetic design and engineering

Climate change poses risks to infrastructure through disrupted operations, reduced lifespan and increased reconstruction and maintenance costs. This research team is exploring the role of biomimicry in redefining resilience approaches for new infrastructure projects and infrastructure renewal.

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Harnessing data for decision-making towards Biophilic (nature-loving) cities

Everything is connected, and ‘where’ is critical. This research team is studying opportunities for using geospatial data to inform urban design and planning, including mapping attributes of nature-loving cities, analytical methods to capture the value of green spaces, and artificial intelligence using satellite imagery to indicate carbon capture of green infrastructure.

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Normalising access to Nature: Green spaces in buildings

With people spending most of their time indoors, a daily dose of nature can significantly improve wellbeing. This research team is building capacity for decision makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of green spaces, encouraging their installation and retention as critical ‘green’ infrastructure.

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Creating Digital Earth Node (DEN) spaces: Remote immersive collaboration

Global problem-solving is still costing time and energy in travel that could be avoided. This research team is developing workspace environments - DENs - to enable remote interactions using minimal hardware, very narrow bandwidth, and zero-lag display, where the data stays local.

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connect and collaborate

If you would like to work, study or collaborate, please get in touch