Everything is connected, and ‘where’ is critical
This research team lead by A/Prof Cheryl Desha 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.
Digital information about our planet flows like torrential rain without pause, saturating servers and data centres, but not necessarily useful for life in the 21st Century. With the emergence of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and numerous tools , we have a significant opportunity to make a difference with existing information – if it can be harnessed and put to good use.
Our research team is targeting the following high-impact areas of action-research that can make a difference towards cities that thrive; improving human health and wellbeing while increasing urban resilience and sustainability:
Shaping problems into meaningful questions, to hone-in on useful open data
Our researchers are investigating barriers and opportunities to mainstreaming the integration of nature within our cities, through processes of meaningful enquiry. This includes conducting mixed-methods research with a variety of stakeholders, spanning desk-top reviews, interviews, surveys and focus-groups.
Creating protocol for harnessing open data, to support improved decision-making
Our researchers are investigating ways to ‘harness data’ to create how-to guides for decision-makers to create their own visualisations of local knowledge, for issues spanning ‘nature-loving cities’ to ‘prediction the carbon sequestration potential of green infrastructure’. ‘Harnessing data’ includes accessing, synthesising and visualising data, using available software spanning geospatial platforms, online satellite imagery processing interfaces, twitter-feeds, google-data and thematic coding programs.
Our Adjuncts
Our PhD Students
Mr Abdul Karim
connect and collaborate
If you would like to work, study or collaborate, please get in touch