#Urban planning

Regional Australia could hold the answers to living well in 2050

Regional centres have a big role to play in the future of living in Australia

Why don’t our cities cope with heavy rain?

As our climate changes, we'll experience more extreme weather. We're researching how we can create better cities that can withstand heavy rains and floods.

An unexpected crisis that could change our cities

COVID-19 is a health and economic crisis that’s taken the world by surprise. Yet this wicked problem may also be an opportunity for Australia to invest in new types of urban infrastructure to make cities smarter, greener, safer, and healthier.

Testing the ‘leakiness’ of Australian homes

With the cold snap shocking us into our winter woollens, we’re looking at how draughty Australian houses are, and the science behind how we test for ‘leakiness’ in our homes.

Can water banking guard against a future ‘Day Zero’?

As the water count down continues to 'Day Zero' in regional centres in New South Wales and Queensland, how can science provide greater water security into the future?

Australians reach for the stars when it comes to energy efficient homes

Handy access to information is the key to encouraging Australians to go green in construction. But we still have a long way to go in making all homes as energy efficient as possible.

Soils study key to tracing PFAS leaching

They’re one of the strongest bonds in chemistry and are not only unique in the way they can be used to fight fire, but unique in the way they leach through soils into the environment. A new paper suggests understanding first how PFAS chemicals behave in soils requires a large-scale soils study and, perhaps, a global research effort if we’re to work towards a solution.

Breathing the quality air down under

As cities go, Australia's have some of the best air quality in the world. But even the relatively clean air of Australia can contain enough pollutants to impact on our health.

The 20th century saw a 23-fold increase in natural resources used for building

There will be huge environmental impact if we keep using raw materials as we did in the 20th Century. There is a way to build more sustainably.