Conference

10th State of Australasian Cities National Conference, 1-3 December 2021, Melbourne, Australia

Owning Institution

The State of Australian Cities (SOAC) national conferences have been held biennially since 2003 to support interdisciplinary policy-related urban research. SOAC 2021 was hosted collaboratively and online by RMIT University, Monash University, Swinburne University and the University of Melbourne.

Refereed papers and extended abstracts at SOAC 2021 focus on urban and regional transitions in the COVID recovery era to report and appraise the social, spatial, and economic consequences for equity, inclusion and justice. The conference aims to connect these questions to urban practice and inform more robust policy and public discussions about the emerging new futures of Australasian cities and regions. In keeping with past SOAC conferences, SOAC 2021 papers are organised into broad thematic tracks: City Economics & Economies, City Governance, City Health & Liveability, City & Nature, City Movement & Infrastructure, City Structure, City Social & Housing and, for the first time this conference, a track called 'Reckoning with Settler Colonial Cities'.

Papers from all past SOAC conferences can be found at the State of Australian Cities Conferences Collection on APO.

Conference paper

Playing it safe: co-designing safe, inclusive, sustainable and resilient future cities

5 May 2022

Joanne Dolley,

Keiran Hardy,

David Sargent

10th State of Australasian Cities National Conference, 1-3 December 2021, Melbourne, Australia

This paper reports on a 3D printed tabletop board game that can be applied as a tool for co-designing resilient neighbourhoods and cities and on 'gamifying' the design of resilient cities to test markers of sustainability, community cohesion and disaster preparedness.

Conference paper

Place identity and economic significance of urban forms of ethnic precincts in Melbourne, Australia

5 May 2022

Ha Minh Hai Thai

10th State of Australasian Cities National Conference, 1-3 December 2021, Melbourne, Australia

This paper examines place identity of neighbourhoods characterised by a large number of Vietnamese and their ethnic businesses in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. The paper responds to urgent demands for knowledge, tools and strategies to better design and manage Australian cities, neighbourhoods, and public spaces for an increasingly diverse multicultural society.

Conference paper

Thinking musically about garden design for a more immersive experience

5 May 2022

10th State of Australasian Cities National Conference, 1-3 December 2021, Melbourne, Australia

This paper introduces the idea of ‘composing’ the soundscape of a space through a musical process. With a focus on aural experience in gardens, the project is establishing what types, combinations and intensities of sounds offer interest and distraction and capture unconscious and conscious attention.

Conference paper

Veggies in verges: a policy inventory for footpath food gardens across Greater Sydney

5 May 2022

Kristina Ulm,

Maria Jose Zegarra Ayllon

10th State of Australasian Cities National Conference, 1-3 December 2021, Melbourne, Australia

This case study examines attitudes of councils towards verge gardening in Greater Sydney. The research questions include: What are council attitudes towards edible plants in verge gardening? Are the policy approaches cautious and risk averse or explicitly aiming to reduce barriers?

Conference paper

How to prioritise healthy place-making?

5 May 2022

Nicky Morrison,

Greg Paine,

Ryan van den Nouwelant,

Susan Thompson

10th State of Australasian Cities National Conference, 1-3 December 2021, Melbourne, Australia

This paper reports on research conducted just ahead of the 2020 pandemic, that surveyed 350 built-environment practitioners in NSW, and in a diversity of fields, about the barriers and opportunities (personal, workplace, regulatory and attitudinal) they experience when seeking to deliver health-supportive places.