As outlined on my website, during my travels I’ll be investigating five big urban challenges - density, affordability, liveability, sustainability, and technology.

While you’ve probably come across these terms at one time or another, sometimes it can be a bit confusing in regards to what they actually mean - and there isn’t always a straightforward dictionary definition!

Here’s a brief lowdown on what each challenge covers:

• Density - How can we make our cities more dense without compromising quality of life?

Continuing population growth and urbanisation are projected to add 2.5 billion people to the world’s urban population by 2050 - so how does this growth impact on current and future developments? While ‘good density’ can support better and cheaper public transportation and opportunities for mixed-tenure housing, ‘bad density’ can lead to more pedestrian casualties and wastage. I’ll be discovering the ways in which cities are maintaining the right balance!

• Affordability - What levers are there to improve affordability of the basics in life: food, water, energy, housing?

As someone who has lived in Sydney for most of their life (a city recently ranked as the second least affordable city in the world), I’ve witnessed first hand the effects of unaffordable housing on society. However, there are cities out there where housing takes up less of the household budget, so the cost of living is much lower and the citizens can afford a more affluent life. Sounds like a dream! I look forward to tracking down the cities which are making life much more affordable - and review the processes that Australia could (or should!) be working towards.

• Liveability - What are cities doing to enable all people in their cities to thrive not just survive?

Liveability refers to urban environments that celebrate the diversity within our communities, as well as nurture their citizens so that they are able to actively engage in a city's future; be it pedestrian friendly streets, bike lanes, public spaces, community programs, or public transport systems. I’ll be visiting places such as Tokyo, Berlin, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Munich, which have been ranked as the world’s Top Five most liveable cities, to get a first hand perspective on what they are doing to be ranked so high. I’ll also check out cities considered not-so-liveable to understand potential lessons to be learnt!

• Sustainability - What are the cutting edge ideas of the future that will get us to a zero impact footprint? What do we need to do to make this happen? 

Sustainability is the quest to ensure we don’t take more than we can give back. Achieving true sustainability will require a shake-up in the way we source, consume, and dispose of our resources, and a re-think about how we design our cities so that they are truly adaptable and efficient. Where are we at with designing water, energy and climate sensitive cities? Is it possible for cities to achieve zero-waste? What are we doing to protect the biodiversity and green spaces within our cities for future generations? Stay tuned for my research discoveries!

• Technology - What is smart technology and what implications does / will it have on how we design our cities? 

Around the world, there are old cities being retrofitted and brand new cities being fully planned and orientated to become smart cities. The smart technology powering these smart cities are being developed to find solutions surrounding water management, clean and renewable energies, intelligent traffic control, plus more. This technology is a game-changer; and I seek to understand what smart technologies are being thought about, developed, and currently being designed, and what they mean for the way we think about and design our cities.  

To read more about each of the urban challenges, click here.

If you’re reading this and think that you’ll be able to assist me in one way or another, I’d love to hear from you! Check out my recent ‘Let’s Connect’ blog to find out the types of assistance I am seeking.

Until next time!

Katrie