Following a Urban Thinkers Campus organised at James Cook University in 2018 by David Sellars and I, we organised a Special Issue for the Journal of Public Space entitled Public Health and Well-being in Public Open Spaces through Climate Responsive Urban Planning and Design. Read more…
Suburban land is organized by purpose, and suburban experience consequently tends to be selective, single-variable, and destination-centric. One travels to or among destinations, with each answering to one goal. The journey between is generally not designed to have experiential value. This is why, when suburbanites shop at a strip mall, they often walk only between car and front door. If using more than one store, they often return to their car, drive a short distance, and repeat the direct line of engagement to the next destination. Urban experience is continuous, oblique, and incidental. It is all-at-once rather than one-at-a-time. Although one may move through an urban setting with a destination in mind, the journey to it will be rich, varied, and engaging.
(…) We spend 87% of our lives inside buildings.
How they are designed really affects how we feel, how we behave.
Design is not just a visual thing.
It is a thought process. It is a skill.
Ultimately design is a tool to enhance our humanity.
It is a frame for life.
(Ilse Crawford: Interior Design; in Abstract: The Art of Design) Read more…
Silvia Tavares, University of the Sunshine Coast and Nicholas Stevens, University of the Sunshine Coast
The long-term impacts of coronavirus on our cities are difficult to predict, but one thing is certain: cities won’t die. Diseases have been hugely influential in shaping our cities, history shows. Cities represent continuity regardless of crises – they endure, adapt and grow. Read more…
Last time I wrote a month in review post I had just got back to work after maternity leave. At that point I was hoping that I would take control of my time, but it didn’t happen quite that way. In 2019 I invested A LOT in conferences, workshops, and collaborations. Some extremely valuable and fruitful, others not so much. One of my main goals for 2020 is to learn how to better focus on the most important things and make wiser choices. Read more…
Before I resume my blog activity and explain why I have been – quiet for probably a year, and – silent for the past five months, the quote below seems appropriate. Life has to get back to some sort of known normality. Read more…
Quite unexpectedly, last week I was interviewed by Channel 7 (Cairns) and WINNEWS. The interviews aired on the 26th November. Read more…
Disclaimer: This is the first of a series of very delayed posts. A lot has been happening in the past few months, hence my silence. I definitely have to get better in sharing things here in ‘real time’, or at last as close to ‘real’ as possible.
Since I was a kid I always loved sketching and I was fortunate enough to be able to make that also part of my work. On 7th September, I organised a sketching workshop led by Richard Briggs. Read more…
Taha Chaiechi, James Cook University and Silvia Tavares, James Cook University
Some 60% of the planet’s expected urban area by 2030 is yet to be built. This forecast highlights how rapidly the world’s people are becoming urban. Cities now occupy about 2% of the world’s land area, but are home to about 55% of the world’s people and generate more than 70% of global GDP, plus the associated greenhouse gas emissions.
So what does this mean for people who live in the tropical zones, where 40% of the world’s population lives? On current trends, this figure will rise to 50% by 2050. With tropical economies growing some 20% faster than the rest of the world, the result is a swift expansion of tropical cities. Read more…
Applications for postgraduate research scholarships at James Cook University are now open and I’d love to hear from candidates interested in urban design, planning, urban microclimates, sensing cities, climate responsive urban design, architecture design and performance and any related topics.
Dr Taha Chaiechi and I are delivering a presentation this Thursday (29th August) about the JCU Urban Thinkers Campus and their related topics. Read more…
Tune into ABC Far North Drive today at 3pm to hear more from Dr Taha Chaiechi and I about our research on the relationships between city temperatures and urban economics. Read more…
This article was originally published on 28th June on JCU’s Brighter website.
As climate change continues to wreak its path through tropical communities, architects and urban planners are combatting the potentially disastrous effects with innovative design solutions.
Dr. Silvia Tavares “designs cities with an eye on the climate”. A leading urban designer and senior lecturer at James Cook University, Dr. Tavares has a passion for creating places that foster connection and wellbeing, while being sustainable for the future. Read more…
