Unravelling Sustainability and Resilience in the Built Environment: Book Review
Below is a short extract of the Unravelling Sustainability and Resilience in the Built Environment book review published in the Landscape Review Journal. Read more…
On PhD outcomes
But if I had to name the very best outcome of the PhD (besides being greeted with ‘Welcome back, Dr Mewburn’ while boarding aeroplanes) is that I am not afraid to appear stupid. When I discover my ignorance, I know how to fix it. I’ll just research the shit out of it. People should fear my mad skills of research.
Guest editorial for Landscape Review
I have previously shared here a recent publication entitled Urban Comfort in a Future Compact City: Analysis of Open space Qualities in the Rebuilt Christchurch Central City. That paper was published in an special issue which collected papers from the SoLA Symposium, which happened in October 2016 at Lincoln University.
As I was in the editorial board, I have also contributed to a guest editorial piece entitled Integrated Urban Grey and Green Infrastructures, co-authored with Dr Andreas Wesener, Dr Wendy McWilliam, and Professor Janis Birkeland (this piece is available here) Read more…
Uruguay, or the ‘Switzerland of South America’
On our way to the south of Brazil last November, we flew from Australia to Chile and then to Montevideo in Uruguay. When friends in this part of the world ask me what is the best place in South America I always say the same: Uruguay is its best kept secret. Read more…
#15minacwri – Embracing the writing challenge
I have had a system of tracking my writing for years… Many years. Some times I felt like I didn’t need it anymore, and tried to stop using it, but then realised without it I don’t produce much… Actually I produce almost nothing. Read more…
Urban Thinkers Campus in Cairns and Townsville
I am very pleased to share the news that our proposal to host two Urban Thinkers Campus in support of the New Urban Agenda at JCU this year – one in Cairns (8th June) and one in Townsville (15th June) – has been approved. Read more…
Job vs Career
‘A job is what you do for other people. A career is who you are’, Mark said. He told me that a career mission is driven by a desire to solve a particular set of problems. Your job is just whoever happens to be paying for you to do your mission at any one time. A career potentially spans many of these mission oriented jobs.
Inger Mewburn (The Thesis Whisperer), in How to be an Academic
Online teaching and learning for practice-based disciplines
Last August I wrote about the blended learning challenges I’d embrance in the new Design Communication subject at JCU.
When I started working at JCU I was given the Design Communication subject with students both in Townsville and Cairns, both groups enrolled at the same time and part of the same subject, while I am based in Cairns only. It soon became clear to me that, with the resources JCU makes available – it has invested a lot in online technologies, from Blackboard platforms with Collaborate tools, to Mediasite capability, videoconference equipment, document cameras and so forth – blended learning was the way to go. Read more…
Darkest Hour
Watched Darkest Hour last weekend. 5-star movie in my opinion, with a great quote to finish it up: Read more…
Month in review: November and December 2017, and January 2018
This condensed month in review post is unusual – a first to be fair! – and these past three months have been eventful ones. On 12th November I left Cairns to atend the International Urban Design Conference in the Gold Coast. From there I flew to Brazil where I participated in an examination panel in my old Architecture and Urbanism School where I did my Masters and was a keynote speaker in an event in the Architecture School where I undertook my Bachelor in Architecture and Urbanism. Read more…
