Event – SILVIA TAVARES

Science at the Shine Dome

I am extremely honoured to have been nominated by James Cook University to attend the Science at the Shine Dome hosted by the Australian Academy of Sciences. Read more…

The city and the wild: Design meets ecosystems

This Wednesday I will present a seminar on the relationships between cities and natural ecosystems, and how they can coexist. Join us in the Cairns Institute if you are in Cairns. Read more…

Happy Healthy Cities in Tropical Environments

What does it take to be a happy and healthy city under the beautiful sun of tropical places? Read more…

UTC 3.0 Report: James Cook University – Urban Liveability in Tropical Australia Through Urban Diaries and Community Engagement

The final report of our Urban Thinkers Campus, hosted by James Cook University in Australia with full support from Fulbright Specialist Program (FSP), Planz Town Planning, Milford Planning, Cairns Regional Council and Townsville City Council is now available at the World Urban Campaign website. Read more…

Thinkers in the Tropical Shade: Empowering Lessons for Livable Places

Cairns, Queensland, Australia: avoiding the humidity using active transport (Photo by Chuck Wolfe)

Last June, Chuck Wolfe, David Sellars and I published an article on Planetizen about the fundamental relationships at the heart of urban public health and livability, particularly in tropical Australia. In this article we discuss the importance of context, the relevance of the UN-Habitat New Urban Agenda, the Urban Thinkers Campuses recently hosted by JCU (Understanding Cairns and Townsville through the urban diary tool), place-based urban planning and design and the lessons learned so far.

Queensland Strategy on Climate, Health, and Well-being Workshop

“The Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science (DES) has engaged the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) and the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) to facilitate the development of a Human Health and Wellbeing Climate Adaptation Plan for Queensland (H-CAP).” Read more…

Urban Thinkers Campus – Cairns and Townsville, Australia

James Cook University‘s College of Science and Engineering and College of Public Health, Medical & Vet Sciences, through myself and David Sellars, with the full support of Nikki Huddy from Planz, have been organising an Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) framed around the topic of urban planning and design and public health. The UTC entitled ‘Urban Health and Livability in Tropical Australia through urban diaries and community engagement’ will take place on the 8th June in Cairns and 15th June in Townsville, and they are both day-long events (see preliminary schedule here). 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…

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…