Urban Design Solutions for Ameliorating Urban Heat Island Effect in Townsville, Queensland
Along with Professor Karine Dupre from Griffith University, and in collaboration with Townsville City Council, we are undertaking a research project investigating urban microclimates in Townsville (Queensland, Australia).
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Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Public Spaces through a Systems Modelling Approach
Even though we have had already a few publications out of our Urban Design and Town Planning in response to COVID-19 project, I realised I failed to publish here about this one. This paper came out a while ago in the Special Issue 2020: A Year without Public Space under the COVID-19 Pandemic.
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BASC Lab on the news
USC has recently published a media release about the Bioclimatic and Sociotechnical Cities (BASC) Lab which is led by Dr Nicholas Stevens and myself, and is part of the university’s School of Law and Society and the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems.
The BASC Lab is focused both on teaching and research, and will help us to enhance a human-centred approach to urban design and town planning by considering the many factors of the physical environment that impact on people.
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Urban Heat: Mapping temperature in Ipswich
Professor Karine Dupré and I are undertaking a survey to enhance the understanding of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) on the Ipswich (Queensland, Australia). The information provided about local areas within Ipswich will be considered in steps to reduce UHI through urban design and other methods.
Read more…Urban design policy recommendations for mitigating the human health risks associated with heatwaves
Ryan McNeilly-Smith and I are undertaking a research project on how urban design solutions can assist in mitigating the human health risks associated with extreme heat events. Read more…
Two recent book chapters published in the book ‘Architecture in Millieu Tropical’
In October 2019 I have the great honour of being a keynote speaker at the conference ‘Architecture in Millieu Tropical: Construire le Paysage, entre Pratique et Recherche’ which took place at ENSAM (École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Montpellier) in La Réunion. Read more…
Sensing Cities: Smart Thermal Comfort for Climate Adaptation
Quite unexpectedly, last week I was interviewed by Channel 7 (Cairns) and WINNEWS. The interviews aired on the 26th November. Read more…
JCU postgraduate scholarships
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.
ABC Far North radio interview: City temperatures and urban economics
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…
‘Streetfight’
“Every community has excuses for why changing the way they use their streets is impossible, impractical, or just insane. I learned firsthand that there is no end to the reasons for inaction. But inaction is inexcusable. As our cities grow, leaders and the people they serve cannot accept dysfunctional streets; they must fight to change them. The fight for these changes—well, that’s just part of the job.”
SILVIA TAVARES 