Inclusive Planning Creates More Resilient and Sustainable Communities

"To create long-lasting health and well-being outcomes for our communities, it’s critical to design places well," says Professor Nicky Morrison, an expert in urban planning and co-director of Western Sydney University’s Urban Transformations Research Centre. After establishing her career at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, Morrison moved to Sydney with several goals, including conducting impactful research on inclusive planning that makes a tangible difference to communities. 

"I’m interested in ensuring that decisions are made that suit a given community, that meet their needs in a sustainable way, and that allow their area to thrive," she says. "I relish the opportunity to shape planning and housing debates and to co-create strategies with city planners to generate positive, inclusive growth that benefits everyone." 

Morrison’s career has seen her work with national and local governments, industry, and communities across the world, from Shenzhen in China, to Accra, the capital of Ghana. In 2019, the Royal Town Planning Institute in the UK commended Morrison for her leadership and significant contribution to the planning profession. 

Since arriving in Australia in March 2019, she has used her expertise to investigate how we can create vibrant, inclusive sustainable places here.  These include ways to deliver healthy built environments and sustainable homes alongside preserving urban agricultural land; protecting local communities against flooding; and improving access to fresh, affordable food and local amenities, like safe swimming sites and green open spaces.

By far the most exciting and challenging project that Morrison has been involved in is the founding of Western’s Urban Transformations Research Centre. 

"We launched the centre in November 2022, at a time when our community was calling out for accelerated action on climate change, and demanding greater leadership and greater collaboration," says Morrison. "The time is right to make impacts at scale." 

The western Sydney region is experiencing firsthand many of the sustainability and resilience challenges of the 21st century. Rapid urban growth, extreme urban heat, and entrenched inequalities mean that planners must work quickly and efficiently to resolve these and many other issues. 

"The destructive impacts of climate change are being felt intensely in the western part of the Sydney Basin," says Morrison. "The rapid succession of shocks like bushfires, heatwaves and floods are putting real pressure on our local and state governments, which are already grappling with the needs of the growing and changing population." 

Significant investment is being made to provide the jobs, homes, and infrastructure that the region needs, Morrison adds. The Centre’s mission is to deliver action-oriented outcomes based on real-life, exemplary demonstration of research and innovation. This means putting years of theoretical research into practice, and using the University’s campuses and the surrounding areas to showcase the creation of truly sustainable communities, with lessons shared across Australia and the world. 

"As cities grow, urban problems intensify.  We are blessed to have someone of Nicky’s expertise helping to address some of the high challenges facing our world and training a new generation of urbanists and planners to make safe, healthy and just cities for our future," says Rob Stokes, the former NSW Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Minister who, with Morrison, officially launched the Urban Transformations Research Centre.  

"Many developers are motivated by a 'build, sell, go' policy, and it’s hard to hold them accountable once they’ve gone," says Morrison. "It’s preferable to work with developers who consider the long-term stewardship of a place once it is finished. In our initiative to redevelop our Werrington campus into Penrith Sustainable Innovation Community, it’s exciting to work closely with a development company like Stockland that is keen to raise the bar on placemaking." 

However, the job of ensuring that future builds meet our sustainability goals requires careful negotiation with multiple stakeholders. This is a skill that Morrison has developed throughout her career. 

"The question arises: do we have the best set of strategies in place to transform our communities and infrastructure into sustainable, equitable and resilient futures?" she asks. "We should be under no illusion that power relations exist and that vested interests fight hard to maintain the status quo, because they have the most to gain from it." Unpacking the thorny issue of planning, politics and power has driven Morrison’s whole career. 

Academics working in planning apply theoretical frameworks to different institutional contexts with objectivity, continues Morrison. But the most powerful tool researchers have is their academic independence and voice. 

"We can question planning decisions and outcomes," says Morrison. "We have a social responsibility and civic duty to advocate on behalf of those who are rarely heard — the people who live and work in our communities."