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Maximising Climate Governance For Liveability: Heat Mitigation in Western Sydney

Project Summary

This project will develop strategies, resources, and co-designed workshops to support external partners’ governance work in establishing the most effective heatwave risk management and implementation strategy for Western Sydney. Including a Multi-Agency Adaptive Governance Manual and Action Plan and a Catalogue of Best Practice Heatwave Risk Management Strategies, framed around Western Sydney’s heat-vulnerability mapping and heat-related liveability impacts.

Project Team

• Nicky Morrison (WSU)
• Vanita Yadav (WSU)
• Maryann Strickling (WSU)
• Patrick Harris (UNSW)
• Karla Jaques (UNSW)

Project Partners

Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), Charles Casuscelli, Judith Bruinsma and Kelly Gee.

Outreach

Professor Nicky Morrison presented at the Association of European Schools of Planning conference in Istanbul, July 2025, on Shaping Urban Planning for Heat Resilience: Greater Sydney Heat Taskforce’s Impact as part of this project.

Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was received as part of the Mezze Grant Scheme supported by WSU and UNSW that fosters partnerships between the UTRC and the UNSW Cities Institute.

Information

For more information or to register your interest, please contact:
Name: Nicky Morrison
Email: Nicky.Morrison@westernsydney.edu.au

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• Current Projects

  • AI-Driven Mass Customisation for Smart Tiny Modular Homes
  • Enhancing Agribusiness and Strategic Policy Dialogue between Australia and India
  • Exploring the Techno-Economic Feasibility of Industrialised Construction for Rapid, Affordable Housing in Western Sydney
  • Rapid Literature Review of National and International best practice in infrastructure funding and delivery in outer metropolitan growth areas
  • A platform for multifaceted climate-adaptive building envelopes
  • Fire performance of multi-storey modular buildings
  • Net Zero Building Construction Platforms
  • Renewable energy lead times and environmental approvals for solar, wind and battery projects
  • Cutting-Edge Numerical Techniques for Assessing the Structural Integrity of Bridges
  • Bridge Photogrammetry - Swan Hill Bridge & Sheahan Bridge North and South Bound
  • ARC Industry Transformation Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS) in Urban, Resources and Energy Sectors
  • FEM based structural integrity assessment of bridges
  • Net Zero Cities CRC
  • Researching the lived experience of First Nations Peoples on prepayment meters
  • Using smart meters smarter – understanding real-world deployment
  • Innovative models for funding green-space oriented housing development
  • Integrated Policies for Affordable & Net-Zero Housing
  • Managing resilient urban greenspaces in Australian cities
  • Enhancing Australia-India Economic Relations and Collaborations through Higher Education Business Models: Pilot Study
  • Housing Crisis and Community Resilience: A Pilot Survey
  • EV Ready Apartments
  • Too Hot to Play: Quantifying the Impacts of Urban Climate Change on Playground Activity
  • City Microclimates
  • Maximising Climate Governance For Liveability: Heat Mitigation in Western Sydney
  • Liveability Labs: Key Qualitative and Quantitative Data and Indicators of Liveable Communities for a Virtual Digital Twin of Western Sydney
  • Utilisation of Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Bridge Health Monitoring​

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