Monash Progress Report 2020 – Goal 11

Monash University Progress Report 2020 on the Sustainable Development Goals

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Research

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Active transport research priorities for Australia View

Active transport, such as walking and bike riding, can greatly contribute to improving population health, the environment and the economy. Despite these benefits, the vast majority of commute trips in Australia are by private car. Additionally, only 45% of the Australian adult population and less than one quarter of children meet the recommended physical activity guidelines.

With funding from VicHealth, the Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research Group is working to create a united and collaborative approach to addressing current research knowledge gaps and to define research priorities in active transport in Australia, informed by researchers, practitioners, policy/decision makers and advocates.

Monash Urban Lab View

The Monash Urban Lab distinguishes itself through its unique integration of practice-based design and urban planning research. The Lab combines multi-scalar architectural design investigations with policy studies focussed on transitioning to sustainable and equitable urban environments and communities at city and regional scales. Research focuses on three areas of investigation: sustainable and inclusive cities, urban infrastructure systems, and visualising urban futures.

Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) program View

The Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) program, utilising water sensitive technology innovation to transform quality of life across urban informal settlements in Indonesia and Fiji, continued to advance throughout 2020.

A program-wide reset was undertaken in the midst of the pandemic to safeguard the scientific and technical progress to-date and set up the program for successful delivery of the research and intervention in the context of COVID-19. Local teams were further bolstered to accelerate their capacity to lead and drive research and co-design on the ground. By December 2020 community co-design activities had been completed for the first six settlements in Suva.

The Melbourne Experiment View

Though enormously disruptive to much research, COVID-19 provided new opportunities and impetus for interdisciplinary collaboration. The Melbourne Experiment, an interdisciplinary project studying the effects of the pandemic response on the functions of the city, brought together dozens of research teams across Monash to examine key activities and elements of the urban environment before, during and after the shutdown, with the aim of developing new approaches for sustainable urban growth, emphasising social cohesion and environmental conservation alongside economic prosperity.

2020 Publications Performance View

Mean Field Weighted Citation Impact of Monash Outputs: 1.41

Number of Monash Research Outputs: 243

Education

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Unit statistics and highlights View

In 2020, 145 units directly related to SDG11 were offered across Monash University, with a total enrolment of 10,297 students.

The units highlighted below are a small sample of the units at Monash relating to sustainable cities and communities:

ATS2547 Cities and sustainability
CIV5321 Sustainable transportation systems planning
ENE3031 Building sustainability

Engagement

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Monash Commission Intermediary Cities Inquiry View

The Monash Commission gives independent expression to the expertise of thought leaders from Australia and internationally through in-depth and comprehensive inquiries into priority issues facing our communities, business and government at a national or global level. In December 2020, the Monash Commission commenced a new inquiry “The Liveable Metropolis: The future role of intermediary cities to deliver resilience, impact and prosperity” which aims to deliver practical recommendations for urban planners, governments and communities for transformational cities of the future.

Net Zero Precincts View

Net Zero Precincts is a new ARC Linkage project that aims to help cities and urban regions reach net zero emissions. It is bringing together a new approach to transition management by using design anthropology to engage with the precinct community and consider their lived experiences. In collaboration with a cross-Monash interdisciplinary team and partners from industry, academia and the community, the project is using Monash’s own Clayton Campus and the Monash Technology Precincts as a ‘living laboratory’ to run experiments that can help us accelerate the transition to net zero emissions cities.

Operations

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'Pay as you use' parking View

Recognising the travel patterns of staff and students will most likely never return to pre-COVID patterns, Monash replaced its fixed annual carparking permit system with a dynamic ‘pay as you use’ (PAYU) virtual parking system.

PAYU parking will support a more flexible work and study model into the future. This new technology will enable greater flexibility for staff and students to choose on a daily basis their travel mode and incentivise those that choose to take sustainable transport. The data insights from the virtual parking system will also be invaluable for improved transport planning into the future.

Sustainable transport View

The University’s integrated campus access strategy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with travelling to Monash campuses through a shift from single-occupancy vehicles towards sustainable alternatives, such as public transport, University shuttle buses, carpooling, walking and cycling. Our priority is to have more than 70% of staff and students to travel to Monash campuses using sustainable transport options. In 2019, 67% of staff and students used sustainable transport to get to campus.

Monash Commuter Club View

The Monash Commuter Club offers staff and students a 10% discount on a yearly Myki (public transport) pass.

Bike arrival facilities View

We have a supportive cycling community and bike parking hoops at all of our campuses, making cycling a great option for getting to campus. There are two bike arrival stations at the Clayton campus complete with showers, bathrooms and change rooms, lockers and bike repair bays.