Drawing new lines: reshaping regional-metro relationships through infrastructure
Transport has always shaped how places evolve. The railways, highways and commuter corridors built - or withheld - over the past two centuries have created lasting translocal connections and divides between metropolitan and regional Australia.
Today, major projects such as the East Coast High Speed Rail and Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop promise to redraw these relationships again, bringing new forms of density, investment and mobility to regional centres.
As these places become more closely linked to metropolitan networks, this panel asks what is gained and what may be lost when regional character begins to shift in the image of the city.
Presented by the Monash Association of Planning Students (MAPS) in collaboration with Transport Engineers at Monash (TEM), this session brings together transport engineers and urban planners to explore how to build genuine connection between regions and cities without flattening the distinct identities, cultures and histories that make each place unique.
Speakers:
Professor Liton Kamruzzaman, ARC Future Fellow, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Monash University
Dr James Whitten, Lecturer, Urban Planning and Design, Monash University
Marianne Richards, President, Town and Country Planning Association Inc., Institute of Transport Engineers, Rail Futures Institute
Moderators:
Adrian Del-Re, Master of Urban Planning and Design student, MAPS, Monash University
Shanal Perera, Bachelor of Civil Engineering student, TEM, Monash University
Event Details
- Date:
- 7 October 2026 at 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
- Venue:
- G1.04 Lecture Theatre, Monash Caulfield campus
- Cost:
- Free
- Categories:
- Architecture; Industry / Alumni; Research; Research: Monash Urban Lab
Description
Transport has always shaped how places evolve. The railways, highways and commuter corridors built - or withheld - over the past two centuries have created lasting translocal connections and divides between metropolitan and regional Australia.
Today, major projects such as the East Coast High Speed Rail and Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop promise to redraw these relationships again, bringing new forms of density, investment and mobility to regional centres.
As these places become more closely linked to metropolitan networks, this panel asks what is gained and what may be lost when regional character begins to shift in the image of the city.
Presented by the Monash Association of Planning Students (MAPS) in collaboration with Transport Engineers at Monash (TEM), this session brings together transport engineers and urban planners to explore how to build genuine connection between regions and cities without flattening the distinct identities, cultures and histories that make each place unique.
Speakers:
Professor Liton Kamruzzaman, ARC Future Fellow, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Monash University
Dr James Whitten, Lecturer, Urban Planning and Design, Monash University
Marianne Richards, President, Town and Country Planning Association Inc., Institute of Transport Engineers, Rail Futures Institute
Moderators:
Adrian Del-Re, Master of Urban Planning and Design student, MAPS, Monash University
Shanal Perera, Bachelor of Civil Engineering student, TEM, Monash University