Water-sensitive research hub set to change urban design

The Perth Research Hub for an innovative new research centre that will focus on engineering, the social sciences and humanities, ecology, urban design and urban climatology, and water resources technology has been officially launched at The University of Western Australia (UWA) by the state Minister for Water, Bill Marmion.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (CRC-WSC) will assess the impact of climate change and stormwater management on local wetlands and urban design, and will support interdisciplinary research to shape the urban water management approach in Australia and overseas in the next few decades.

UWA, Monash University and the University of Queensland will lead the nine-year $120 million nationwide project. Already the CRC-WSC has developed 32 projects with an allocated research budget of $50 million. These projects will forge links with more than 70 partners, including organisations from the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Singapore.

The Perth Research Hub, which will oversee the operation of the CRC in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, will be based at UWA and led by Associate Professor Anas Ghadouani from the university’s School of Environmental Systems Engineering.

“What we will learn from this research centre will be important to ensuring Western Australia and Australia as a whole adapts its urban design to address the pressures of population growth and becomes more resilient to the impacts of climate change,” Associate Professor Ghadouani said.

“This is an exciting and unique initiative, linking researchers and a wide range of industries, to ultimately change to the way we think about designing our cities and towns in Australia.”

The aim of CRC-WSC is to revolutionise water management by delivering urban water policies, socio-technical solutions and education and training programs along with active engagement with industry and community. A significant proportion of its resources will be devoted to ensuring the rapid adoption of research findings by stakeholders such as local government.

“This CRC will guide capital investments of $100 billion by the Australian water sector and more than $550 billion of private sector investment in urban development over the next 15 years,” said the CEO of CRC-WSC, Professor Tony Wong of Monash University.