Join us for a series of conversations about transforming infrastructure governance. Our shared futures and community well-being are shaped by urban infrastructure such as for transport, green space, water, social, and digital services.
While many public discussions revolve around which infrastructure projects should be prioritised, there is growing recognition that questions of governance are critical to achieving the social, ecological, and place-based transformations we need to address the climate crisis.
In this series, we shine a light on some of the key challenges and opportunities for transforming the way we think about and do infrastructure governance, such as:
- who should be involved in decision making?
- how can we better collaborate with communities?
- how do we address planning on unceded Indigenous land?
Episode 1: Transformation of what?
This first episode sets out some of the big questions and challenges for thinking about how to transform infrastructure governance.
It looks at the research agenda informing the work of the Infrastructure Governance Incubator. The discussion includes findings from a systematic literature review of the topic, which reveals a need for more research focused on reckoning with settler coloniality and planning on unceded First Nations land, the societal end goals of infrastructure, and how we understand, and do, governance integration to better link strategic planning with actual infrastructure delivery.
These questions not only challenge our understandings of what infrastructure is meant to achieve and how we deliver it, but who is involved in setting agendas and priorities.
Guests
Associate Professor Tooran Alizadeh, Research lead of the Henry Halloran Trust Infrastructure Governance Incubator at the University of Sydney
Dr Rebecca Clements, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Henry Halloran Trust Infrastructure Governance Incubator at the University of Sydney
Mini-episode: A systematic review, what is it?
This mini-episode takes a deep dive into the Systematic Literature Review.
– What is is?
– Where did it come from?
– And can this methodology from science work in a social science research environment?
This mini-episode is a part of a series of conversations about transforming infrastructure governance. Our shared futures and community well-being are shaped by urban infrastructure such as for transport, green space, water, social, and digital services.
While many public discussions revolve around which infrastructure projects should be prioritised, there is growing recognition that questions of governance are critical to achieving the social, ecological, and place-based transformations we need to address the climate crisis.
In this series, we shine a light on some of the key challenges and opportunities for transforming the way we think about and do infrastructure governance, such as:
– Who should be involved in decision making?
– How can we better collaborate with communities?
– How do we address planning on unceded Indigenous land?
Guests
Dr Liton Kamruzzaman, Associate Professor in Urban Planning & Design within Monash Art Design & Architecture (MADA).
Dr Rebecca Clements, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Henry Halloran Trust Infrastructure Governance Incubator at the University of Sydney
Episode 2: Infrastructure on Unceded Land
How is infrastructure entangled with the legacies and ongoing processes of settler-coloniality? How might we give more meaningful attention to planning for Country and with Indigenous sovereignties?Cities in so-called Australia are built on unceded First Nations land. We talk about what this means for the way we understand and do infrastructure planning, and the responsibilities of planning professions. Asking these types of questions unsettles many governance assumptions, and prompts infrastructure professions to question ‘who gets to decide?’, ‘whose knowledge is prioritised?’, and ‘who benefits?’.
Guests
Elle Davidson, Aboriginal Planning Lecturer, Balanggarra woman from the East Kimberley and descendant of Captain William Bligh
Associate Professor Tooran Alizadeh, Research lead of the Henry Halloran Trust Infrastructure Governance Incubator at the University of Sydney
Dr Rebecca Clements, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Henry Halloran Trust Infrastructure Governance Incubator at the University of Sydney
Episode 3: From fragmentation to integration: Building collaborative governance
Different types of infrastructure need to work together to build and support great places and communities. Most of us can recognise the kinds of siloed and fragmented planning we see around us, but what do we mean when we make demands for, or promises of, “integrated governance”? This episode looks at the diverse challenges of trying to understand and enact integrated infrastructure governance within our highly fractured systems, including how government scales and institutions collaborate. We also hear insights about recent attempts at government integration from Joanna Kubota at the Western Parkland Councils (now called The Parks), an alliance of eight local governments involved in planning the Western Parkland City.
Researchers present: Professor Glen Searle and A/Professor Crystal Legacy
Guest: Joanna Kubota (Western Parkland Councils)
Epsiode 4: Meaningful public accountability in infrastructure governance
This episode considers the challenges of, and possibilities for, meaningful accountability in infrastructure governance. Public accountability is often publicly demanded or politically signalled, but much more rarely unpacked or discussed in depth. This episode discusses the importance of accountability in infrastructure and planning governance, and its multiple intersecting social understandings. We discuss the importance of scrutinising our current accountability approaches, power relationships, and contextual challenges in order to build more open and collaborative governance. We also hear insights from Roberta Ryan, the Independent Community Commissioner involved with the Western Parkland City.
Researchers present: Rebecca Clements, Tooran Alizadeh
Guest: Roberta Ryan
Production
This podcast series is sponsored by the Infrastructure Governance Incubator, a three-year (2020-2023) collaborative research platform—funded by the Henry Halloran Research Trust—across three universities (The University of Sydney, The University of Melbourne, and Monash University), and in partnership with Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) NSW & Victoria.
Audio recording and editing by Mikayla Scolaro and Dallas Rogers.
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