Urban Sustainability

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems (CSE) conducts research and development across a range of landscapes, targeting social, economic and environmental sustainability.

The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship is a national research program addressing one of Australia’s most pressing natural resource issues – sustainable management of our water resources.

Restricting Melbourne’s urban sprawl could have a big impact on reducing the city’s water use over the long term, says a CSIRO report launched today to coincide with National Water Week.

A series of podcasts in Mandarin language were launched in Canberra today which highlight careers in science and in working with Australian science and industry to a potential audience of 1.2 billion people worldwide.

CSIRO researchers are developing a software platform to integrate sustainability assessment across urban domains including health, water, transport and energy.

This project is identifying the biophysical, economic and social opportunities for remote communities relating to land management for greenhouse gas abatement, with a focus on fire management in tropical savannas.

Urban water research aims to use recycling and reclamation technologies to turn stormwater, wastewater and contaminated water into usable resources.

Australian Research Centre for Water in Society (ARCWIS) was established to assist Australian organisations and communities to make quality decisions in water and related issues. CSIRO is recognised for its expertise in the conduct and application of innovative social research for water resource management and other related issues of importance to society.

The CSIRO report Water-energy futures for Melbourne examines the challenges a large city faces in providing water for their growing populations. In this podcast, Steven Kenway from the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship discusses these challenges. (4:58)

Discover how Chinese scientist Dr Xuemei Bai has been working in Australia with CSIRO to make our cities more sustainable. Dr Bai talks about her work in this special Mandarin edition of CSIROpod. (7:09)

The Gungahlin Homestead in the Australian Capital Territory, is an historic site in the north of Canberra that now serves as head office for CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.

Mr Michael Ambrose leads Your Development, a project which aims to develop sustainability guidelines for urban developers, utility providers and government departments for the delivery of sustainable suburbs.

This 12-page booklet outlines the Sustainable Communities Initiative, a a multi-partner program that brings together players from the private, public and community sectors to develop and deliver innovative solutions to local sustainability challenges.

This report details the Sustainable Communities Initiative’s activities and achievements from 2006 to 2008, provides valuable insights on cross-sector partnering in practice, and reflects on issues emerging from the SCI experience. (63 pages)

CSIRO is working with the ACT government, SCI partners and local stakeholders on an urban renewal project at East Lake, on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in the ACT. The project demonstrates innovation in sustainable urban redevelopment and embraces social, economic and environmental sustainability principles, technologies and practices. (2 pages)

The collective expertise of the Sustainable Communities Initiative will guide planning of ‘Lockerbie’, a Greenfield residential project north of Melbourne promising a quantum leap in sustainable living. (2 pages)