Walking tour: Culture, food, community
Description
Walking tour: Culture, food, community
Date: Sunday, 06 September 2026
Time: 10:15am - 1:00pm
Meeting Point: to be provided following registeration
Join expert urbanist Diana Griffiths, UNSW Professor of Planning Susan Thompson, and USyd urbanist Dr Vera Xia to experience Cabramatta in Sydney’s west. We will explore the rich culinary landscape, its heritage and history and the broader neighbourhood context.
Tour Leads:
Diana Griffiths, Director, Studio GL
Professor Susan Thompson, School of Built Environment, UNSW
Dr Vera Xia, Lecturer, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney
Numbers are strictly limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Please note, this walking tour will involve some uneven surfaces and stairs. Please wear comfortable shoes, bring water and sun protection. The tour will proceed under most weather conditions.
Tour Leads
Diana Griffths, Director - StudioGL
Diana is a founding director of Studio GL and an award winning urban designer with over 30 years of professional experience in urban design, strategic planning and architecture, providing urban design services in the UK, NZ and Australia.
Professor Susan Thompson
Susan Thompson is Professor of Planning, School of the Built Environment, and inaugural Life Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, UNSW Sydney. Susan’s research, teaching and scholarship focuses on the relationship between people and place, building understandings about the ways in which places can best support diverse communities. Susan is one of the first urban planners in Australia to advocate for the importance of healthy built environments and has made significant contributions to policy, education and research in this transdisciplinary field. In 2015 Susan was awarded the Sidney Luker Memorial Medal for her contribution to progressing healthy planning. Read more about Susan's work, including publications here: https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/susan-thompson
Dr Vera Xia
Vera is a Design and Urban Technology Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney. She has a PhD in urban and regional planning and expertise in various urban technologies such as smart street furniture, social fitness apps, light festivals, and smart greenhouse technologies. Her PhD research, titled 'Smart Technologies, Loneliness and Young Adults: Towards an Understanding of the People-Place Relationship in Urban Open Space,' focuses on the use of smart technology in urban open spaces and its impacts on social wellbeing, particularly for young adults. Apart from her research, Vera is also a creative and visual storyteller. Her film "(un)habitable circulation," created for The Festival of 'Endangered' Urbanism 2021, encourages the audience to reconsider the liveability of transit and the rhythms of our daily lives during and after the pandemic. With prior professional experience in strategic planning and urban design in both private and public sectors, Vera is committed to researching and creating sustainable and equitable cities through her teaching and research activities.
Festival of translocal Urbanism 2026
Sydney Festival 7-11 September
National events September – October 2026
Translocality describes the interconnectedness between different places and people, beyond national boundaries. The circulation of people, goods, knowledge and capital, though an ancient process, is facilitated and impacted by new technologies, bringing new opportunities and challenges for cities and regions. Increasingly important, a translocal lens highlights these deep and intersecting relationships between people and places over time – from the legacies of colonisation and environmental change to contemporary patterns of migration and cultural diversity. Through panel discussions, debates, exhibitions, and tours, and featuring thought leaders from academia, the arts, industry, and civil society, the 2026 Festival of translocal Urbanism examines and celebrates the complex social, economic and environmental connections between local and global communities.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
