World Cities Day address: Resilience by design – A Vision for Urban Australia

In the lead-up to World Cities Day, the ANU Australian Studies Institute is pleased to host an address by cities expert Honorary Professor Barbara Norman that looks at the future for Australia's urban settlements. 

From our post-war migration, to Whitlam’s urban and regional development, to Turnbull’s city deals, to more recently Albanese’s national urban policy, Australia's Cities have been shaped by a range of local and global factors – housing and infrastructure, employment and business, education and tourism, energy and climate change and more.

Hosted by Institute Director Mark Kenny, the event will also feature a panel discussion comprising urban peak body representatives and ANU experts who will discuss current and future factors influencing Australia's cities and regional centres.

Guests are encouraged to join us for networking drinks after the event in the Law Link foyer.

The ANU Australian Studies Institute is pleased to collaborate with a range of urban peak bodies. This lecture is part of Urban Week 2026 which is a shared initiative of the Australian Institute of Architects, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, Committee for Capital Cities, Council of Capital City Lord Mayors, National Shelter, Planning Institute of Australia and Property Council of Australia.

About 

Professor Barbara Norman is Emeritus Professor of Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Canberra and an Honorary Professor with ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions, Australia.

Barbara is also Director of the Urban Climate Change Research Network Oceania Hub (Columbia University, USA) and co-chair of Planners for Climate Action (UN Habitat).

Emeritus Professor Norman is a global expert in sustainable cities and regions, smart infrastructure, coastal planning, climate change adaptation and urban governance.

Emeritus Professor Norman has a combined professional and academic background as a former national president of the Planning Institute of Australia, and an honorary member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (UK).

Recent international research includes Sustainable Pathways for our Cities and Regions: planning within planetary boundaries (Routledge, 2018); Are autonomous cities our urban future? Comment in Nature Communications (Nature Communications, 2018) and Apocalypse Now: Australian Bushfires and the future of Urban Settlements (Nature Urban Sustainability 2021). Professor Norman’s recent book is Urban Planning for Climate Change (Routledge, 2023).