Smart cities

Citizen-centric placemaking with smart technologies, for more liveable urban environments.

From climate change and biodiversity loss to resource depletion and social inequity, the challenges faced by cities underscore an urgent need for dramatic, systemic, and holistic re-thinking of city planning and growth. Our smart cities research seeks to re-frame these challenges into opportunities with a focus on smart and liveable urban environments that make a net positive ecological, social, and economic contribution.

Engaging a multidisciplinary team of engineers, architects, planners, environmental scientists, data analysts and sustainability experts from across UTS, and underpinned by state-of-the-art infrastructure, we work at the forefront of the emerging smart city development in Australia. We combine a deeply human-centred design and engagement approach with a strong grasp of evolving smart technologies (sensors, internet of things, big-data, advanced analytics, and automation, etc.), to support the design and deployment of smart city strategies and systems that prioritises social and environmental impacts, while also providing new avenues for economic development, knowledge creation and capacity building.

We work on transformative change that spans the entire smart city ecosystem – collaborating with industry, government, and community partners to explore their unique challenges and design targeted data-driven solutions to create thriving neighbourhoods that leave a positive legacy. We help identify and connect the right mix of partners, technologies, and methodologies to support well-integrated operational solutions and sustainable business models, ensuring measurable, ongoing, and scalable impact.

Our mission is to harness smart technologies to improve the sustainability, liveability and resilience of cities.

Our research successes

Our diverse range of projects encompasses the technical, institutional, environmental, and social dimensions of the transition towards smart, sustainable, and ultimately liveable urban environments.

We combine ISF’s excellence in transdisciplinary practice, sustainable design, systems thinking, and urban futures planning with leading technical expertise in urban informatics, sensor technologies, platform architecture development, data and geospatial modelling, and advanced analytics from across UTS, allowing us to integrate cutting edge technology and ideas with critical city operations and innovative new business models prioritising social and environmental outcomes as foundational design principles.

An infographic showing considerations for smart cities research

PROJECT | 2021-ongoing

An urban park with green grass in the foreground, water and tall buildings in the background

New South Wales’ coolest public park

New smart technology set to change water management practices throughout communities with Sydney Olympic Park as the first innovative project.

Technology for Urban Liveability Program (TULIP)

Applying smart city technologies and engaging citizens to build more liveable urban communities.

The Breathable Sydney Roadmap

Developing a program for next-generation air quality monitoring, involving smart sensors, business case development, data sharing and community engagement.

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PROJECT | 2018 – 2020

Climate Responsive Neighbourhoods: Melrose Park

In collaboration with the City of Parramatta Council, developer PAYCE, and technology partners ESRI Australia and Urban Institute, this multimillion-dollar project is a demonstration site (30-hectare brownfield development over 10 years) for sensor-integrated site management to measure current development planning and regulatory practices supported by real-time, continuous, distributed, and localised data. The project establishes use cases for low-cost sensor data for environmental variables (temperature, humidity, air quality, noise, and stormwater) and develops further sophistication in the TULIP approach, including improved data capture and data management methodologies and the creation of the TULIP Data Lake by UTS Rapido. The challenge is to better understand and respond to local environmental changes as the site develops. The benefits include improved site monitoring and management, as well as understanding how environmental conditions can vary on a micro-climate level. The project worked with the local community, exploring citizen’s concerns about environmental liveability, and delivering novel and accessible new technologies, such as an open community LoRaWAN network and a public data discovery dashboard. The data collected and the lessons learnt from this project were published in a Blueprint for Climate Responsive Neighbourhoods, which can be translated into future projects to deliver comprehensive information regarding microclimates in city neighbourhoods, and beyond.

Researchers: Andrew Tovey, Yohan Kim, Kerryn Wilmot

PROJECT | 2017-2019

Smart liveable neighbourhoods: Lake Macquarie and City of Sydney

We worked collaboratively with Lake Macquarie City Council and the City of Sydney to explore the intersection of emerging smart city technologies, applied methodologies, city operations, community participation, and urban development agendas that prioritise sustainability, liveability, and resilience outcomes. The project saw the deployment of over 100 smart low-cost environmental sensors, including the TULIP EMS device, for measuring environmental variables such as urban heat, air quality, noise levels, and vehicle and pedestrian density, with the aim of using the data to inform better public spaces and services, optimise council operations, and to digitally engage community. We developed the TULIP open architecture model and built a deep working knowledge of environmental monitoring and deployment methodologies, device management, data management, data analytics and visualisation, and data sharing to help Councils to improve planning, design, and management of public spaces and facilities. The lessons learned through the project have supported a growing understanding of best practice for distributed low-cost urban environmental monitoring, positioning UTS as a national leader in the field.

Researcher: Andrew Tovey

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