Melbourne strengthens its resilience

The University of Melbourne and City of Melbourne are joining together to strengthen Melbourne’s resilience in the face of sustainability challenges, including global warming. The City of Melbourne Chair in Resilient Cities is being established to provide a key point of leadership to align the resilience activities of both the City and the university.

Located within the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning and working closely with the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute (MSSI), the chair will work to enhance and support the many initiatives supporting resilience in the City, the university, their partners and communities. The chair will lead this alignment of resilience across the full scope of the university’s faculties and interests.

MSSI Director Professor Brendan Gleeson said the chair will look at urban resilience and identify and seek new partnerships, including enhancing student opportunities to build world-class teaching and research programs.

“MSSI is strongly committed to building a collaborative and supportive network to achieve our high expectations,” Professor Gleeson said. “The new role will build capacity to develop and support open communication based upon trust and respect.”

Such a role will aim to influence and stimulate public debate and policy through engaging with both local and international communities.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis said the chair will become another key element in promoting sustainability across the university and beyond.

“The aspiration for a clean and green environment, and resilient society, informs the values of the university and is in turn reflected in our work,” said Professor Davis.

“This chair builds on this aspiration. We’re excited about the opportunities this collaboration with the City of Melbourne will bring in promoting our shared goals for sustainability and further enhancing Melbourne’s role as a national leader in knowledge-based urban resilience.”

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle added that the City is “delighted to partner with the University of Melbourne in a joint chair, a chair of resilience and of cities in general”.

“This is a first for the City of Melbourne and the University of Melbourne,” he said, “but one that we feel will add great firepower to the study of not just what makes us such a livable city, but also such a resilient city and, more importantly, how that can be sustained in the future.”