Challenges and opportunities to develop a smart city: A case study of Gold Coast, Australia

With the rapid growth of information and communication technologies, there is a growing interest in developing smart cities with a focus on the knowledge economy, use of sensors and mobile technologies to plan and manage cities. The proponents argue that these emerging technologies have potential application in efficiently managing the environment and infrastructure, promoting economic development and actively engaging the public, thus contributing to building safe, healthy, sustainable and resilient cities. However, are there other important elements in addition to technologies which can contribute to the creation of smart cities? What are some of the challenges and opportunities for developing a smart city? This paper aims to answer these questions by developing a conceptual framework for smart cities. The framework is then applied to the city of Gold Coast to identify challenges and opportunities for developing the city into a ‘smart city’. Gold Coast is a popular tourist city of about 600,000 populations in South East Queensland, Australia, at the southern end of the 240km long coastal conurbation that is centred by Brisbane. Recently, IBM has nominated Gold Coast as one of the three cities in Australia for its Smarter Cities Challenge Grant. The grant will provide the Gold Coast City Council with the opportunity to collaborate with a group of experts from IBM to develop strategies for enhancing its ICT arrangements for disaster response capabilities. Gold Coast, meanwhile, has potential to diversify its economy from being centred on tourism to a knowledge economy with focus on its educational institutions, investments in cultural precincts and high quality lifestyle amenities. These provide a unique opportunity for building Gold Coast as an important smart city in the region. As part of the research methodology, the paper will review relevant policies of the council. Finally, lessons will be drawn from the case study for other cities which seek to establish themselves as smart cities

Funding coastal protection in a changing climate: lessons from three projects in Australia

ACCARNSI Research Associate, Dan Ware from Griffith University and Dr Zsuzsa Banhalmi-Zakar from James Cook University Townsville discuss the financing options of coastal protection in Australia using three existing case studies - the Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypass Project, the City of Gold Coast A-Line Seawall and the Toogoom Seawall, presenting the rationale, the basic project parameters and the different approaches to funding each project took. They compare funding features and outcomes achieved for each project as well as discussing the implications for coastal protection funding in the future

An indexing model for stormwater quality assessment: stormwater management in the Gold Coast

In the age of climate change and rapid urbanisation, stormwater management and water sensitive urban design have become important issues for urban policy makers. This paper reports the initial findings of a research study that develops an indexing model for assessing stormwater quality in the Gold Coast

An inclusive city water account by integrating multiple data sources for South-East Queensland (SEQ), Australia

Cities are the hotspots of impacts on local and distant water resources through economic activity and consumption. More than half of the world's population lives in cities, which is expected to reach around two-thirds by 2050. Such a high level of increased urbanization calls for higher attention towards inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities (Sustainable Development Goals 11). To evaluate sustainability, inclusiveness, and resiliency pathways, a variety of sustainability indicators have been proposed, including the water footprint. The water footprint is defined as the total volume of freshwater used for the goods and services consumed. It covers both direct (e.g. drinking and cleaning) and virtual water flows (water used in the goods and services supply chain, hence also known as embedded water). Virtual water flows through products and services produced in other locations using their water resources influence the function, prosperity, and growth of the cities. Yet, this aspect is absent in the sustainability and strategic city water footprint reduction goals of Australian cities. To fully account for the water dependencies of Australian cities, direct and virtual water flows need to be known. To this purpose, we build inclusive city water of South-East Queensland (SEQ) by combining material flow analysis (MFA) and the multiregional input-output (MRIO) model. Water consumption in SEQ is used to quantify the water footprint on local water resources and net blue virtual water import. Together, this constitutes the water footprint on national water resources. Our results show that the water footprint of SEQ on local water resources is 620 GL with a net virtual water import of 1382 GL. Therefore, the water footprint of SEQ on national water resources is 2002 GL. The water footprint of SEQ on local water resources consists of direct water consumption by households (192 GL) and the industrial sector (428 GL). The consumed direct water of the SEQ industrial sector flows as virtual water to SEQ (149 GL), the rest of Australia (RoAUS) (all other regions except SEQ) (211 GL), and the rest of the world (68 GL). The virtual water inflows breakdown by source regions showed that 386 GL, 1019 GL, and 256 GL of virtual water imported from the major cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth); regional areas of NSW, Victoria, and QLD; and RoAUS, respectively. Overall, the proposed inclusive city water account can enhance subnational estimates of city water footprint for benchmarking, as well as inclusive and resilient city water planning

Mass Transit Project Financing - new and alternative approaches

In major cities around the world, the appetite for better mass transit systems is strong – with many locations needing to enhance both capacity and coverage to address population growth and increased transport movement. Available resources from traditional government sources are limited, however. In this paper, several potential ‘alternative’ project financing structures will be reviewed – mainly focusing on PPPs – but also briefly taking-in ‘Joint Powers’ and other arrangements operating under a ‘blended’ financing model. The paper seeks to analyse and clarify the attributes, pitfalls, and potential benefits of these different arrangements, drawing on the documentation and stated aims of several recent and current worldwide exemplars. A literature review and summary case study approach is adopted - with reference to mainstream sources on mass transit capital financing and planning. Cross-comparison of the different approaches adopted in various exemplars is engaged. The paper then draws interpretation of the wider applicability of these project options for future mass transit delivery efforts – and touches on the conditions, criteria, and policy settings under which they might be positioned to deliver effectively. The paper addresses substantive, current and emerging issues around the ability of transit stakeholders in growing cities to surpass the limitations of prevailing project financing cultures and constraints

Integrating urban ecosystem sustainability assessment into policy-making: insights from the Gold Coast City

This paper introduces a policy-making support tool called ‘Micro-level Urban-ecosystem Sustainability IndeX (MUSIX)’. The index serves as a sustainability assessment model that monitors six aspects of urban ecosystems – hydrology, ecology, pollution, location, design, and efficiency – based on parcel-scale indicators. This index is applied in a case study investigation in the Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. The outcomes reveal that there are major environmental problems caused by increased impervious surfaces from growing urban development in the study area. The findings suggest that increased impervious surfaces are linked to increased surface runoff, car dependency, transport-related pollution, poor public transport accessibility, and unsustainable built environment. This paper presents how the MUSIX outputs can be used to guide policy-making through the evaluation of existing policies. © 2016 University of Newcastle upon Tyne

The impact of a new light rail network upon walkability in a central business district

Traditionally, in Australia, development has occurred in a way that has encouraged car use rather than public or active transport. Recently, there has been an increasing amount of research into walkability and how it can best be encouraged when designing neighbourhoods, in order to reduce those problems associated with car dependency such as urban sprawl and increased obesity rates. The recent construction of a light rail system on the Gold Coast presents an opportunity to utilise and apply findings from existing research to existing pedestrian infrastructure, walkability levels and connectivity to some important destinations from a new light rail station. Therefore, this research paper aims to determine to what degree the walkability concepts have been considered during the design and construction of pathways from new light rail stations to important destinations, and to provide recommendations which will aid policy makers when designing the next stages of this network and future networks. The paper will have a specific focus on the factors that impact upon the attitudes and behaviours to walking. The mixed methods research project revealed that the routes to the key facilities around the case study tram station were in fact very walkable and well connected, but identified some important factors which inhibit walkability. Suggestions and recommendations are provided to enhance the desirability of walking in a central business district. The key issue this research paper has identified is that the development of a light rail system and the upgrade to the walking facilities around it will not automatically increase the number of people walking in an area, and that policy makers should consider many other factors during the planning, design and implementation stages of new pedestrian networks

House design preferences of malay housewives in Bandar Tenggara, Johor

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and determine Malay housewives’ house design preferences in the context of Malaysia. Malay housewives are married women regardless of their working status. They are overwhelmed by their roles and routine in taking care of their families and home. However, studies on housewives’ design preference of housing in Malaysia are scarce. Three objectives were developed for this research i.e, to recognize Malay housewives’ roles at home as the home manager and house design decision maker; to understand prominent patterns of Malay housewives’ daily activities at home; and to identify the housing design attributes preferred by Malay housewives. The investigation employed a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. It used a single instrument of self-administered survey questionnaire consisting of structured and semi-structured questions. The sampling technique used was simple random sampling involving 135 respondents from a suburban terraced residential area in Taman Anggerik, Bandar Tenggara, Johor, Malaysia. Methods of analysis employed in this research were content analysis for qualitative data and simple descriptive statistics such as frequencies and cross tabulation for quantitative data. Both types of data were merged during the analysis and interpretation processes. The results suggest that both full-time and working housewives remain the home manager, and they are the main decision makers for house design, particularly on the interior. The significant difference between the two groups of housewives is that working housewives tend to have higher opportunity in selecting house type and its location. Their significant activities at home are influenced by their religious ritual and way of life such as praying and preparation of meals. House attributes preferred are related to enhancing their spiritual needs such as preferring a nature setting and respecting certain religious requirements. Preferred house images of the housewives are inclined more towards modern design. The research also found that the living area and kitchen are the two most important spaces for Malay housewives. In conclusion, Malay housewives should be given more opportunity to participate in house design development, mainly on house interior, because of their significant role in home managing and their concern with the design of their houses. This is to ensure their house design more relevant to their preferences. The study is potentially useful for participatory house design approaches in Malaysia, in order to accommodate the design expectation of Malay housewives