What if the cities of the future could work with nature instead of against it?

As our urban areas grow, so do the challenges: Higher emissions, shrinking green space, and the strain on native wildlife. 

Plus, there are the impacts of a changing climate to consider – hotter summers, increased natural disasters and more extreme weather. 

But what if we could combine technology and nature-based solutions to not only make cities more liveable, but help them thrive?

From buildings that sense and respond to the climate, to plants that can “tell us” what they need, and sea walls designed as habitats for marine life – Macquarie University is reimagining the blueprint for urban living.

To break down what this means for our future, we spoke to Macquarie University researcher and plant ecologist, distinguished professor Michelle Leishman.

Around 85% of Australians live in urban areas. According to Professor Leishman, these areas are facing “massive challenges,” including housing affordability, traffic congestion, air pollution, loss of biodiversity, and extreme heat. 

“It's incredibly important that we tackle the big global challenges, and one of the challenges that we face globally is urbanisation,” Leishman told TDA.  

Macquarie University’s Smart Green Cities Research Centre is working on evidence-based solutions to tackle these problems. 

Such broad and urgent issues require a multi-disciplined approach. With that in mind, the centre has brought together researchers from engineering and computing, science, biology, and environmental science, through to lawyers, businesspeople, and psychologists.

This diverse group of experts are working to address climate challenges head-on, to improve “the future liveability, vibrancy and sustainability of our cities”.

Experts are working together to monitor climate risk across two different components: Climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. 

 “In mitigation, we bring together engineers [and] business people, lawyers to work out how we can get to net zero emissions. How can we power our cities? How can we make sure that we have an uptake of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries, and ensure that it's equitable and fair across the community?” Leishman explained.

The answers to these questions can contribute to our net-zero journey. 

“And then the other side of it is climate change adaptation. As our climate warms, we have issues with extreme events, bushfires, flooding, and heating. How can we make our cities resilient to those extreme events?”

Researchers are considering a raft of initiatives to build up this resilience. For example, developing construction materials to keep buildings cool, planting more ‘urban forests’ of trees and vegetation in our cities, and monitoring energy use.

Multiply your future with Macquarie University

At Macquarie University, we’re building a better future – one where people, plants, and wildlife work alongside technology to fight climate change and build cities where everyone can thrive.

If shaping a greener, smarter future gets you excited, then you should consider Macquarie University. With Sydney’s top-rated teachers, industry connections to kickstart your career, global businesses on campus, and a community built for collaboration, you can turn your passion into real-world impact.  

Find out how you could multiply your potential at mq.edu.au/study 

That’s YOU. To the power of us.

Smart green cities researchers are considering how technological innovations and advancements can improve our urban environments ​– from real-time monitoring and management to renewable energy integration, smart buildings, and sensing technologies.

“We can use technology in so many different ways,” Leishman told TDA. 

“We can use sensors to tell us what's happening with our energy use, what's happening with our tree water uptake in our gardens, what's happening with pollution levels and water quality. We can use sensors and bring them together in smart systems to help us manage and adapt in real time.” 

In essence, these ‘connected cities’ take advantage of technological innovations to develop breakthrough climate solutions.

“It's all about getting more efficiency and getting better environmental outcomes,” Leishman said. 

Nature-based solutions, also known as ‘blue green infrastructure’, are another important aspect of creating liveable, future cities. 

Green infrastructure includes spaces like our parks and our gardens, “including remnant vegetation, all of our street trees, the verges, the parklands, and botanic gardens”.

Leishman said these green spaces are also connected to blue spaces. Think: Urban creeks and waterways leading into estuaries and marine environments.

“If we manage them together, they can make cities more livable, improving water quality, for example.”

This functionality requires new ways of thinking about urban planning, or what Leishman calls “the blue green grid” that underlies our cities, to make them better places for both people and nature.  

For example, trees provide shade and cooling, but they also provide cooling through their roots in the ground, which bring water up and transpire it through their leaves. 

Leishman compares this process to an air conditioning system.

“A tree is more important than just a shade cloth, because a shade cloth is not an evaporative cooler like a tree is. We can use our green spaces to provide that cooling.”

But for this green infrastructure to work, it needs to be in the right place. Trees need access to water. “As the climate dries, we need to make sure that our green spaces are resilient to climate change.”

In practical terms, this means planting species that can cope with “those slightly drier environments, to provide those cooling benefits that we need,” Leishman said.

Smart green cities recognise the importance of native wildlife and habitats in urban planning for the future. 

For Leishman, it’s about thinking about our cities as great places for both people and nature to thrive. 

Biodiversity is of critical environmental significance, but it also makes people happier, “and makes living in a busy, congested city much better”. 

“We get joy from looking at the parrots or listening to kookaburras laugh and all sorts of different aspects of nature,” Leishman told TDA.

Feeling connected to nature and wildlife has physical and mental health benefits. 

“Getting into green space or blue spaces, being able to swim, being able to walk. That's good for our physical health, that's good for our cardio health.”

Another benefit is that these spaces can reduce air pollution. In turn, this can reduce rates of asthma and respiratory illnesses. Then there are the mental health and wellbeing benefits. 

“We learned during Covid how important it was to be able to immerse ourselves in nature, to give ourselves a mental break,” Leishman noted.

Ultimately, the Macquarie University Smart Green Cities research project is about harnessing technology and nature, recognising the importance of physical and emotional wellbeing, and bringing these elements together to build a sustainable, liveable future. 

“We can't keep going the way we have. We need a radical transformation of the way we think about our cities. They can have benefits for people, benefits for nature, and benefits for our economy as well,” Leishman said.

The Smart Green Cities Research Centre is designed to bring people together, “to find those win-win solutions and develop really exciting leaps and bounds in our understanding and knowledge.”