PhD Research
University of Technology Sydney (2025)
Examining the role of public participation and design in planning sustainability transitions.
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From 2021 through to 2024 I explored with the Hunter Valley community what a good energy transition could look like. The primary objective of my research was to examine the role of public participation in planning the phase-out of coal mining and power generation in the Hunter, and to use this inquiry to suggest practical opportunities for designers in supporting public participation in sustainability transitions. I was awarded my PhD by UTS in early 2025.
In my thesis—which you can download here—I argue for a revived sensibility of public participation in the planning of sustainability transitions: one that embraces community members as valid contributors of place-based knowledge. There is a role for design here in creating and/or remaking spaces of participation so that community voices are heard, respected, and adopted in planning transitions.
I was generously invited by Hunter Renewal to be part of their team for my research. My supervisory team were Cameron Tonkinwise and Abby Mellick Lopes. The two fieldwork cycles produced two reports for Hunter Renewal and Hunter Jobs Alliance (Future-proofing and the Blueprint). You can read more about my process on my Medium page.
Diagram: Fields that shape this study. The asterisk (*) indicates where my research sits, at the intersection between design activism, transition design, public participation, and energy transitions.