The Urban Development Institute of Australia New South Wales recently awarded two $50,000 AU grants to the winners of its ‘City Life Labs Event.’ The two best technology-focused project ideas will each develop their projects collaboratively with UDIA NSW, with the objective of helping to “make our cities more live-able, affordable and connected”.
A project from The SMART Infrastructure Facility – led by Dr. Pascal Perez – at the University of Wollongong was one of the winners. They propose to utilize local knowledge and ideas for city improvement through gamifying the community engagement process.
“UDIA NSW will now work with the SMART Infrastructure Facility to develop their project into a tool that will change the way people comment on public spaces,” said Keiran Thomas, UDIA Greater Western Sydney & Southern Region manager. “UDIA NSW is committed to supporting innovation in the design of our cities and it is great that a team from Wollongong has taken out the top prize… it shows our region produces world leaders in technology and the urban environment.”
‘Geografia’ – an Australian company which specializes in demographic, economic, and spatial analysis – also received a $50,000 grant for its project using real time tracking of urban heat, noise, and air pollution to understand how current conditions affect local economic activity.
Along with the research funding, the winners will receive exposure and brand prominence across UDIA NSW’s Urban Icon Research Platform and have the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Urban Icon Research Platform Steering Committee. The UDIA NSW launched City Life Labs in 2015 with a worldwide competition to uncover the most innovative and unique urban research project ideas relevant to the development industry.
