Dr Irene Perez Lopez

Career Summary

Biography

Fields of Research

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Academic appointment

Professional appointment

Publications

For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.

Chapter (1 outputs)

Journal article (6 outputs)

Conference (8 outputs)

Creative Work (1 outputs)

Other (2 outputs)

Presentation (9 outputs)

Report (2 outputs)

Grants and Funding

Summary

Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.

20222 grants / $39,285

20211 grants / $30,000

20201 grants / $3,000

20131 grants / $95,000

20121 grants / $83,700

Research Supervision

Current Supervision

Research Projects

Re-imagining Monuments Using Digital Arts 2021 -

Grants

Collaborators

Estuary Urbanism. Challenges of adaptation in the climate and biodiversity emergency 2020 - 2024

As part of a broader interdisciplinary discussion, the research investigates the future vulnerability and immense challenges of adaptation and mitigation that coastal and estuary cities face due to the climate emergency. The climate crisis is a water crisis (UNESCO, 2020). Flood risk -too much water-, or droughts -not enough water- are the extremes impacting cities and nature. Living and designing in the ‘Terrain of Water’ (Mathur, da Cunha, 2014) necessitate a. I claim, as Henk Ovink (2020), that water and water narratives can unite people worldwide – politicians and scientists, city dwellers and country dwellers to create new amenities, active living, and ecological urbanism while reducing flood and other climate-associated risks. 

The goal is to generate evidence-based design guidelines, responding to key environmental, social, and economic challenges that cities, inhabitants, and designers across the world need to address in the immediate future related to urban sustainability, security, resilience, and liveability, taking advantage of unique estuary characteristics.

I-Cities: Intermediate Cities (i-Cities): Localising the SDGs Towards transformative actions and base planning 2022 - 2023

Intermediate cities (i-cities) are important regional hubs facing an expanding urban development process while preserving non-developed peri-urban and largely rural-natural areas. Tackling this reality and planning future urban interventions in i-cities is a crucial goal toward global sustainability in urban, environmental, sociocultural, and economic aspects and aligned with climate actions. In order to achieve the established international goals (UN-Habitat Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals SDGs), it is necessary to think up and design local public policies based on the territory, proximity and spaces associated with i-cities to enhance their sustainable development and maintain their social ties.  

The research is developed in two i-cities within Australia: Newcastle -Singleton (New South Wales – NSW) and Albany (Western Australia - WA). The methodology is based on the “Base Plan” methodology, an inclusive planning tool developed by UNESCO UdL-CIMES Chair for Intermediary Cities to identify "territorial logics" and strategic urban interventions. The Base Plan focuses on recognising, valuing, and recovering the role of i-cities in the global network of urban-rural settings while accelerating transformative actions and projects aligned with the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda. The aim is to tackle common intermediate cities’ challenges, propose solutions, disseminate good practices, and inform local governments professionals concerning the SDGs with a particular focus on SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, and SDG 13 – Climate action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

The process assembles local governments, stakeholders, community, students and academics in the thinking-planning-proposing process as a collective endeavour to discuss: 1) existing/future urban plans (Strategic and Structure Plans) and projects with attention to its intermediate relationships with its region, and; 2) Verify how existing/future local plans and projects meet the SDGs.

Improving social, cultural and built environment resilience of coastline communities against natural hazards 2022 - 2023

The predicted increase in the coming years in the frequency and intensity of extreme events, such as storms and rainfalls, will further impact the exposure rate and severity of natural hazards posing a significant risk to communities and infrastructure located along the Australian coastline. NSW regional’s economy and lifestyle are concentrated mainly along the coastline. Identifying how climate change translates into place-specific risks is an urgent priority to ensure the safety and continuity of access to recreational areas, transportation networks and infrastructure, protection of heritage and places of ecological and societal value. In our region, human well-being is strongly linked to our coastal and riverine areas, as they are critical assets for our urban life [3]. Government and regional agencies are already investing several million yearly in the renovation, and stabilisation works to protect impacted local communities and improve resilience against expected natural hazards threatening the relationship between the natural and built environment.

This project proposes investigating the socio-economic, built, and natural environment conditions and their evolution along a segment of the coastline of the Newcastle area (Newcastle beach and Berwood beach), that has endured severe impacts over the last few years by severe extreme climatic events.

It combines cross-college knowledge in design, engineering, environmental and social sciences. It revolves around three main aspects—natural, built, and social environment—aligned with team members’ areas of expertise and the University Strategic Looking Ahead Plan’s Priorities. Together, the three aspects tease out key vulnerabilities, risks and hazards, which must be considered holistically in any future approach to mitigate risks, build community resilience, and protect our build-natural environment.

The project is a pilot study of urban, natural, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities and challenges posed by relevant natural hazards (rock cliff erosion instabilities, sand beach erosion) to the coastal communities and infrastructures. It is an initial desktop study with the core aim of identifying the required parameters for a more comprehensive investigation to be conducted at a larger scale for external competitive funds schemes.

The pilot study intends to address the following question: How can we better capture the risks associated to natural hazards and predicted climate change along the coastal NSW communities, built and natural assets, and more specifically in the Newcastle region, to improve resilience and provide guidance to local agencies?

The project aims to: 

1. Identify how recent climate changes and extreme events have affected the Newcastle coastline over the last few years (impact on transport communications and infrastructures, recreational activities and tourism, expenditure in stabilization works; communities’ activities and social disruption); 
2. Assess what has been missed in current assessment and urban planning policies and guidelines; 
3. Establish a plan for future intervention to improve resilience and preparedness against further climate disruptions in Hunter’s coastal communities.

This project is aligned with UoN's Looking Ahead Strategic Plan by encouraging healthier and resilient communities and spaces, nurturing the community's sense of belonging, and looking ahead into a sustainable and resilient natural, built, and societal environment. It is expected the project will set the bases for further research, resulting in recommendations informing future plans and guidelines such as Coastal Rehabilitation Strategies and Coastal Management Plans.

Dr Irene Perez Lopez