We are proud to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of all the lands across Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
Urban Design

A Better Future

Find out what urban design is

‘People make cities,
and it is to them, not buildings,
that we must fit our plans’
Jane Jacobs

What is Urban Design?
Urban design is a collaborative process to help shape and design the future form and performance of our cities. Cities are complex, made up of physical elements such as infrastructure, landscape and buildings, but also more intangible elements such as culture, governance and the experiences of those who live there. Urban design coordinates these elements to make cities and neighbourhoods where people want to live, creating places that respond to their context.

Urban design is visionary
Negotiating complex issues and interests, seeking to address current and future problems within our built environments. Through urban design, we pursue an equitable urban environment with a human and ecological focus.

Urban design is a process
Exploring how to improve and protect our urban environments. Often operating at a strategic scale, urban design navigates the intersection of social, economic and environmental factors over a long period of time.

Urban design is an integrated discipline
Bringing together people from diverse fields to collaboratively explore complex relationships in our cities. Urban designers focus on the public realm – all elements of built and unbuilt space – and intentionally shape our urban environments.

Knowledge Sharing

Learn about best practice urbanism
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Art & UrbanismCircular EconomyCitizen-led CitiesCreativity and the next economyCultural ProductionDesign ExcellenceDiversity & InclusionHealth & WellbeingHousing & GentrificationLocal ContentMobility TransitionPublic HealthRegenerative DesignResilient CitiesTechnology & CitiesUrbanism & Finance

Sharing knowledge is critical to support the exchange of ideas. As a discipline focused on cities and urban regions, we draw upon broad expertise across public policy, health, sociology, environmental science, economics, art and design. The following resources, organised by media type and key themes, provide a repository from our favourite information sources.

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Art & UrbanismCircular EconomyCitizen-led CitiesCreativity and the next economyCultural ProductionDesign ExcellenceDiversity & InclusionHealth & WellbeingHousing & GentrificationLocal ContentMobility TransitionPublic HealthRegenerative DesignResilient CitiesTechnology & CitiesUrbanism & Finance
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Public Conversations

View our upcoming and past events
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UpcomingPast

Throughout the year, we host public conversations to generate dialogue and debate, as part of inspiring design festivals and programs. Our member events support a collegiate urban design profession. For current information, follow us on social media and subscribe to our mailing list.

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Research & Advocacy

Access our submissions and Practice Notes
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Advocacy

Our Practice Notes provide best practice guidance for built environment practitioners, the community and government. Research is commissioned independently or in partnership with universities to address identified knowledge gaps, and are subject to peer review for quality assurance. Practice Notes are released quarterly and reflect our core impact areas.

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Advocacy

Education

Find out where to study urbanism

The demand for highly skilled urban designers has never been greater. Australia is facing a shortfall of qualified urban designers, owing to lack of understanding of professional opportunities, limited exposure alongside with challenges with accreditation.

Attracting Talent
Urban design is a rewarding, but less known discipline. We map out the career pathways for the next generation of urban designers and provide a platform for increasing the profile of urban design education and the profession. 

Education Reform
Urban design demands far more than technical design skills. Operating at the interface of built environment disciplines, urban designers solve complex urban issues. We are working with a number of Australian universities to continue to elevate the standard of urban design education.

Continued Learning
Urban design is a life-long pursuit of continued learning. We offer master classes for built environment professionals including cross-disciplinary workshops, seminars and study tours. For current information, follow us on social media and subscribe to our mailing list.

Education Providers

Mentorship & Support

Become a member or supporter

We support a collegiate profession that promotes the rapid exchange of ideas, and nurtures a new generation of designers. We believe in collaboration – not competition.

Building Community
Our member networks support connection and professional growth. This includes frequent guest speakers and round table workshops, as well as a curated communication platform to share knowledge and career opportunities.

Mentor Forum
Our mentorship program for students and professionals supports the next generation of urban designers to thrive. We partner mentees with experienced professionals to offer mentorship, coaching and career advice. Click here to read more about the Mentor Forum.

SUPPORT US

We draw upon our individual members and supporters for their expertise and knowledge, collegiality and commitment to creating a better urban future for all. 

Change

Read more about our ambitions

Business as usual is no longer a choice. Alone our effectiveness is limited, but collectively we can advocate for the change our world needs. We need public policy that puts people and the environment first. We need development processes that provide ‘more good’, not ‘less bad’. We need education programs that attract the best talent and cultivate the next generation of public interest urbanists.

We enable this change, through empowering a more strategic and effective design industry. Our cities’ future is bright, but we need to work together to get there.

Urban Design Forum Australia

Find out more about us

About Us

Urban Design Forum is a non-profit organisation that supports public interest outcomes in our cities. We believe in the role that cities can play in solving the major challenges of our time.

The Forum has three roles: creating a supportive network of urban designers and allied professionals, sharing knowledge on best practice urbanism, and researching and advocating for better urban education, systems and outcomes.

 

Our History

Urban Design Forum was launched in 1986 to raise awareness of the important role that urban design makes in shaping our built environments. Over 35 years, we have created the opportunity for urban designers across Australia to connect through public conversations and events. Our newsletter has raised the knowledge base for best practice urban design. 

 

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Become a Member

Our members understand the critical role that urban design has in shaping better environments for broader public benefit.

We welcome members from a diverse range of backgrounds, including urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, planning and other related professions from across Australia.

 

Members enjoy the following benefits:

  • Access to a professional network of urban design practitioners
  • Discounted entry to networking events, briefings, discussions and other special events 
  • Invitation to member only events
  • Access to mentoring, training and development opportunities
  • Access to resources such as the practice notes and advocacy submissions
Professional ($209 inc. GST / year)
Available to individual professionals.
Non-practicing ($99 inc. GST / year)
Available to professionals that are on extended leave, parental leave or retired.
Emerging ($55 inc. GST / year)
Available to students and those with less than 3 years of experience.
Supporter Membership Package (15% OFF)
5x membership package for urban design forum supporters

Become a supporter

Find out more about how to become an Urban Design Forum supporter

Find out more

People

Leadership

Katherine is a Principal at MGS Architects, an architecture and urbanism consultancy that exists to create places with longevity and adaptability that deliver daily value to the people who use them. Drawing on her experience as an architect and urban designer in Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, she leads significant urban transformation projects, with a focus on university campuses, creative employment neighbourhoods and housing precincts. Katherine is also a sessional teacher at Monash University, inspiring the next generation of public interest urbanists.

 

Heinz is an urban design leader and strategic thinker with a focus on the 21st century city as a proving ground for urban adaptation, community resilience and social equity. He leads the Urban Design at Woods Bagot in Australia and is an Adjunct Professor and lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Melbourne. Graduating with a Masters of Science in Architecture and Urban Design (MSAUD) from the Columbia University GSAPP in New York, he is based in Melbourne working on both Australian and global projects. Heinz has been an Adjunct Professor and lecturer at Swineburne University of Technology and The University of Melbourne MSD as well as a guest critic for architectural and urban design studios at Columbia GSAPP Melbourne MSD, RMIT, Monash, Miami and IIT.

Ella enjoys tackling social and environmental issues throughout her design process. With her skills in engagement, she helps to bridge the gap between communities and authorities to reach mutually beneficial outcomes. Above all, she is passionate in strengthening supportive, sustainable and active communities to improve people’s daily lives and has worked across project scales in both Australia and New Zealand. She is currently an associate urban designer and project lead at MGS Architects, and throughout her career has worked in growth areas, regional towns and most urban areas of Melbourne. As a practical and strategic thinker, she specialises in urban renewal, social housing, transit-oriented design, master planning, open space/public realm planning, walking/cycling improvements and engagement work, enjoying when she can unite these elements through visioning early on.

Will is an urban designer and Senior Associate at Mesh with a background in architecture, planning and landscape architecture. He specialises in established area precinct masterplanning and innovation precincts drawing on his multidisciplinary experience working in Australia, Netherlands, US and UK. Will has co-led a design studio at Monash University as well as been a guest critic for design studios at Melbourne MSD, Monash and TU Delft. Will also has two dogs and he will talk to you about them at any opportunity.

Dr. Brendan Baxter is an urban designer and architect. A senior government practitioner with extensive private sector experience, he is passionate about supporting public interest outcomes in our cities. Brendan’s 2019 thesis The New Berlin: Urban design models for a more compact and sustainable city identified lessons relevant to major challenges facing Australian cities. Brendan enjoys sharing his expertise through guest-teaching roles at universities and leading community architectural tours.

Committee

Andy Fergus
Ben Thorp
Diana Bazan Ibanez
Elisa Casagrande
Kim Delbridge
Mrunal Venkatakrishnan
Rebecca Finn

 

 

Our Supporters

We draw upon our individual members and supporters for their expertise and knowledge, collegiality and commitment to creating a better urban future for all. 

Urban Design Forum would not be possible without the generous support of the following organisations, who respect our independent voice in the built environment.

Universities
Government
Design Industry

Contact

As advocates we are committed to engaging in critical conversations about urban design in the media.

 

Mentorship & Support

Mentor Forum

Our mentorship program for students and professionals supports the next generation of urban design professionals to thrive. We partner mentees with experienced professionals to offer mentorship, coaching and career advice.

We launched Mentor Forum for its first round in July of 2023, and organised 6 group mentoring sessions both in-person and online with lead professionals from Hansen Partnerships, Hassell Studios, Homes Victoria, Mesh, Stewart Architecture and Urban Fold. 29 mentees attended across these sessions, and some have continued relationships with mentors and mentees since. 

Can I be a Mentor? 
If you would like to submit your interest in being a mentor, please email [email protected]. (Expressions of interest are currently closed for our Autumn program). 

Can I be a Mentee? 
If you are a member of the Urban Design Forum Australia and would like to participate as a mentee, please subscribe to our newsletters to receive up-to-date announcements.

Mentor Forum Autumn Program, 2024

Urban Design Forum hosts Mentor Forum to support the next generation of urbanists to grow and thrive. We pair 3-4 mentees with one mentor in group sessions to make the most of the mentor’s valuable time and allow mentees to grow their networks. This year, rather than a one-off session, each group will meet once a month over three months.

The Process

To be a Mentee – Your membership with the Urban Design Forum Australia must be up to date, and you need to be subscribed to our newsletters.

Mentees select their preferred Mentor by booking through a Humanitix link. It will be on a first-come, first-served basis. We will not be assigning Mentees to Mentors for this program. 

Mentees commit to participating in all three monthly 1.5-hour sessions (either online or in person). This is followed by celebratory drinks with all mentors and mentees at the end of the program.

Mentees and mentors have the opportunity to fill out a reflection and feedback form at the end of the program

Registration Cost: $30 for In—person mentoring and $20 for Online mentoring. This registration cost covers administration fees and catering.

Book here!

The Schedule
Mentor Forum will begin with its first session from Monday the 8th till Friday the 13th of April, based on the Mentor and Mentees availability. The first session is envisaged to be held at the offices/studio of the Mentor (or online) and will be an introduction to the Mentor group. The second and third sessions will be organised directly between the Mentor and Mentees and are intended to be more flexible in format. Autumn Session Dates
Offering Online (AUS) and In-person (VIC)


Session One (1×1.5hr)
Week of Monday the 8th of April
Session Two (1×1.5hr)
Week of Monday the 29th of April
Session Three (1×1.5hr)
Week of Monday the 27th of May

Important Registration Dates
Wednesday 20th of March 5pm AEDT
Mentors will be announced, along with dates and times for the first
introductory session

Friday 22nd of March 12pm AEDT
Registration Open (Mentor’s Humanitix booking links will become available on our website and released in an email campaign)
Book here!

Our Mentor Lineup

Targol Khorram
 Homes Victoria, VIC (In-person Mentor)
Session One – Thursday April 11, 2024 12:00 PM → 1:30 PM
Read more…

Jesse McNicoll
City of Sydney, NSW (Online Mentor)
Session One – Thursday April 11, 2024
12:00 PM → 1:30 PM
Read more…

Nicole Allen
ARUP, VIC (In-person Mentor)
Session One – Tuesday April 9, 2024
1:30 PM → 3:00 PM
Read more…

Liam Mouritz
City of Fremantle, WA (Online Mentor)
Session One – Friday April 12, 202
3:00 PM → 4:30 PM
Read more…

Rob Adams
Adams Urban, VIC (In-person Mentor)
Session One – Monday April 8, 2024
8:15 AM → 9:45 AM
Read more…

Carley Wright
Urbanfold, VIC (In-person Mentor)
Session One – Tuesday April 9, 2024
12:00 PM → 1:30 PM
Read more…

Riley Flanigan
Urbis, QLD (Online Mentor)
Session One – Tuesday April 9, 2024
12:00 PM → 1:30 PM
Read more…

Laurence Dragomir
Fishermans Bend Tasforce, VIC (In-person Mentor)
Session One – Tuesday April 9, 2024
1:00 PM → 2:30 PM
Read more…

Bianca Elenćevski
Department of Transport and Planning, VIC (In-person Mentor)
Session One – Thursday April 11, 2024
6:30 PM → 8:00 PM
Read more…

Registration Opens Friday 22nd of March