Lecturer in Planning
Overview
Sara (PhD, MArch, BArch) is a lecturer in planning at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Prior to joining the University of Queensland, she worked as a researcher, educator and practitioner (in private sector and local government) in both Australia and internationally.
Her research is interdisciplinary and focuses on the interrelationships between urban policy, planning, design and public health. She investigates the role of urban policy and built environment in the health and wellbeing of vulnerable communities, including the ageing population. Her work is participatory and focuses on planning inclusive cities that embrace diversity through community engagement in planning and decision making.
Research Interests
- Planning for Social Sustainability and Community Wellbeing
- Planning Healthy and liveable Cities
- Age-Friendly Planning
- Informal Housing in the Global North
- Green Urban Infrastructure and Community Health
- Stakeholder Consultation and Participatory Planning
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University
Publications
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Journal Article: A systematic review of planning policies for community wellbeing
Alidoust, Sara, Gleeson, Nikita and Khalaj, Fahimeh (2022). A systematic review of planning policies for community wellbeing. Journal of Urbanism, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2022.2071971
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Journal Article: Master planned communities for healthy living: a systematic literature review
Alidoust, Sara and Huang, Wei (2022). Master planned communities for healthy living: a systematic literature review. Urban Policy and Research, 40 (2), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/08111146.2022.2057945
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Other Outputs: ‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among older Australians
Alidoust, Sara (2022, 02 18). ‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among older Australians The Conversation
Supervision
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Building breathing space: Supporting health and well-being in higher-density neighbourhoods in subtropical cities
Doctor Philosophy
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Urban form and urban heat mitigation: a study of Brisbane
Doctor Philosophy
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Delivering the Sustainable Cities of the Future: Defining an Approach to Catalyse Change in Urban Development Outcomes
Doctor Philosophy
Available Projects
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Climate Change and its Health Impacts in Cities
The projects focus on the health impacts of climate change on vulnerable community groups, including older people. Some topics include: 1. Urban heat stress and community health.
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Planning Healthy Cities
The projects focus on the associations between urban planning and the three components of health: physical, mental and social health. Some topics include: 1. The role of built environment and planning policies in physical activity, active transport, healthy behaviours. 2. Urban planning impacts on social capital and community cohesion. 3. Planning policies and built environmental design for mental health. 4. Urban Green space and community health.
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Planning Age-friendly Cities
The projects focus on urban planning and policies aimed at developing enabling environments for older people to live an active life and stay engaged in the community. Some topics include: 1. Planning policies for developing age-friendly cities. 2. Developing age-friendly cities in China. 3. Emerging housing models and lifestyles for older people, e.g. house-sitting, co-living. 4. Neighbourhood planning for healthy ageing. 5. Master planned communities and community development for an ageing population.
Publications
Book Chapter
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Planning Healthy and Livable Cities
Alidoust, Sara (2022). Planning Healthy and Livable Cities. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures. (pp. 1-5) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-51812-7_277-1
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Ahmad, Mubeen, Darchen, Sebastien, Alidoust, Sara and Sipe, Neil (2022). Smart densification. The Palgrave encyclopedia of urban and regional futures. (pp. 1-9) Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-51812-7_278-1
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Planning Active Travel and School Transport
Fahimeh Khalaj, Pojani, Dorina and Alidoust, Sara (2021). Planning Active Travel and School Transport. International Encyclopedia of Transportation. (pp. 432-436) Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-08-102671-7.10792-4
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Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2019). Planning for healthy ageing: How the use of third places contributes to the social health of older populations. Rethinking Third Places: Informal Public Spaces and Community Building. (pp. 38-55) edited by Joanne Dolley and Caryl Bosman. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Journal Article
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A systematic review of planning policies for community wellbeing
Alidoust, Sara, Gleeson, Nikita and Khalaj, Fahimeh (2022). A systematic review of planning policies for community wellbeing. Journal of Urbanism, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2022.2071971
-
Master planned communities for healthy living: a systematic literature review
Alidoust, Sara and Huang, Wei (2022). Master planned communities for healthy living: a systematic literature review. Urban Policy and Research, 40 (2), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/08111146.2022.2057945
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An exploratory study of house-sitting and ‘home’-making among older people
Alidoust, Sara and Khalaj, Fahimeh (2021). An exploratory study of house-sitting and ‘home’-making among older people. Australian Geographer, 52 (4), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/00049182.2021.1999612
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A decade of research on housing and health: a systematic literature review
Alidoust, Sara and Huang, Wei (2021). A decade of research on housing and health: a systematic literature review. Reviews on Environmental Health. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2021-0121
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Lest we forget: media predictions of a post-Covid-19 urban future
Pojani, Dorina and Alidoust, Sara (2021). Lest we forget: media predictions of a post-Covid-19 urban future. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 1-17. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2021.1944283
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Case studies: housing initiatives in Queensland
Bruhn, Cameron and Alidoust, Sara (2020). Case studies: housing initiatives in Queensland. Architecture Australia, 109 (5), 66-71.
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Housing initiatives and opportunities in Queensland
Bruhn, Cameron and Alidoust, Sara (2020). Housing initiatives and opportunities in Queensland. Architecture Australia, 109 (5), 63-65.
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The "Hothouse Community" and its implications for older age residents
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2020). The "Hothouse Community" and its implications for older age residents. Urban Policy and Research, 38 (2), 132-149. doi: 10.1080/08111146.2020.1753688
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Hindmarsh, Richard and Alidoust, Sara (2019). Rethinking Australian CSG transitions in participatory contexts of local social conflict, community engagement, and shifts towards cleaner energy. Energy Policy, 132, 272-282. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.05.035
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Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2019). Planning for healthy ageing: how the use of third places contributes to the social health of older populations. Ageing and Society, 39 (7), 1459-1484. doi: 10.1017/s0144686x18000065
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Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2018). Talking while walking: an investigation of perceived neighbourhood walkability and its implications for the social life of older people. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 33 (1), 133-150. doi: 10.1007/s10901-017-9558-1
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Master planned communities for the ageing population: how sociable are they?
Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2017). Master planned communities for the ageing population: how sociable are they?. Cities and Health, 1 (1), 38-46. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2017.1393242
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Grant, Marcus, Brown, Caroline, Caiaffa, Waleska T., Capon, Anthony, Corburn, Jason, Coutts, Chris, Crespo, Carlos J., Ellis, Geraint, Ferguson, George, Fudge, Colin, Hancock, Trevor, Lawrence, Roderick J., Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J., Oni, Tolu , Thompson, Susan, Wagenaar, Cor , Ward Thompson, Catharine, Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl, Schnake-Mahl, Alina, Norman, Sarah, Kent, Jennifer Lee, Ma, Liang, Mulley, Corinne and Siri, José (2017). Research for City Practice. Cities and Health, 1 (1), 10-21. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2017.1396750
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The spatial dimensions of neighbourhood: how older people define it
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl, Holden, Gordon, Shearer, Heather and Shutter, Leigh (2017). The spatial dimensions of neighbourhood: how older people define it. Journal of Urban Design, 22 (5), 547-567. doi: 10.1080/13574809.2017.1336057
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Boomer planning: the production of age-friendly cities
Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2016). Boomer planning: the production of age-friendly cities. Built Environment, 42 (1), 107-119. doi: 10.2148/benv.42.1.107
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Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2015). Planning for an ageing population: links between social health, neighbourhood environment and the elderly. Australian Planner, 52 (3), 177-186. doi: 10.1080/07293682.2015.1034145
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Alidoust, Sara, Holden, Gordon and Bosman, Caryl (2014). Urban environment and social health of the elderly: a critical discussion on physical, social and policy environments. Athens Journal of Health, 1 (3), 169-180. doi: 10.30958/ajh.1-3-1
Conference Publication
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Socially healthy ageing: the importance of third places, soft edges and walkable neighbourhoods
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2015). Socially healthy ageing: the importance of third places, soft edges and walkable neighbourhoods. State of Australian Cities Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, 9-11 December 2015.
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Alidoust, Sara, Holden, Gordon and Bosman, Caryl (2014). Urban environment and social health of the elderly: a critical discussion on physical, social and policy environments. 4th Annual International Conference on Urban Studies & Planning, Athens, Greece, 9-12 June 2020.
Other Outputs
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‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among older Australians
Alidoust, Sara (2022, 02 18). ‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among older Australians The Conversation
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Alidoust, Sara (2017). Planning for socially healthy ageing – A study of neighbourhood environments and their impacts on the social lives of older people. PhD Thesis, School of Environment, Griffith University.
PhD and MPhil Supervision
Current Supervision
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Building breathing space: Supporting health and well-being in higher-density neighbourhoods in subtropical cities
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
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Urban form and urban heat mitigation: a study of Brisbane
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
-
Delivering the Sustainable Cities of the Future: Defining an Approach to Catalyse Change in Urban Development Outcomes
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
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Exploring the drivers of residential segregation in Chinese cities: A case of Shanghai
Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
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The current environmental dynamics of the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges ahead in Saudi Arabia and Australia in terms of planning and sustainability
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
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Integrated Development Plan for Sunshine Coast region: a new sustainable model for Queensland and lessons for coastal cities of Australia
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
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Active transport and gender issues: A comparison between Brisbane and Sylhet
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
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Green spaces for healthy ageing: An international comparative study
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
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Has urban consolidation in Melbourne been successful ?
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Completed Supervision
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Restoring the natural water cycle in cities: an urban design framework
(2022) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Possible Research Projects
Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.
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Climate Change and its Health Impacts in Cities
The projects focus on the health impacts of climate change on vulnerable community groups, including older people. Some topics include: 1. Urban heat stress and community health.
-
Planning Healthy Cities
The projects focus on the associations between urban planning and the three components of health: physical, mental and social health. Some topics include: 1. The role of built environment and planning policies in physical activity, active transport, healthy behaviours. 2. Urban planning impacts on social capital and community cohesion. 3. Planning policies and built environmental design for mental health. 4. Urban Green space and community health.
-
Planning Age-friendly Cities
The projects focus on urban planning and policies aimed at developing enabling environments for older people to live an active life and stay engaged in the community. Some topics include: 1. Planning policies for developing age-friendly cities. 2. Developing age-friendly cities in China. 3. Emerging housing models and lifestyles for older people, e.g. house-sitting, co-living. 4. Neighbourhood planning for healthy ageing. 5. Master planned communities and community development for an ageing population.
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Urban Planning for Social Sustainability
Some topics include: 1. Developing evaluation frameworks for social sustainability. 2. Developing evaluation frameworks for community wellbeing. 3. Community engagement in planning policy.
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Housing Planning and Policy
Some topics include: 1. Informal housing in the Global North. 2. Informal housing and the ageing population. 3. Health impacts of informal housing. 4. Resilient housing systems.
