Cecily Maller

(She/Her)

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  • Professor, Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University
Residents of the outer suburbs like the green spaces and sense of community, but lament the lack of access to transport and other services. theskaman306/Shutterstock

Living ‘liveable’: this is what residents have to say about life on the urban fringe

Leila Mahmoudi Farahani, RMIT University; Billie Giles-Corti, RMIT University; Cecily Maller, RMIT University, and Melanie Lowe, Australian Catholic University

Much of the growth in our cities is in the outer suburbs, now home to around 5 million people. And that creates problems like traffic that detract from the advantages residents see in living there.
Stony Creek drain: untidy and often slightly threatening, informal green space still has value for residents, which appropriate intervention can enhance.

How do we turn a drain into valued green space? First, ask the residents

Leila Mahmoudi Farahani, RMIT University and Cecily Maller, RMIT University

Residents often have concerns about informal green space but some still use it. Work to enhance these areas should aim to resolve these concerns without destroying what residents do value.
Nne-star-rated ‘Catalyst’ houses built to maximise passive solar principles were evaluated against seven control houses built to DHHS standards. Trivess Moore

Sustainable housing’s expensive, right? Not when you look at the whole equation

Trivess Moore, RMIT University; Cecily Maller, RMIT University; Ralph Horne, RMIT University, and Yolande Strengers, RMIT University

Emerging research challenges the idea that sustainable housing is unaffordable. It shows sustainability and good design can be affordable when analyses include social, health and wellbeing benefits.
Many things go into making a healthy community, so the earlier services and infrastructure become available, the better. Cecily Maller

Build in good services from day one for healthier communities: lessons from Selandra Rise

Cecily Maller, RMIT University and Larissa Nicholls, RMIT University

Early residents in new communities are known as ‘pioneers’ – they arrive before many services are in place. A five-year study points to the many benefits of putting in good services early on.
Workers assemble air conditioners at a factory in China earlier this year. EPA/SHEPHERD ZHOU CHINA OUT

Australia’s rising air con use makes us hot and bothered

Yolande Strengers, RMIT University; Cecily Maller, RMIT University; Larissa Nicholls, RMIT University, and Sarah Pink, RMIT University

With temperatures starting to climb, it’s time to think about how we will stay cool this summer. The stakes are getting higher when it comes to hot weather. As the Australian Medical Association has warned…
The arguments for urban densification and urban sprawl both have merit and neither is absolutely right. Flickr/t3rmin4t0r

Growing out versus filling in: how about we all grow up?

Christopher Ives, RMIT University and Cecily Maller, RMIT University

It’s a debate that’s been raging for decades and dominates academic and popular urban planning discourse: urban sprawl versus urban densification. Is it better to increase density or to expand at the edges…
Yes, Australia gets hot. But let’s investigate some other ways to cool it down. John Harvey

Air conditioning is peaking out, time to rethink cool comfort

Yolande Strengers, RMIT University; Cecily Maller, RMIT University; Elizabeth Shove, Lancaster University, and Gordon Walker, Lancaster University

As the recent Energy White Paper and Senate Committee report confirm, Australia’s electricity prices are going up. The Productivity Commission states that they have risen by 50% in real terms over the…

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