Reflecting on our legacy 

A final letter from our Hub Leader

Dear stakeholders,

As we conclude six years of research at the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) Hub, we would like to take a moment to reflect on our journey.

The CAUL Hub began in 2015 as a new research consortium with a focus on practical research to improve urban environments in Australia. Our mission was twofold: to undertake multi-disciplinary research for practical outcomes, and to highlight Indigenous perspectives in urban environments. We planned and delivered a body of research, engagement and outreach activities that has changed the way people think about cities in Australia and beyond, and opened new possibilities for making them better places for their human inhabitants and for nature.  

In addition to our primary stakeholder, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE), the stakeholders of our Hub and end-users of our research have comprised a much broader group including all levels of government, urban practitioners, community groups and the general urban-dwelling public of Australia. We have created partnerships with many different agencies and organisations to pursue applied research that has already contributed to making our air cleaner and our cities greener, more biodiverse and more liveable. 

The CAUL Hub’s work has provided an evidence base for the state of cities in Australia today, spanning outdoor air quality, indoor air quality, urban vegetation cover and its relationship with urban heat, the liveability of our neighbourhoods in capital and regional cities, urban greenspaces and their many benefits, urban biodiversity, and the complex relationships between people and their environment. We have also made space for Indigenous voices in cities, emphasising that all cities in Australia are Indigenous places where First Peoples’ deep connections to land, water and sky continue. Below we explore the impact of just some of our outstanding research projects.  

It has been an honour to work with former Hub Leader Peter Rayner, Deputy Hub Leader Joe Hurley and the CAUL Executive team to lead such a committed group of researchers over the past six years. It has also been an honour to work with the broader family of CAUL’s many stakeholders, collaborators and supporters, including DAWE, our Indigenous Advisory Group and Hub Steering Committee. I thank all of you for your enthusiasm, dedication and outstanding contributions. While the CAUL Hub’s research has already changed cities in Australia for the better, its true impact will be measured in the years and the decades to come. 

– Professor Kirsten Parris

Help inform our evaluation 

As part of the CAUL Hub’s final activities, we’re conducting a stakeholder survey to help assess our impact since 2015. If you could spare 5-10 minutes of your time, we would value your thoughts and feedback! Thank you.

The future of the Three-Category Approach

Many of you will be familiar with the Three-Category Approach toolkit – a workbook and workshop guiding non-Indigenous researchers and practitioners in supporting Indigenous-led research and co-design. Since its launch in 2019, we have facilitated sell-out workshops both online and in-person. The workbook has now been made available online.

This book is intended as an introduction to cross-cultural work with First Nations peoples in Australia. We recommend it be completed in conjunction with a workshop led by an Indigenous Australian facilitator. It is not intended as a complete course in Indigenous cultural competency.

Any project involving Indigenous Australians should respect the following principles: that there are important cultural protocols regarding who is permitted to hold, share and/or apply Indigenous knowledge, and in what context; and that any project must allow sufficient time to develop meaningful relationships with community.  More information on these principles can be found in the ‘Our Knowledge, Our Way’ resources.