Expressions of interest (EOI) are invited for a PhD position on ‘Community engagementand Australia’s post-political urban planningsystems’. The EOI process will close on 30 September 2026. For the full application subsequently, we will be asking for a research proposal (and there will be flexibility and room for innovationby the applicanton the approach to be taken and the countries and cities in which the research is proposed to be conducted).

Please search the PhD project database for “SRTSR0302Community engagementand Australia’s post-political urban planningsystems'” for a short description.

SRTSR0302:Community engagement and Australia’s post-political urban planning systems

In recent decades, major state planning reforms were undertaken across Australia to remove perceived ‘planning barriers’ to economic development, which also reduced opportunities for community engagement and participation in urban planning processes.





The effects have been described as post-political urban planning: democratic legitimacy in urban planning is weakened because governments are replacing open public contestation with curated consultation that treats deeply political choices as administrative tasks. In response, communities are increasingly expressing their objections to proposed developments more antagonistically through demonstrations or NIMBY activism, thereby possibly contributing to even more unequal outcomes.

This PhD project will analyse current approaches to community engagement and public participation in Australia’s planning systems and seek to identify strategies for enabling communities to play a constructive role in shaping in urban planning outcomes.

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📌 PhD scholarship: Community engagement and Australia’s post-political urban planning systems, Adelaide University, Australia
🏢 Regional Studies Association
📍 Adelaide