Dr Mike Harris

Mike is a researcher, teacher and practitioner in landscape architecture and urban design with experience across Australia, Europe and the US covering a wide range of project types and scales including precinct planning, public domain design and active transport. This breadth of experience combined with a passion for urban quality of life has given Mike a strong interest in the tensions between ‘big picture’ city planning and the lived urban experience. Mike has been recognised with design and research awards as well as speaking invitations and advisory roles.

Mike is currently engaged in two primary areas of research:

One is mixed-use megaprojects - investigating how the aims of large-scale, ‘competitive city’ projects are reconciled with the delivery of strategic infrastructure, liveability goals and equitable urban access. One of Mike’s current research projects in this area is a monograph due for publication in 2021 by Palgrave Macmillan; Mixed-Use Megaprojects and the Competition for Capital, investigating projects in Sydney, Melbourne, Copenhagen and New York.

The other is active travel - investigating network planning, street design and governance with the overarching aim of delivering more social, accessible and healthy cities. This work builds on 10 years of consultant work in which Mike’s international research has been tested in local and state government projects. Mike’s current research projects in this area include leading a 2-year research grant for Transport for NSW and iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre on international best practice facility design to increase cycling participation with virtual reality testing; as well as a number of publications on street design, governance and community preferences of cycling infrastructure.