Research and Publications
Simon’s PhD, entitled ‘Green Infrastructure: Planning a National Green Network for Australia’ was completed in 2017. In 2018, this was awarded both the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects National Award for Research, Policy and Communications; and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Western Australian Award for Research, Policy and Communications.
This research project aimed to augment Australia’s limited protected area network and offers a design to address multiple contemporary environmental challenges. Theoretically, such Green Infrastructure at broad and fine scales as an essential life supporting foundational framework could provide greater resilience for human and ecological systems and help to sustain the Australian continent, its landscapes, biota and population, against present and future environmental challenges through an interconnected system of vegetated corridors spanning across the Australian continent. This was developed through a diverse methodology that involved ecological modelling, mapping and detailed design work through design charrette workshops at multiple scales and across all typical Australian land-uses, from wilderness to the urban.
The research was supervised by Professor Richard Weller, Landscape Architect (University of Pennsylvania) and Professor Richard Hobbs, Landscape Ecologist (University of Western Australia)
The National Green Network approach is being applied across a range of current research projects that have adapted the PhD methodologies across a larger sample of landscapes to create tested, holistic planning and design solutions at neighbourhood, city and regional scales.
In recognition of his skills and expertise in Green Infrastructure and ecological design, he was an invited researcher to the University of Catania (Italy) in June 2018 and a visit to Hanoi Architectural University (Vietnam) is scheduled for mid 2019. Dr Kilbane is also currently an invited co-guest-editor for the journal, Urban Science (MDPI) and a special issue of the journal ‘Urban Green Infrastructure’ articles will be published in late 2019.
