Professor Karen Vella
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Architecture & Built Environment
Biography
Professor Karen Vella (BRTP Hons, PHD) is an urban and environmental planner and Head of the School of Architecture and Built Environment. Professor Vella leads a multidisciplinary team of scholars who teach and conduct research in architecture and design, planning, construction, and evaluation in support of built environments that meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The team that Professor Vella leads combines complementary disciplinary strengths in architecture and the built environment to equip students and professionals with the skills and knowledge to take sustainability action in a complex world. New research initiatives draw on deep disciplinary strengths and emerging methodologies to solve real-world problems in the built environment in partnership with industry.Professor Vella leads high impact multidisciplinary projects on the human dimensions of environmental sustainability problems with a particular focus on supporting effective environmental governance and community resilience building in the context of environmental change. Her projects bring social scientists, engineers, bio-physical scientists, mathematicians, legal scholars and design professionals together to identify evidenced-based solutions to support sustainability outcomes. Professor Vella is an experienced leader of major research projects in the Great Barrier Reef, urban and regional communities, as well as in international contexts. Her research research has been directly translated into policy and legislation, governance practices and monitoring systems at state/territory and national levels.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Head of School, Architecture and Built Environment
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Architecture & Built Environment
Keywords
Resilience, adaptive management, adaptive governance, Adaptation, climate change, Great Barrier Reef, Environmental assessment, Planning, planning theory, planning practice, Evaluation and monitoring frameworks, flood resilience, community resilience, Urban planning, cities, regions, Collaborative and deliberative governance, Risk governance
Research field
Urban and Regional Planning
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
Member of the Planning Institute of Australia
Teaching
Current:
Supervisor: Higher Degree Research Student Projects
Guest Lecturer: UXH 331 Environmental Analysis and Planning
Past:
Unit Coordinator and Lecturer
- UXB 131 Imagine Planning and Design (Studio)
- UXB 231 Planning Processes
- UXH 331 Environmental Analysis and Planning
Teaching team
- UXH300 Research Methods
Supervisor
- UXH 400-1 and 400-2 Honours Research Project
Previous Unit Coordination and Lecturing Roles
- Regional Planning Practice (Studio)
- Public Involvement and Community Development
- Natural Resource Management - Governance and Planning
Awards:
- Superior Small Sized Course Award 2011 (Griffith University/Unit Coordinator)
- Head of School Commendation 2010, 2012 (Griffith University/Unit Coordinator)
Experience
Professor Vella provides advice to government as a member of the Human Dimensions Working Group for the Queensland Office of the Great Barrier Reef and the Community Reef Protection Working Group for the Reef Trust Partnership, administered by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Since April 2017, Professor Vella has also been a Director of the Board of Reef Check Australia, an environmental charity for citizen science and reef conservation. Professor Vella has more than 15 years practical planning and delivery experience in a range of strategic and regional planning contexts in Australia and Internationally. Previous roles held include: Manager NRM Plan Wet Tropics, Terrain Natural Resource Management Project Manager/Acting Manager of Social Science Research and Monitoring, Australian Government, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Post Doctoral Fellow, Research Fellow, and PhD Candidate, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Planning Officer, Department of Local Government and Planning & Local Government Association of Queensland Planning Assistant - Department of Main Roads, Brannock Humphreys Planning and Environment Consultants, Cairns City Council, Mulgrave Shire Council.
Publications
- Vella, K., Baresi, U., Lockie, S. & Taylor, B. (2021). Challenges and opportunities for assisted regional ecosystem adaptation: International experience and implications for adaptation research. PLoS One, 16(9). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/205065
- Yigitcanlar, T., Hewa Heliyagoda Kankanamge, R. & Vella, K. (2021). How are smart city concepts and technologies perceived and utilized? A systematic geo-Twitter analysis of smart cities in Australia. Journal of Urban Technology, 28(1-2), 135–154. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/199301
- Eberhard, R., Coggan, A., Jarvis, D., Hamman, E., Taylor, B., Baresi, U., Vella, K., Dean, A., Deane, F., Helmstedt, K. & Mayfield, H. (2021). Understanding the effectiveness of policy instruments to encourage adoption of farming practices to improve water quality for the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 172. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212568
- Baresi, U., Vella, K. & Sipe, N. (2020). A limits-oriented adaptive approach for strategic environmental assessment. Environmental Science and Policy, 114, 128–139. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/205066
- Lukasiewicz, A., Vella, K., Mayere, S. & Baker, D. (2020). Declining trends in plan quality: A longitudinal evaluation of regional environmental plans in Queensland, Australia. Landscape and Urban Planning, 203. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202205
- Dale, A., Vella, K., Ryan, S., Broderick, K., Hill, R., Potts, R. & Brewer, T. (2020). Governing community-based natural resource management in Australia: International implications. Land, 9(7). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207038
- Taylor, B., Vella, K., Maclean, K., Newlands, M., Ritchie, B., Lockie, S., Baresi, U., Barber, M., Siehoyono Sie, L., Martin, M., Marshall, N. & Koopman, D. (2019). Stakeholder, Traditional Owner, and Community Engagement Assessment: A report provided to the Australian Government by the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/208580
- Dale, A., Vella, K., Gooch, M., Potts, R., Pressey, R., Brodie, J. & Eberhard, R. (2018). Avoiding implementation failure in catchment landscapes: A case study in governance of the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental Management, 62(1), 70–81. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/223239
- Gooch, M., Marshall, N., Dale, A. & Vella, K. (2018). Trialling an assessment and monitoring program for the human dimensions of the reef 2050 integrated monitoring and reporting program. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/215522
- Sipe, N. & Vella, K. (2017). The Routledge Handbook of Australian Urban and Regional Planning. Routledge. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/107068
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Karen, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Member of the Human Dimensions Expert Group for the Reef Integrated Research and Monitoring Program (RIMReP) for the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan
- Type
- Advisor/Consultant for Community
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Director on the Board of Reef Check Australia and the Reef Check Foundation, a registered environmental organization and Australian charity focused on engaging people in hands on citizen science and conservation.
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Editor for the Routledge Australian Handbook of Urban and Regional Planning. This work "the most comprehensive survey of Australian planning that has been produced" (Glesson), brings together over 40 scholars to address critical topics in Australian urban and regional planning.
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- State of Australian Cities Biannual Conference. Keynote panelist on 'urban resilience'
- Type
- Assessor, Examiner or Supervisor Role
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Assessor for ARC Discovery Applications in 2014 and 2016
- Type
- Funding Award
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Catapult Grant. $28,334 Vella, Northdurft, Sloss, Baker, Gibbs 'Monitoring and reducing human impacts on water quality entering the GBR through best practice urban planning and management'.
- Type
- Funding Award
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- SEF Learning and Teaching Grant (2014) "The benefits and constraints of planning studio teaching to address complex educational challenges and improve outcomes" $15,000.00
Selected research projects
- Title
- Cost-Effective Indicators and Metrics for key GBRWHA Human and Governance Dimensions and Values Linked to Specific Objectives and Targets in the Reef 2050 Plan
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- Start year
- 2017
- Keywords
- Governance Dimensions of Reef Management; Human Dimensions; Indicators; Indigenous Dimensions of Reef Management; Reef 2050
- Title
- Monitoring and Adaptively Reducing System-Wide Governance Risks Facing the GBR
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 3.11
- Start year
- Keywords
- Governance; Outcomes; Policy; Regulation; Risk
- Title
- The impact of governance on regional natural resource planning
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP130100933
- Start year
- 2014
- Keywords
- Regional Governance; Land Use Planning; Sustainable Environments
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Understanding the relationship between collaborative governance and agricultural practice change: A Great Barrier Reef catchments case study
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Angela Dean, Dr Umberto Baresi, Dr Angela Guerrero Gonzalez - How can neurosciences and urban design work together to build dementia-friendly neighborhoods?
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Severine Mayere, Adjunct Professor Bouchra Senadji, Associate Professor Mirko Guaralda - An Evaluation on Successful QAn Evaluation on Successful Qualities of Neighbourhood Centres in Queenslandualities of Neighbourhood Centres in Queensland
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Paul Donehue
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Risk Governance Analysis of Informal Floating Food Supply System in Metropolitan Dhaka (2021)
- Exploring the Usefulness of Structural-Functional Approaches to Systematically Assess the Functionality of Governance Arrangements for Natural Resource Management Planning in Two Australian Case Studies (2015)