mike mouritz - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by mike mouritz

Australian Journal of Public Administration, Oct 4, 2023

Water sensitive design has emerged on the planning and design agenda over the last few years in r... more Water sensitive design has emerged on the planning and design agenda over the last few years in response to the rapid deterioration in all sectors of the hydrological cycle in and around Perth. Water balance, water quality and water consumption considerations have now become central issues in the debate over the nature and character of future growth within the Perth Metropolitan region. This paper will briefly plot the evolution of the concept of water sensitive and the promotion of its central mission; to recapture a sense of place in the future design of the city-a place where water is scarce and a delicate natural balance characterises the relationships between soils, plants and animals. The analysis in the paper will highlight the role of landscaping in the water sensitive design process and in particular will focus on: the role of vegetation as a biological filter in the process of water quality control. the use of tree planting and retention as a mechanism in maintaining natural water balance. the value of landscape enhancement as a way of selling the benefits of water sensitive design. the benefits of natural planting in conserving water and yet maintaining the quality and traditions of suburban lifestyles. The paper will be extensively illustrated using local examples and will conclude on the enormous potential of landscaping to achieve the objectives of water sensitive design and, in turn, to begin to redress the sorry history of the degradation of the natural water cycle in and around Perth. 'Greening' and 'water sensitive design' can live in harmony although the forms and the shades of that green may need to be systematically reformed in the future.

Sustainability, Oct 27, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Transit Oriented Development, 2016

Water Resources Planning and Management

Beyond White Gum Valley: Knutsford - Integrating energy, water and built form solutions in an urban regeneration and infill precinct., 2019

Beyond WGV set out to investigate site specific scenarios for sustainable infill at the Knutsford... more Beyond WGV set out to investigate site specific scenarios for sustainable infill at the Knutsford Precinct (which incorporates the Knutsford and Swanbourne Structure Plan areas) in the City of Fremantle. The emphasis has been on identifying ways to enabling distributed district scale infrastructure to deliver low carbon and resilient development, particularly the possibility of community battery storage. The aim was also explore the potential for distributed water infrastructure scenarios through a proposed partnership with the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities

In the last few years the role of water in urban planning has been increasingly scrutinized as th... more In the last few years the role of water in urban planning has been increasingly scrutinized as the realisation has emerged that there may be a fundamental mismatch between urban processes and the water environment upon which human settlements rely. The concept of Water Sensitive Urban Design has been developed in the last few years in Perth, Western Australia, as an attempt to redress this issue. It provides a framework for incorporating the water related issues of water balance, water quality and water conservation, plus broader environmental and social objectives as explicit design criteria in the urban development and redevelopment process. Guidelines have been prepared for the Department of Planning and Urban Development, the Water Authority of Western Australia and the Environmental Protection Authority. Within a parallel research project, a number of case studies have been undertaken to evaluate the benefits and pitfalls of this attempt to integrate water and land planning and design into the urban context. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of the concept before providing an outline of this process. Some policy implications for the future are provided.

Mouritz Mike Sustainable Urban Water Systems Policy and Professional Praxis Phd Thesis Murdoch University, 1996

The provision of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure is an essential ingredient of ci... more The provision of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure is an essential ingredient of cities. However, questions are being raised about the type and form of urban infrastructure, for economic and environmental reasons. Traditionally these techologies have offered linear solutions, drawing increasing volumes of water into cities and discharging waste at ever increasing levels, causing escalating stress on the environment. In addition the costs of water infrastructure provision and replacement, both in the developing and developed world, is becoming prohibitive. In response, a new paradigm has been called for and new solutions are emerging that have been labelled as Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM). This concept can be considered to consist of both technical and philosophical dimensions, and represents a new form of professional praxis. However, the adoption of these techniques and concepts is constrained by the inertia of the existing urban water systems. It is therefore argued that the introduction of any change must occur across a number of dimensions of the technoeconomic system of the city. These dimensions-artefacts and technical systems (i.e. the technology and knowledge systems), professional praxis and socio-political context (i.e. institutions, culture and politics) and biophysical realities and world views (i.e. the environment and underlying values) - provide a framework for analysis of the change process - both how it is occurring and how it needs to occur. This framework is used to illustrate the link between environment values and the process of technological innovation, and points to the need for the emerging values and innovations to be institutionalised into the professional praxis and socio-political context of society. Specifically, it is argued that a new form of transdisciplinary professional praxis is emerging and needs to be cultivated. A broad review of the literature, an evaluation of selected emerging technologies and three case studies are used to illustrate and argue this position. These examples show the potential economic, social and environmental benefits of IUWM and provide some insight into the potential which this approach has to influence the form and structure of the city and at the same time highlighting the institutional arrangements required to manage urban water systems.

This paper describes a process to improve the achievement of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) ... more This paper describes a process to improve the achievement of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) outcomes in new development through ensuring greater integration of land use and water planning. The framework was developed as part of a greenfield urban development demonstration project in the south-eastern suburbs of Perth. The framework provides guidance on the issues to be addressed to ensure better achievement of total water cycle management in planning applications, plans and strategies at appropriate stages in the process.

CRC Low Carbon Living., 2019

The author(s) confirm(s) that this document has been reviewed and approved by the project's steer... more The author(s) confirm(s) that this document has been reviewed and approved by the project's steering committee and by its program leader. These reviewers evaluated its:  originality  methodology  rigour  compliance with ethical guidelines  conclusions against results  conformity with the principles of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (NHMRC 2007), and provided constructive feedback which was considered and addressed by the author(s).

The purpose of this seminar has been to raise the level of debate about the future wastewater str... more The purpose of this seminar has been to raise the level of debate about the future wastewater strategy for Perth. Through out the day we have seen the emergence of the nature and size of the problem we are facing, some of the potential solutions and there has been discussion about the limitations of these solutions. The purpose of my talk is to attempt to draw together some of these issues in an attempt to offer a way forward. I will start by recapping on my interpretation of the problems and then illustrate why the concept of ecologically sustainable development can provide a useful basis with which to look for solutions. Finally I offer an example of an integrated solution, which although hypothetical, presents itself as a basis for further debate. The over riding thesis of this argument is that water management must be more fully integrated into the urban planning and design processes, since this is the place where decisions are made which result in a water management system whic...

Sustainability

This paper provides an overview of insights and lessons learned from nearly 20 years of running a... more This paper provides an overview of insights and lessons learned from nearly 20 years of running a Master’s unit called Leadership in Sustainability and how it has been used to foster change agents in small business enterprises, as well as other parts of our economy and community. The unit is based on five ‘C’ pillars, which are discussed in this paper to show how the teaching was able to assist potential leaders in their journey towards sustainability. Collective Wisdom is the theory of how leaders have used their imagination to solve collective ‘wicked problems’ and how sustainability requires such wisdom. The unit covers such theory from innovation, complexity, leadership, management and sustainability literatures, and the students are required to show they used this in solving a problem. Conversations are the main tool that is used because only through integrating diverse opinions have solutions been found to such problems as sustainability. The unit is based around case studies ...

Journal of Transportation Technologies, 2019

Recent innovations in transport technology are now providing mobility that is cheaper, autonomous... more Recent innovations in transport technology are now providing mobility that is cheaper, autonomous, electric, and with improved ride quality. While much of the world's attention has been on how this can be applied to cars, there have been rapid adoption of these and other technologies in High Speed Rail and Metro Rail systems that run between and across cities. This paper shows how such innovations have now been applied to create the next generation of urban transit system called a Trackless Tram. Trackless Trams are effectively the same as traditional light rail except they run on rubber tyres avoiding disruption from construction for Light Rail, but they retain the electric propulsion (with batteries) and have high ride quality due to rail-type bogies, stabilization technologies and precision tracking from the autonomous optical guidance systems-with infrastructure costs reduced to as low as one tenth of a Light Rail system. As with Light Rail, a Trackless Tram System provides a rapid transit option that can harness the fixed route assurance necessary to unlock new land value appreciation that can be leveraged to contribute to construction and running costs whilst creating urban regeneration. The paper considers the niche for Trackless Trams in cities along with its potential for city shaping through the creation of urban redevelopment along corridors. The paper suggests that the adoption of Trackless Tram Systems is likely to grow rapidly as a genuine alternative to car and bus systems, supplementing and extending the niche occupied by Light Rail Transit (LRT). This appears to be feasible in any medium-sized or larger city, especially in emerging and developing economies, and case studies are outlined for Perth and Thimpu to illustrate its potential.

Ideas about green cities have been around for centuries, however it seems that these ideas have b... more Ideas about green cities have been around for centuries, however it seems that these ideas have been sidetracked by a strange mixture of opposites: neoclassical economics and town planning regulations. On the one hand contemporary economics has divorced itself from ecology and on the other, town planning regulation, originally based on garden city ideas, has helped to facilitate cities where 'nature' is idealised, 'packaged and confined to parks and gardens. This paper suggests there needs to be a creative tension between the economic and ecological dimensions if a city is to emerge. If a vision for Greener City is going to be realised then we need to place this quest within the historical context of those who have struggled with this tension, from writers such as Morris, Ruskin, Howard, Geddes, Mumford, Jacobs, Schneider and McHarg. This lineage has attempted to resolve the contradictions of the industrial city- how to be human and green- or the need for an 'organic" process that sees nature and the city as indivisible. But it seems the modern city (ecosystem), particularly those based on the sprawl based model of Los Angeles , are neither human nor green, and seem to be heading towards collapse ecologically, economically and socially. The contemporary urban ecology movement, which is now a dominant feature of present urban discussions around the world (at both a professional and activist level) is part of this historical lineage in trying to resolve these issues, but now the stakes are much higher. Thus it is important to examine our attitudes to the city and how they are influenced by urban philosophers such as those listed above. But often we have been influenced by anti-urban writers who leading urban greening programs that become tokenistic and excuses for people to try and hide urban problems rather than solve them, eg urban sprawl, traffic and waste water. In this paper we will then show how the tension in these traditions has influenced urban form and the potential for greening, before providing some insights from contemporary physics, ecological economics and ecological design as a basis for the way forward.

Desalination, 1996

There are social, economic and environmental reasons for shifting towards a more localised, commu... more There are social, economic and environmental reasons for shifting towards a more localised, community scale system of water and waste management in our cities. This paper outlines some of these and provides an historical context as to how we have reached the need for this change. A case study illustrates how a localised system can be better on all three parameters. It is suggested that the best opportunity for achieving localised systems is to utilise the planning process with its links to community, regulatory powers for environmental management and metropolitan scale strategic processes.

If you wish to contact a Curtin researcher associated with this document, you may obtain an email... more If you wish to contact a Curtin researcher associated with this document, you may obtain an email address from