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Purpose: This paper aims to describe the development, promotion and evaluation of sustainability learning experience database (SLED), a university-curated database of sustainability experiences to augment formal student learning. Its purpose was to encourage students to participate in experiential learning, to facilitate students' critical appraisal of programs ostensibly designed to create sustainability and to, thus, develop students' sustainability self-efficacy and employability. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 55 sustainability experiences were curated and placed into the SLED database, which was promoted to students in nine subjects. Supporting materials designed to assist critical evaluation, reflection on experiences and to build student employability were also developed. A comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation of the program was conducted. Findings: The quantitative evaluation revealed some changes in environmental behaviors, depth of critical sustainability thinking and graduate attributes. The qualitative evaluation revealed that students see the value of a university-curated database of experiences and provided ideas for improvements to the database. It also revealed examples of higher-order learning facilitated by SLED. Research limitations/implications: Recruitment and attrition of research subjects, common challenges in pedagogical research, were experienced. "Opt-out" is one response to this but it comes with ethical challenges. Originality/value: This exploratory study demonstrates the potential of SLED to build students' sustainability efficacy and suggests ways in which it and similar programs can be developed for improved student and sustainability outcomes. Namely, the use of an online platform closely associated with existing learning management systems, higher-level institutional stewardship, closer curriculum integration and close partnering with credentialing programs.

Victorian local governments (LGs) are required to develop evidence-based Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plans (MPHWPs) that improve health and wellbeing. This study evaluated the implementation of this requirement across 79 LGs. Evidence in 116 documents was categorised by source, issue, and policy specificity. Over 11,000 evidence-occurrences from 200 sources were recorded. More evidence on social determinants was identified than on epidemiology or health behaviours. Most (96%) evidence was descriptive and only 4% supported MPHWP actions. The results suggest the community is an important source of novel interventions, and proposes three related reasons for the dearth of intervention level evidence.

Purpose: Universities' unique position within society means they have an important role to contribute to sustainability and to help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are one of the most widely recognised articulations of sustainability. This study aims to look at the integration of the SDGs in education, specifically, in the Bachelor of Design (B-DES) "pathways" at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews with pathway coordinators and a survey of all 45 core subjects were used to understand the current degree of integration and the benefits, constraints and opportunities of deeper integration. Findings: Sustainability is deeply incorporated into B-DES curricula, but the SDGs are not. Most teachers, but particularly pathway coordinators, see value in deeper incorporation. Issues that constrain this include some students' fatigue with the idea of "sustainability", a crowded curriculum and some teachers' scepticism, even disdain for the SDGs, which they see as contradictory, too broad or overly political. Originality/value: This study sheds light on the extent of integration and reveals several possible pedagogical approaches: analysing what industries need to do to make a proportionate contribution to achieving the SDGs, critical review of industries' use of and alignment with the SDGs, comparing and contrasting the SDGs with disciplines' theoretical frameworks and critiquing the SDGs' ambition with reference to the capabilities and technologies of a discipline. Provided they are done with due consideration of the SDGs' limitations, these methods of integration have the potential to better prepare students as global citizens and for international employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Research examining the construction industry demonstrates that it is the source of a large percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions, subject to future climate change risks, and that there is limited evidence of adaptation. This paper explores the preparedness of the Australian construction industry to adapt to climate change risks, through twenty-one key stakeholder interviews. The interviews addressed participants' perceptions of the industry's: climate change risk awareness, analytical capacity to address climate change risk, and current actions to address these risks. The main risk participants identified was extreme weather during construction (e.g. heat and wind) with impacts for occupational health and safety, supply chain reliability, project delivery delays, and profit. The impact of these risks was somewhat down played. While a high level of perceived analytical capacity to respond to climate change was observed, real action was limited by systemic, outdated regulations, lack of client motivation, and perceived costs. The climate change actions which were undertaken were predominantly climate change mitigation activities, largely focussing on organisational processes, rather than adaptations to built form. The results indicate that if Australia's built form is to be well adapted to climate change, greater preparedness to facilitate tangible and systemic actions to address climate change risk in the Australian construction industry is needed. Specifically, interviewees responses imply that increased awareness of the impacts of climate change, better translation of existing solutions into practice, and regulatory reform are needed. Highlights • Climate change preparedness of the Australian construction industry was investigated. • Main risks identified - extreme weather impacts to: worker safety, supply chain reliability, project delays, profit. • High level of perceived analytical capacity to respond to climate change observed. • Action limited due to: outdated regulations, lack of client motivation, perceived costs. • Greater climate change preparedness is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social cohesion and local democracy (SCLD) are determinants of health. They contribute to health via complex pathways that include the free exchange of ideas and values, mutual trust and benefit, the sharing of resources and a sense of agency and efficacy in one's community. Like other determinants, SCLD can be affected by major infrastructures in subtle yet pervasive ways, both positively and negatively. Health impact assessment (HIA) is an established method of assessing major infrastructure projects and is capable of detecting and proposing responses to such impacts. Despite this, HIA is not undertaken as frequently as could be beneficial. Given governments' interest in the concept of liveability, we conducted an independent study to apply one domain of a previously introduced, eleven-domain liveability conceptual framework for HIA to assess a level crossing removal (LXR) project in Australia. Social cohesion and local democracy was assessed using a survey, interviews and data obtained via freedom of information (FOI). Local democracy was significantly negatively affected, primarily due to shallow and non-genuine consultation, with impacts on the mental health of a small but important segment of the community. Paradoxically, social cohesion was positively affected as a result of the new community groups and networks that evolved in opposition to the project. We conclude that the government's broadly granted social licence, established using popular but unproven claims that the LXR would increase safety and decrease congestion, allowed tokenistic local consultation. We comment on our experience with FOI processes, and on the potential of using 'liveability' to raise the profile of HIA, to yield better results for community health from major projects. • A Liveability framework for elevating health impact assessment is tested • Case study is a level crossing removal major infrastructure project in Australia • Health impacts attributable to 'social cohesion & local democracy' assessed • Mental health affected positively via social cohesion, negatively via democracy • This liveability domain (1 of 11) can detect subtle but pervasive impacts on health [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanisation continuously imposes pressure on coastal brownfield sites. At the same time, climate change and associated consequences on coastal environments make these sites less secure for human habitation. Converging stresses make the renewal process of these sites challenging, to the extent that they are often perceived as wicked problems. Several scholars suggest that temporary best solutions are identifiable to address wicked problems via an Adaptive , Participatory and Transdisciplinary (APT) approach. This paper operationalises the APT framework by evaluating the development of a strategic land-use framework for the transformation of a coastal brownfield site in southern Victoria, Australia. Policy and planning documents and in-depth interviews conducted with key stakeholders were analysed. Results show that the process incorporated elements of the APT approach by engaging with diverse stakeholder views during consultation and included community appraisal of alternative scenarios. However, the process fell short of being truly transdisciplinary or collaborative as it separated disciplinary inputs in decision-making. As a result, it did not appear to influence the final plan to achieve adaptive and responsive outcomes. We conclude that a uniquely placed-based and adaptive response can be created when all stakeholders deeply and effectively collaborate to develop shared understandings of the problem and co-create shared responses. We demonstrate that an integrated APT framework, one that focuses on synergies between A, P and T, can provide a useful tool for assessing the decision-making process of complex projects. Furthermore, our recommendations to advance APT can help directing future decision-making processes in similar projects with wicked problems. Unlabelled Image • Coastal brownfield transformations pose wicked challenges to decision makers. • An analytical framework for operationalising the Adaptive, Participatory, and Transdisciplinary (APT) approach was developed. • The APT framework was tested to evaluate a coastal brownfield transformation in Australia. • Suggestions were made for an integrated APT decision making approach. • For a uniquely placed-based and adaptive response, stakeholders should deeply collaborate to co-create shared responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major urban infrastructure projects are intended to alter the built, human ecology for the better. Even when they are not labelled as health projects, arguably they should produce public health benefits that are commensurate with their scale, particularly when they are publicly funded. Health impact assessment (HIA) is an established method of evaluating major infrastructure projects using a determinants of health equity lens. HIA explicitly puts health front and centre to ask, 'How should the proposed infrastructure project be altered to improve the determinants of health equity?' There are well-established HIA protocols, but few provide a framework for scoping possible impacts. Given interest in the concept of liveability we introduce an exhaustive, evidence-based framework of 11 liveability domains for HIA. We then test the framework by scoping the impacts of the Upfield Level Crossing Removal (LXR) project in Melbourne, Australia to hypothesise its impacts on health. Scoping this case study suggests that many domains will be affected in complex ways, some positively and some negatively, exemplifying the potential for the framework to detect major infrastructures' pervasive impacts on determinants of health. The paper includes a plan to validate the liveability framework with empirical research in the HIA assessment stage. The paper concludes with a discussion of the contribution and usefulness of the liveability domains as a framework for structuring HIA and for building its profile, thus advancing the discipline, and helping to ensure that all major infrastructures constitute a prudent investment in public health. • New infrastructure alters the human ecology, health is not explicitly considered. • Health impact assessment evaluates projects' impacts on health via determinants. • An evidence-based, collectively exhaustive liveability framework is presented. • The liveability framework is tested on HIA of level crossing removal in Australia. • Liveability is useful for identifying pervasive yet subtle health impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The term Nature-based Solutions has not been widely adopted in Australian policy and praxis. • We asked 27 water researchers and practitioners how they perceive and use NBS. • Alternative terminologies such as GI and WSUD are dominantly used in practice and policy. • Clarifications around NBS criteria and what can be expected from NBS-type interventions are required. • New ways are proposed for a shared understanding of NBS and its uptake in Australia. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have recently gained traction as integrated approaches that can address societal challenges by simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. Among the benefits of NBS, their capacity to address urban water challenges – such as inland and coastal flooding –while providing ecological benefits has been a recent area of focus globally. While interventions that are labelled 'Nature-Based Solutions' have been widely integrated into policy and practice in Europe, the term has not been extensively adopted in Australian policy and praxis. This research examines how Australian water professionals from research and practice understand, conceptualise and use the concept, 'Nature-Based Solutions' (NBS) in addressing urban water challenges. We interviewed 27 water professionals in research and practice with diverse disciplinary backgrounds across four Australian states and asked them to provide their definition of NBS. The results show that alternative terminologies such as Green Infrastructure and Water Sensitive Urban Design are predominantly used. We present the participants' perspectives on the adoption of this term in Australia, and discuss the value and contributions of NBS as an umbrella concept. We conclude by providing insights on the potentials and limitations of the term, and propose ways to move beyond a focus on terminology and definitions towards facilitating the uptake and implementation of NBS in our cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]