Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for Smart Villages

Launched by Professor Mark Hargreaves, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Collaboration and Partnerships), The University of Melbourne.

Come and celebrate the launch of two books: 'Planning, Housing and Infrastructure' by Hemanta Doloi, Ray Green and Sally Donovan, as well as the upcoming book 'Affordable Housing for Smart Villages' by Hemanta Doloi and Sally Donovan. through these two books, the first ever research on smart villages undertaken at the newly established Smart Villages Lab (SVL) will be highlighted by the authors.

These Books Will Be Available For Purchase And Pre-Order On The Evening.

Synopsis: Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for Smart Villages

Some 7.3 billion people currently live on the planet. Of these, 3.4 billion live in rural areas. In just a few regions—Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa—less than 50 per cent of poverty is now located in rural areas. But for the rest of the world's regions between 55 per cent and 80 per cent of the poor continue to live in the countryside. Progress is being made, but much of the know-how needed is not disseminated outside of a small coterie of professionals who work in the area. With urban development attracting a great deal of attention lately, poorer rural areas deserve the same and new knowledge for empowerment of rural communities is urgently needed.

This book provides an overview of current thinking and practices that have emerged over the last thirty years for uplifting rural communities in developing economies. Drawing on a body of knowledge across a spectrum of relevant disciplines, this book provides a range of innovative ideas for rural planning, housing and infrastructure development.

Synopsis: Affordable housing for Smart Villages

This book initiates a fresh discussion of affordability in rural housing set in the context of the rapidly shifting balance between rural and urban populations. It conceptualizes affordability in rural housing along a spectrum that is interlaced with cultural and social values integral to rural livelihoods at both personal and community level.

Developed around four intersecting themes: explaining houses and housing in rural settings; exploring affordability in the context of aspirations and vulnerability; rural development agendas involving housing and communities; and construction for resilience in rural communities, the book provides an overview of some of the little understood and sometimes counter-intuitive best practices on rural affordability and affordable housing that have emerged in developing economies over the last thirty years. Drawing on practice-based evidence this book presents innovative ideas for harnessing rural potential, and empowering rural communities with added affordability and progressive development in the context of housing and improved living standards.

About the Authors:

Hemanta Doloi is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr Doloi is the founding director of the Smart Villages Lab (SVL) and the lead investigator of the $1.9 Million Smart Villages Project, sponsored by the Government of Assam, India, for developing solutions on affordable housing and infrastructure systems.

Sally Donovan is a research fellow with the Smart Villages Lab in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr Donovan has over ten years’ experience researching environmental management and environmental policy development.

Ray Green is a professor in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of Coastal Towns in Transition (2010) and co-author of The Green City: Sustainable Homes, Sustainable Suburbs (2005). His research has been published in urban planning, landscape architecture and environmental psychology journals.