Chethna Ben
Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Urban planning, Climate adaptation
Biography
I am a third-generation Indian born and raised in Fiji and was the very first member of my nuclear family to gain a bachelor’s and master’s degree scholarship and subsequent qualification. While this was quite an achievement as I was the youngest female in my lineage it also puts me in a position to be able to relate to the complexities of generational equity in the conversation of sustainability.
As a 13-year-old in 2004, I started my first casual job to support my high school studies. During my high school studies, I held the position of Head girl, Deputy Head girl, and Senior Prefect. In 2012 I completed my bachelor’s degree double major in Land Use and Real Estate as the Gold Medalist and Valedictorian of the University of the South Pacific. In addition, as the lead debater, we won the interschool debate for my school, for the first time in the school’s history. Thereafter, in 2016 I completed my master’s degree, and in 2021 my postgraduate certificate in tertiary teaching. I am honored and excited to be able to secure the Melbourne Climate Change Scholarship and start my doctorate studies with the University of Melbourne in March 2023.
Thesis
Housing access, aspiration and adaptation in coastal informal settlements of Fiji.
Housing pathways are non-linear processes that exist in time and space. More importantly, it competes with agency and structure and calls for a space of pluralistic perspectives beyond romanticism and tragedy. My research is interested in exploring how systems to access informal housing in coastal areas of Fiji interact with climate vulnerability. The way that coastal informal settlements are selected comes from the character of informality and coastal living in urban centers. This represents a degree of vulnerability. Noting that vulnerability to climate change moves beyond climate risks, but is a function of multiple social drivers, and the possibility that vulnerability can be reduced.
Contact
Research Unit
Principal supervisor
Co-supervisor(s)
- Dr. Alexei Trundle
- Professor Digby Race