Qualifications Doctor of Philosophy - University of Hawaii Master of Urban and Regional Planning - University of Hawaii Bachelor of Architecture - School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi University Dr Bhishna Bajracharya is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the Mirvac School of Sustainable Development, Bond University, Gold Coast. He is also currently serving as the research coordinator of the School. Prior to joining Bond, he taught at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) for twelve years. While at QUT, he acted as the course coordinator for the undergraduate planning program for four years. He also worked as a post doctoral fellow at the demography program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University from 1994 to 1996. While working in Nepal as an architect in the early 1980s, he was involved in the design and development of a number of educational buildings under World Bank funding. Bhishna received his PhD (1994) and Masters degree in Urban Planning (1986) from the University of Hawaii under an East West Center scholarship. He completed his Bachelor in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi University in 1979. Bhishna has conducted research in a number of areas which include master planned communities, transit oriented development, knowledge precincts in regional towns, sustainable campus, subtropical design, Local Agenda 21, and urbanization issues in Asian countries. Bhishna, together with academics from QUT’s Creative Industry faculty, recently received an ARC Linkage grant on the use of community narratives and new media in urban planning. Another project he is working on is looking into local government’s roles in disaster management in Queensland, together with QUT staff and Emergency Queensland. He has served as an executive member of the Planning Institute of Australia, Queensland Division for two years and is currently serving on its education committee. He is also a founding member of the Brisbane alumni chapter of the East West Center, a Hawaii based federal research organisation with strong links to the Asia Pacific region and the University of Hawaii. RESEARCH GRANTS Remembering the past, imagining the future: Embedding narrative and new media in urban planning (ARC Linkage LP0882274) (with Greg Hearn, Marcus Froth, Kerry Mallan, from QUT) Partner: Noosa Council, Noosa District State High School, FKP Project Summary This project supports new media creativity and literacy in two Australian communities and helps people participate in the urban planning process. It assists in improving a sense of belonging and fosters human talent and socio-cultural values favourable to creativity and innovation. By empowering people to bring about change within their local community, the project re-invigorates a more contemporary interpretation of community values in a knowledge society. Australia's capacity to interpret and engage with its urban environment is also enhanced by raising awareness of the socio- cultural background, heritage and future aspirations of local community members. Policy into Practice: Adoption of hazard mitigation measures by Local Governments in Queensland Funded by Emergency Queensland (With Iraphne Childs and Peter Hastings from QUT) Project Summary The objective of the research is to examine the adoption of hazard management measures by local governments in Queensland. The research is based on online survey of all local governments in Queensland and focus group workshops with selected councils. Some of the research questions include: 1) how are local governments adopting and integrating hazard mitigation policies?; 2) what are the gaps between policy and practice?; 3) is a regional approach to hazard management at the local government level possible?
Articles
Climate change adaptation through land use planning and disaster management: Local government perspectives from Queensland (with Iraphne Childs and Peter Hastings), Paper presented at the 17th Pacific Rim Real Estate Society (PRRES) conference: Climate change and property: Its impact now and later (2011)
Climate change will manifest in altered regimes of natural hazard occurrence, and therefore can be...
Evolving governance model for community building: Collaborative partnerships in master planned communities (with Shahed Khan), Urban policy and research (2010)
The development and management of master planned communities (MPCs) involve achieving the twin goals of...
The Second Life of urban planning? Using NeoGeography tools for community engagement (with Marcus Foth, Ross Brown, and Greg Hearn), Journal of location based services (2009)
The majority of the world's citizens now live in cities. Although urban planning can thus...
Integrating sustainability and principles of Local Agenda 21: A study of four local governments in NSW and QLD (with Shahed Khan), Australian planner (2004)
Local Agenda 21 (LA21) under the 1992 Earth Summit charter highlighted the important role of...
Demographic and employment change in mega-cities of south-east and east Asia (with G. Jones and C. Tsay), Third world planning review (2000)
Book Chapters
Green transit oriented development and subtropical design (with Daniel O'Hare and Jason Byrne), A climate for growth: Planning South-East Queensland (2010)
Extract:
In this chapter we review the historical development of TOD as an idea...
Integrating regional and infrastructure planning: Lessons from South East Queensland, Australia (with Michael Regan), Sustainable urban and regional infrastructure: Technology, planning and management (2010)
Economic and social infrastructure provision presents a conundrum for urban planners, especially in high growth...
Emerging role of ICT in the development of knowledge-based master planned communities (with Janelle Allison), Sustainable Development (2008)
With the recent trends toward knowledge-based urban development and networked society, information and communication technologies...
Sustainability framework for transit oriented development in South East Queensland (with Shahed Khan), Queensland: Geographical perspectives (2006)
Extract:
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is currently being advocated as an effective land use...
Conference Papers
Nurturing small firms in the knowledge-based economy: Programs and challenges (with Kay Imukuka, Linda Too, and Greg Hearn), 3rd knowledge cities world summit (2010)
This paper aims at providing some insights into how the knowledge-based economy trend has been...
Building a sustainable university campus: A case study of Bond University (with Linda Too), State of Australian cities national conference: City growth, sustainability, vitality and vulnerability (2009)
Given the increasing evidence of an ailing earth, many would today agree and accept that...
Parking and access issues in transit oriented developments (with Shahed Khan), State of Australian cities national conference: City growth, sustainability, vitality and vulnerability (2009)
The objective of this paper is to examine the planning issues relating to parking and...
Developing knowledge precincts in regional towns: Opportunities and challenges (with Linda Too, Joan Imukuka, and Greg Hearn), Paper presented at the 2nd international urban design conference: Survival: Implementing tomorrow's city (2009)
While extensive literature exists on creative cities and knowledge-based urban development focusing on large metropolitan...
Partnerships for community building and governance in master planned communities: A study of Varsity Lakes at Gold Coast (with George Earl and Shahed Khan), Sustainable Development (2008)
The development and management of master planned communities (MPCs) involve achieving the twin goals of...