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| Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network |
| Abbreviation | AURIN |
| Formation | 2010 |
| Type | Research infrastructure |
| Headquarters | Melbourne |
| Region served | Australia |
Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network is a distributed national research infrastructure that aggregates and provides access to urban data, tools, and services for researchers, planners, and policymakers. It supports interdisciplinary inquiry across fields by linking datasets, software, and computing resources to enable spatial analysis, modelling, and visualisation for metropolitan regions such as Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The initiative interfaces with academic institutions, government agencies, and industry partners to inform projects related to urban form, transport, housing, environment, and resilience.
The Network creates a federated platform that integrates data from sources including Australian Bureau of Statistics, Geoscience Australia, Bureau of Meteorology, Land and Property Information NSW, and state-based spatial data repositories. It provides researchers with tools analogous to those used in projects like Urban Observatory and infrastructures such as UK Data Service and Digital Science platforms. The service supports workflows compatible with standards promoted by Australian Research Data Commons, National Computational Infrastructure, and international initiatives such as Open Geospatial Consortium and Global Earth Observation System of Systems.
AURIN originated from collaborative proposals submitted to national funding rounds involving universities like The University of Melbourne, Monash University, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, and University of Western Australia. Early development drew on expertise from centres including CSIRO, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, and state planning agencies like Victorian Planning Authority. Milestones included pilot deployments, platform releases, and integration with projects funded by bodies such as Australian Research Council and institutional partners including Griffith University and RMIT University.
Membership spans universities, research institutes, municipal councils such as City of Melbourne and City of Sydney, and statutory agencies including Transport for NSW and Department of Planning and Environment (New South Wales). Governance structures mirror consortia frameworks used by organisations such as National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council, with advisory input from expert groups linked to Infrastructure Australia and professional bodies like Planning Institute of Australia and Engineers Australia.
The Network provides computational environments, spatial data services, and web-based tools that interface with cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and national facilities including National Computational Infrastructure. Capabilities encompass geocoding, network analysis, microsimulation, and scenario modelling comparable to tools used in UrbanSim and MATSim. Visualization modules enable thematic mapping for projects similar to those produced by Esri and research centres such as Centre for Urban Transitions.
Research themes include transport systems, housing affordability, urban heat islands, and infrastructure resilience. Notable project alignments mirror studies conducted by Institute for Sensible Transport, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, and city-scale initiatives like the Greater Sydney Commission plans. Projects have examined interactions among land use change, travel behaviour, and emissions similar to investigations performed within Transport Research Laboratory and collaborations with energy groups like Australian Energy Market Operator.
The Network partners with international and domestic organisations including World Bank, United Nations Habitat, OECD, and regional bodies such as Local Government Association affiliates. Academic collaborations extend to centres such as Melbourne School of Design, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford equivalents, and institutes like Curtin University Sustainable Policy Lab. Industry engagement involves technology firms, consultants, and data providers similar to partnerships seen with IBM, Google, and specialist vendors in spatial analytics.
Funding sources have included federal grants from agencies such as Department of Education, Skills and Employment (Australia), competitive awards from Australian Research Council, and contributions from member universities and state agencies. Long-term sustainability strategies align with frameworks used by infrastructures like National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and explore mixed funding models incorporating subscription services, project-based contracts, and philanthropic support from foundations comparable to Ian Potter Foundation and Myer Foundation.
Category:Research infrastructure in Australia Category:Urban studies and planning