Overview

VisionEnvironment provides high quality research into environmental planning, sustainability and environmental impact assessment. 

Dr Garry Middle has a unique set of skills. He has worked for both State Government agencies and for Local Governments, and understands both the complexities of the issues faced, and the practicalities of finding workable solutions to problems. Garry completed several practice-based research projects whilst working at Curtin University including his doctorate, which focused on the effectiveness of environmental policy. These projects were primarily aimed at addressing real-world planning and environmental problems by seeking to understand the nature and extent of the problem and then proposing workable solutions based on evidence and the existing policy framework.

Garry's areas of expertise are:

• environment planning,
• sustainability planning,
• coastal planning, including adaptation to climate change,
• urban open space planning,
• policy and governance,
• environmental impact assessment (EIA),
• strategic environmental assessment (SEA), and
• climate change governance.

In summary, Dr Middle's research projects to-date are:

• Active Open Space (playing fields) in a growing Perth-Peel: Implications of Bush Forever, Water Sensitive Urban Design and Liveable Neighbourhoods for Active Sporting Recreation;
• Coastal Character and Values Study - Stage one study of four case studies in Western Australia;
• The use of environmental offsets in environmental impacts assessment in WA;
• Unintended Socio-economic Consequences of Reduced Supply of Active Open Spaces in the Perth Outer Metropolitan Growth Areas;
• Coastal and near marine shore activities study;
• Reducing Green Tape or Rolling back EIA in Australia: What are each jurisdiction up to?
• Study into the active Open Space needs in the Western Suburbs; and
• The capacity for EIA to address climate change.