UNSW Cities Institute embarks on Collaborations with Japanese Cities and Urban Development Institutes

The UNSW Cities Institute is partnering with Japanese cities and organisations to tackle shared city-making, urban development and social infrastructure challenges. Cities Institute recently hosted the 10th International City-Making Design Studio with Waseda University and Tokyo Metropolitan University in November 2025. The studio focused on public domain assets, infrastructure, housing, active transport, and urban heritage, cantered around the redevelopment of Sydney’s Old Fish Market site. The event gathered Japanese and Australian scholars and professionals to discuss city-making strategies relevant to both countries, including representatives from Urban Renaissance (UR) Japan. Originally founded by the Japanese government in 1955, UR Japan now specialises in sharing lessons and technical expertise from major Japanese housing, infrastructure, and economic activation projects like transit-oriented developments.

Australia and Japan face issues such as housing shortages, efficient transit-oriented developments, resilient city planning, public domain infrastructure, and managing rapidly aging populations in urban areas. By working together, they hope to combine their urban knowledge and expertise to address these concerns and share the applied knowledge with the APAC Cities.

Both countries are highly urbanised, with more than 90% of their populations living in major cities and metropolitan regions, while these urban centres occupy only a small fraction of each country's land. This concentration leads to challenges involving urban density, changing demographics, aging infrastructure, and growing climate risks, which all have significant economic, social, and environmental impacts on their cities. To foster solutions, the UNSW Cities Institute fosters dialogue, knowledge exchange, and joint projects that strive to improve the quality of life and sustainability in cities across both nations.

UNSW Cities Institute and Urban Renaissance (UR) Japan have begun discussions on forming collaborative platforms for Australia-Japan urban knowledge exchange, industry-led research hub, accelerated housing delivery, and practitioner exchange programs for city leaders from Japan, Australia, and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Professor Hoon Han, Sarah Ford and Associate Professor Sunil Dubey are leading the Institute discussions with UR executive team Shiguma Fujita and Naoki James Kuroda.

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