Roderick Simpson

Roderick Simpson

Associate Professor of Urban Design
The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning

Rod Simpson joined the University of Sydney in 2011. He is the Director of the Urban Design and Master of Urbanism programs, and is a founding partner of the architectural and urban design practice simpson+wilson.

In 2015, he was appointed the Environment Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission. He is also a member of the UrbanGrowth NSW project review panel.

In 2007-2008 he led the urban design and spatial planning of the Sustainable Sydney 2030 Strategy. Between 2003 and 2007 he was involved in the development of the 'City of Cities' Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney.

From this author

Inclusive and workplace acceptance of refugees
Partnering for refugee employment

When considering their talent pipelines, few companies think outside-of-the-box. Most refugees flourish in the workplace, and so do the businesses that hire them.

SDG 16
Institutional investors demand a more sustainable capitalism

Honey gathering is a solitary job in Indigenous communities. The collector then shares the honey with their community but refrains from joining in the honey feast themself. The idea is that the gathering is not about their gratification, it’s about their contribution to the collective.  

SDG15 Bushfires
Optimisation model as a guide to burning forests to save forests

Setting fire to parts of a forest to save it might seem counterintuitive to urban communities. There is no equivalent of torching a few streets to protect a suburb. However, amongst First Nations people in Australia, hazard reduction burning is a well-established practice.

SDG13 - coal mining
Net zero now – it’s the economy AND the planet

In Australia, as elsewhere, the climate wars have focused on the climate versus jobs dichotomy. Yet while Australia remains highly dependent on fossil fuel extraction for its national economic prosperity it has also become increasingly unequal in its distribution of that wealth.