Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Professor Donna Houston is an urban and cultural geographer working at the intersection of urban and environmental change. Her research explores how social and creative methods can respond to the socio-ecological challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, with a particular focus on:
- Advancing environmental and multispecies justice in climate-affected regions
- Planning for caring and just multispecies cities and public spaces
- Governing life on a warming planet
- Examining geographies of extinction, ecological loss, and repair
- Using storytelling and creative methodologies to address socio-ecological challenges
Professor Houston is a member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts (2026–2029). She is Deputy Director of Research in Urban Policy and Planning at the Centre for Housing and Urban Research, where she leads applied, public-facing, transdisciplinary projects in collaboration with government and community sectors to improve the liveability of cities and more-than-human communities. Donna is a founding member and co-leader of the Shadow Places Network, an international collective of scholars and artists reimagining relationships between people, places, and planetary change.
She is currently a Chief Investigator on five Australian Research Council (ARC) projects. Her work contributes to reimagining urban futures that are more just, inclusive, and responsive to planetary change.
- Everyday, Humble, Messy: Understanding Place-Based Repair in Climate-Affected Communities (Discovery, 2025–2028) – Lead CI: Prof. Emily Potter, Deakin University
- Surfacing Urban Wetlands in Two Urban Renewal Sites in Sydney (Discovery, 2024–2026) – Lead CI: A/Prof. Alexandra Crosby, UTS
- Urban Rewilding: Ecologically and Community Informed Futures (Linkage, 2022–2026) – Lead CI: A/Prof. Thomas Newsome, University of Sydney
- Extinction Imaginaries: Mapping Effective Visual Cultures in Australasia (Linkage, 2023–2027) – Lead CI: Em. Prof. Linda Williams, RMIT
- The Power of Public Spaces to Connect Communities and Places for Resilient Futures (Linkage, 2022–2026) – Project Lead
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics where Donna Houston is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
-
Social Experiments in Urban Food: Investigating Environmental Food Networks in Sydney
Houston, D. (Primary Chief Investigator) & McGregor, A. (Associate Investigator)
1/01/16 → …
Project: Research
-
Enabling Social Innovation for Local Climate Adaptability
Houston, D. (Primary Chief Investigator), Hillier, J. (Chief Investigator), Steele, W. (Chief Investigator), Byrne, J. (Chief Investigator) & MacCallum, D. (Chief Investigator)
14/04/15 → 1/12/21
Project: Research
-
Valuing Adaptive Re-use of Heritage Buildings
Houston, D. (Primary Chief Investigator), McNeill, D. (Chief Investigator), Dowling, R. (Chief Investigator) & Rogers, D. (Chief Investigator)
16/06/17 → …
Project: Research
-
DP24 (UTS led): Surfacing wetlands through design ethnography and visualisation in two urban renewal sites in Sydney
Crosby, A. (Chief Investigator), Vanni Accarigi, I. (Chief Investigator), Jones, S. (Chief Investigator), Houston, D. (Primary Chief Investigator), Goodman, J. (Chief Investigator) & Salazar, J. (Chief Investigator)
22/02/24 → 21/02/27
Project: Research
-
RMIT led: Extinction Imaginaries: Mapping Affective Visual Cultures in Australasia
Williams, L. (Chief Investigator), James, P. (Chief Investigator), Amati, M. (Chief Investigator) & Houston, D. (Primary Chief Investigator)
4/08/23 → 3/08/26
Project: Research
-
Assembling the plant-based meat proposition: towards food systems transitions in Australia
McGregor, A., Rickards, L., Houston, D. & Goodman, M., 27 Oct 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Encountering climate vulnerability through narratives and places
Potter, E. & Houston, D., 2025, Handbook on climate change vulnerability, environments and communities. Miller, F., Shrestha, K. K. & Wright, S. (eds.). Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 171-189 19 p. (Elgar Handbooks in Energy, the Environment and Climate Change).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
-
Multispecies wellbeing: placing pollinators at the center of urban planning and design in Curridabat (Costa Rica)
Wolch, J., Gonzalez, M. F. & Houston, D., 16 Apr 2025, Urban Climate Change Research Network . 4 p. (UCCRN Case Study Docking Station)Research output: Book/Report › Other report › peer-review
Open AccessFile25 Downloads (Pure) -
On the researcher as parasite
Hillier, J. & Houston, D., Aug 2025, In: Planning Theory. 24, 3, p. 291-305 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Pollinator protection in a master planned community: Baseline, Colorado (USA)
Wolch, J., Houston, D. & Gonzalez, M. F., 16 Apr 2025, Urban Climate Change Research Network . 4 p. (UCCRN Case Study Docking Station)Research output: Book/Report › Other report › peer-review
Open AccessFile45 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
-
Faculty of Arts Teaching Excellence Award
Fuller, S. (Recipient), Houston, D. (Recipient), Anson, D. (Recipient), Field, C. (Recipient), McDermid, K. (Recipient), Carter-White, R. (Recipient), Lloyd, K. (Recipient), Kelly, L. (Recipient) & Williams, M. (Recipient), 2023
Prize: Teaching award
-
Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Excellence Award
Fuller, S. (Recipient), Houston, D. (Recipient), Anson, D. (Recipient), Field, C. (Recipient), McDermid, K. (Recipient), Carter-White, R. (Recipient), Kelly, L. (Recipient), Lloyd, K. (Recipient) & Williams, M. (Recipient), 2024
Prize: Teaching award
Activities
- 2 Editorial work
-
Dialogues in Human Geography (Journal)
Houston, D. (Member of editorial board)
2020 → 2023Activity: Peer-review and editorial of research outputs › Editorial work
-
Geohumanities (Journal)
Houston, D. (Member of editorial board)
2019 → 2023Activity: Peer-review and editorial of research outputs › Editorial work
Impacts
-
Power of Public Spaces
Houston, D. (Participant), Lloyd, K. (Participant), Williams, M. (Participant), Lloyd, J. (Participant), Narwal, H. (Participant) & Carter, N. (Participant)
Impact: Society impacts, Policy impacts, Organisation impacts