Dr Sara Alidoust
Lecturer in Planning
School of Architecture, Design and Planning
+61 7 336 56671
Researcher biography
My research centers on the intersections of Urban Planning and Public Health, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and practical application. I deliver transdisciplinary solutions to some of the most compelling challenges of our time, 'housing vulnerability' and 'the health outcomes of citymaking'. My work stands out through the application of Systems Thinking to complex planning issues, particularly housing and its health impacts. I explore the connections between planning and the physical, mental, and social health of communities. My primary focus is on developing resilient cities capable of maintaining their liveability over time, especially amidst disruptive events and shocks.
Publications
Book Chapters
Khalaj, Fahimeh, Alidoust, Sara and Pojani, Dorina (2023). Mapping urban transport - land use interactions worldwide, a state of practice. Handbook on transport and land use. (pp. 147-166) edited by João de Abreu e Silva, Kristina Currans, Veronique Van Acker and Robert Schneider. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781800370258.00015
Ahmad, Mubeen, Darchen, Sebastien, Alidoust, Sara and Sipe, Neil (2022). Smart densification. The Palgrave encyclopedia of urban and regional futures. (pp. 1520-1528) edited by Robert C. Brears. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-87745-3_278
Alidoust, Sara (2022). Planning Healthy and Livable Cities. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures. (pp. 1-5) Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-51812-7_277-1
Fahimeh Khalaj, Pojani, Dorina and Alidoust, Sara (2021). Planning Active Travel and School Transport. International Encyclopedia of Transportation. (pp. 432-436) Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-08-102671-7.10792-4
Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2019). Planning for healthy ageing: How the use of third places contributes to the social health of older populations. Rethinking Third Places: Informal Public Spaces and Community Building. (pp. 38-55) edited by Joanne Dolley and Caryl Bosman. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Journal Articles
Alidoust, Sara, Wyeth, Stephanie, Reddel, Tim, Cornish, Gillian, Lata, Lutfun Nahar, Johnson, Laurel and Shaweesh, Maram (2024). Sustaining a resilient housing system in southeast Queensland. Australian Planner, 1-16. doi: 10.1080/07293682.2024.2309352
Alidoust, Sara (2023). Sustained liveable cities: the interface of liveability and resiliency. Cities and Health. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2023.2260132
Alidoust, Sara (2022). Older people, house-sitting and ethics of care. International Journal of Housing Policy, 24 (2), 191-210. doi: 10.1080/19491247.2022.2097853
Alidoust, Sara, Gleeson, Nikita and Khalaj, Fahimeh (2022). A systematic review of planning policies for community wellbeing. Journal of Urbanism, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2022.2071971
Alidoust, Sara and Huang, Wei (2022). Master planned communities for healthy living: a systematic literature review. Urban Policy and Research, 40 (2), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/08111146.2022.2057945
Alidoust, Sara and Khalaj, Fahimeh (2021). An exploratory study of house-sitting and ‘home’-making among older people. Australian Geographer, 52 (4), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/00049182.2021.1999612
Alidoust, Sara and Huang, Wei (2021). A decade of research on housing and health: a systematic literature review. Reviews on Environmental Health, 45-64. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2021-0121
Pojani, Dorina and Alidoust, Sara (2021). Lest we forget: media predictions of a post-Covid-19 urban future. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 16 (2), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/17549175.2021.1944283
Bruhn, Cameron and Alidoust, Sara (2020). Case studies: housing initiatives in Queensland. Architecture Australia, 109 (5), 63-71.
Bruhn, Cameron and Alidoust, Sara (2020). Housing initiatives and opportunities in Queensland. Architecture Australia, 109 (5), 63-65.
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2020). The "Hothouse Community" and its implications for older age residents. Urban Policy and Research, 38 (2), 132-149. doi: 10.1080/08111146.2020.1753688
Hindmarsh, Richard and Alidoust, Sara (2019). Rethinking Australian CSG transitions in participatory contexts of local social conflict, community engagement, and shifts towards cleaner energy. Energy Policy, 132, 272-282. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.05.035
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2019). Planning for healthy ageing: how the use of third places contributes to the social health of older populations. Ageing and Society, 39 (7), 1459-1484. doi: 10.1017/s0144686x18000065
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2018). Talking while walking: an investigation of perceived neighbourhood walkability and its implications for the social life of older people. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 33 (1), 133-150. doi: 10.1007/s10901-017-9558-1
Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2017). Master planned communities for the ageing population: how sociable are they?. Cities and Health, 1 (1), 38-46. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2017.1393242
Grant, Marcus, Brown, Caroline, Caiaffa, Waleska T., Capon, Anthony, Corburn, Jason, Coutts, Chris, Crespo, Carlos J., Ellis, Geraint, Ferguson, George, Fudge, Colin, Hancock, Trevor, Lawrence, Roderick J., Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J., Oni, Tolu , Thompson, Susan, Wagenaar, Cor , Ward Thompson, Catharine, Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl, Schnake-Mahl, Alina, Norman, Sarah, Kent, Jennifer Lee, Ma, Liang, Mulley, Corinne and Siri, José (2017). Research for City Practice. Cities and Health, 1 (1), 10-21. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2017.1396750
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl, Holden, Gordon, Shearer, Heather and Shutter, Leigh (2017). The spatial dimensions of neighbourhood: how older people define it. Journal of Urban Design, 22 (5), 547-567. doi: 10.1080/13574809.2017.1336057
Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2016). Boomer planning: the production of age-friendly cities. Built Environment, 42 (1), 107-119. doi: 10.2148/benv.42.1.107
Alidoust, Sara and Bosman, Caryl (2015). Planning for an ageing population: links between social health, neighbourhood environment and the elderly. Australian Planner, 52 (3), 177-186. doi: 10.1080/07293682.2015.1034145
Alidoust, Sara, Holden, Gordon and Bosman, Caryl (2014). Urban environment and social health of the elderly: a critical discussion on physical, social and policy environments. Athens Journal of Health, 1 (3), 169-180. doi: 10.30958/ajh.1-3-1
Conference Papers
Alidoust, Sara, Bosman, Caryl and Holden, Gordon (2015). Socially healthy ageing: the importance of third places, soft edges and walkable neighbourhoods. State of Australian Cities Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, 9-11 December 2015.
Alidoust, Sara, Holden, Gordon and Bosman, Caryl (2014). Urban environment and social health of the elderly: a critical discussion on physical, social and policy environments. 4th Annual International Conference on Urban Studies & Planning, Athens, Greece, 9-12 June 2020.
Newspaper Article
Alidoust, Sara (2022, 02 18). ‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among older Australians The Conversation
Thesis
Alidoust, Sara (2017). Planning for socially healthy ageing – A study of neighbourhood environments and their impacts on the social lives of older people. PhD Thesis, School of Environment, Griffith University.