The centre includes researchers from the Disciplines of Geospatial Systems and Environmental Management, Ecology, Civil and Materials Engineering, Geology, and Building and Planning, working collaboratively with researchers in other schools, disciplines or institutions. Additional memberships via adjunct appointments from outside institutions are both welcome and encouraged.

The overall program will be managed by a Director and two Deputy Directors with the aid of a management team and an external Advisory Board. The Centre will seek to implement a multidisciplinary approach to the landscape issues by interacting with researchers in related centres, institutes, and government and private institutions.

We have identified six themes crucial to achieving sustainability in built communities. These are:

• Promoting biodiversity in an urban context
• Water Sensitive Urban Design and new engineering technologies
• Changing land use: urban and peri-urban landscapes in space and time
• Building and planning green cities
• Hazard management
• Educating, and communicating in, sustainable urban environments

These issues are of major relevance to South Australians, Australians and many international communities. They require analysis and intervention by researchers working with a wide range of tools including: GIS, remote sensing, spatial analysis and modelling; informatics; ecological, geological and palaeontologic approaches; mathematics and statistics; management; building, engineering and surveying; and planning and policy formulation. In addition, as a central tenet in the sustainability platform for the SA Government’s strategic plan, as well as being seminal components in the Federal Government’s Sustainability program and the United Nations’ global climate change response, it is vital that this research platform inform policy makers at all levels of government.
The central feature of this research centre is that it is an active partnership utilising research strengths drawn from the Sustainable Environments Research Group (SERG), Structural Materials and Assemblies Group (SMAG), Spatial Measurement and Information Group (SMIG), and the Geological Research Group (GRG). These are all current research groups within the School of Natural and Built Environments, Division of Information Technology Engineering and Environment, University of South of Australia that will be either merged into or associated with the centre. The centre will also act in concert with relevant external institutions. This network of researchers not only will allow for the untrammelled exchange of information and the opening of new and exciting research partnerships, but will also stand as a model for creating multidisciplinary research groups with a broad focus.  

Framework for BioCity@UniSA
The key issues concerning urban environments at local, national and world scales form the framework for the establishment and function of BioCity@UniSA. These are

• The need for both applied and basic multidisciplinary research into issues pertaining to the urban environment. In particular, to link advanced technologies, urban planning and environmental knowledge to manage urban sustainability.
• The need for active disbursement of information concerning the urban environment and the promotion, discussion and debate of those issues leading to action by the general community.
• The need to develop multidisciplinary education programmes enabling students studying and training in diverse fields to have a strong environmental background.
• The need to promote interactions between the University communities, private organisations, government entities and other relevant organisations to improve the initiation, development and continuation of environmental programmes focussing on the urban environment.
• The need for continued development of the current strategic plans for the management of our local environment endorsed by relevant groups within the community and recognised by councils and government.