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Leila Mahmoudi Farahani

Research Officer in Urban Studies, RMIT University

Dr Farahani is a Research Officer at Centre for Urban Research working as a member of the Clean Air and Urban Landscape Hub. She conducts industry and government funded research in monitoring and evaluating public and green spaces, with a particular focus on how the built environment and physical structure of neighbourhoods impact residents.

She holds a PhD in urban studies from Deakin University and has a Masters Degree in Architecture from University of Tehran. She has also practised as an architect and urban designer for several years.

Her research interests include greening, public life studies, liveability, sustainable urban development, socio-cultural studies and environmental psychology. She is currently working on a number of projects which are based upon monitoring and evaluating neighbourhood public and green spaces, liveability, sense of community and social life.

How do we turn a drain into valued green space? First, ask the residents

Nov 08, 2017 15:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views

This article is based on a paper being presented at the State of Australian Cities Conference in Adelaide, November 28-30. The green infrastructure of our cities includes both publicly owned, designed and delineated...

Economy

Platinum Price Surges Past $2,000 as Demand and Supply Dynamics Tighten

Platinum prices surged sharply at the start of the week, rallying more than 4.6% on Monday to break above the $2,000 per ounce level for the first time since 2008. The move marks a 17-year high for the precious metal and...

U.S. Dollar Slips as Yen Finds Support on Intervention Signals and Geopolitical Risks Rise

The U.S. dollar edged lower on Monday after posting modest gains last week, as cautious market sentiment and rising geopolitical tensions weighed on risk appetite. Currency markets remained largely subdued in Asia, showing...

Why U.S. Coffee Prices Are Staying High Despite Trump’s Tariff Rollbacks

U.S. coffee drinkers hoping for cheaper coffee after President Donald Trump rolled back key import tariffs are likely to be disappointed. While the tariff reductions removed duties on hundreds of food items, including...

UK Economy Grows 0.1% in Q3 2025 as Outlook Remains Fragile

The British economy recorded modest growth in the third quarter of 2025, expanding by 0.1% between July and September, according to the latest confirmation from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The final GDP...

German Exports to the U.S. Decline Sharply as Tariffs Reshape Trade in 2025

German exports to the United States recorded a significant downturn in 2025, underscoring the lasting impact of U.S. trade policies on Europes largest economy. According to a study cited by Reuters, German car exports to...

Politics

Kremlin Rejects U.S. Intelligence Claims on Putin’s Alleged Plans to Expand War Beyond Ukraine's

The Kremlin has firmly rejected claims attributed to U.S. intelligence suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to seize all of Ukraine and potentially reclaim parts of Europe that were once under Soviet...

Trump Appoints Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as Special Envoy to Greenland

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has been appointed as a special envoy to Greenland, a move that has reignited global attention on the strategic Arctic territory and its...

ASEAN Pushes to Revive Thailand–Cambodia Ceasefire as Border Conflict Intensifies

Southeast Asian foreign ministers convened in Malaysia on Monday in a renewed diplomatic effort to restore a fragile ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia after nearly two weeks of intense border fighting. The conflict,...

NSW Parliament Recalled After Bondi Beach Shooting to Debate Stricter Gun Laws and Protest Limits

Australias New South Wales state parliament was recalled on Monday for an urgent two-day session to debate proposed new laws that would significantly tighten firearm ownership, ban the public display of terror symbols, and...

U.S. Coast Guard Pursues Sanctioned Oil Tanker Near Venezuela Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

The U.S. Coast Guard is actively pursuing a sanctioned oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, according to U.S. officials cited by Reuters, marking what could become the third such operation in less than two...

Science

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Technology

Italy Fines Apple €98.6 Million Over App Store Dominance

Italys competition authority has imposed a 98.6 million ($115.53 million) fine on U.S. technology giant Apple and two of its subsidiaries, citing alleged abuse of a dominant market position related to the distribution of...

Moore Threads Unveils New GPUs, Fuels Optimism Around China’s AI Chip Ambitions

Moore Threads Technology Co Ltd (SS:688795), often described as Chinas potential alternative to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), attracted investor attention after unveiling a new lineup of graphics processing units at...

U.S. Lawmakers Urge Pentagon to Blacklist More Chinese Tech Firms Over Military Ties

A group of nine Republican U.S. lawmakers has formally urged the Pentagon to expand its list of Chinese companies accused of supporting Chinas military, intensifying scrutiny of Beijing-linked technology firms amid rising...

Dina Powell McCormick Resigns From Meta Board After Eight Months, May Take Advisory Role

Dina Powell McCormick has resigned from Meta Platforms board of directors effective immediately, just eight months after joining the social media company, Meta confirmed on Friday. The unexpected departure comes at a time...

TikTok U.S. Deal Advances as ByteDance Signs Binding Joint Venture Agreement

TikTok has taken a major step toward securing its future in the United States after its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, announced it has signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a new joint venture...