We are thrilled to announce that Geoneon, together with the University of Tasmania, WSP, and the City of Launceston, has won the 2025 National Award for Planning Excellence in the Planning Research category, presented by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA).
The award was given in recognition of the City of Launceston Urban Greening Strategy, a pioneering collaboration that combined cutting-edge spatial science with deep community engagement to help Launceston respond to the impacts of climate change through urban greening.
Recognising the Role of Research in Planning
The PIA National Awards for Planning Excellence celebrate the most impactful and innovative projects shaping Australia’s cities, towns, and communities. The Planning Research category recognises outstanding research that improves planning policy, decision-making, or practice. Geoneon and partners were selected from a shortlist of state winners, including high-calibre research from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.
Held on 29 May 2025 at the Darwin Convention Centre as part of the PIA Congress, the national awards presentation brought together planners and practitioners from across Australia. In total, 53 nominations across 11 categories were celebrated for their contributions to planning excellence.
About the Winning Project
The City of Launceston Urban Greening Strategy sets a new benchmark for evidence-based urban planning. Developed through an inclusive process involving council staff, local community organisations, and researchers, the strategy provides a roadmap to expand tree canopy, cool urban areas, and create more liveable, climate-resilient neighbourhoods.
Geoneon contributed high-resolution tree canopy and land surface temperature mapping, quantifying urban heat and vegetation cover down to the street level. The work enabled the city to pinpoint heat-vulnerable areas and develop targeted greening interventions.
A Collaborative Achievement
Professor Jason Byrne (University of Tasmania), who led the research design, highlighted the collective nature of the achievement:
“It was a privilege to work alongside Geoneon in designing the metrics for the quantification of heat impact on local communities and learning so much from Alex, Roxane and team. The City of Launceston planners, horticultural specialists, works team, parks team, community engagement team and many others were crucial in co-design and workshop participation. The residents of Launceston, Launceston Chamber of Commerce, local environmental groups, Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania and many others shared knowledge generously and informed key elements of the strategy. And WSP in Australia team did an amazing job of translating the literature review, spatial analysis, and workshop findings into an accessible and informative strategy”
Roxane Bandini-Maeder, CEO of Geoneon, said:
“This award is an incredible recognition of what can happen when science, government, and community come together. We are proud to have contributed spatial intelligence that translates into real, practical climate adaptation.”
PIA’s Recognition of Impact
In their announcement, PIA described the calibre of this year’s submissions as
"outstanding, a true reflection of the creativity, care and innovation driving the planning profession forward. Australian planners are shaping our communities for the better — overcoming challenges, driving change, and delivering best practice".
