City Futures Research Centre Arts, Design and Architecture

Our People

Dr Laura Marion Crommelin

Laura Crommelin
Senior Lecturer

Contact

Phone: (02) 9065 1713
Laura Crommelin is a Senior Lecturer in the City Planning Program at UNSW Sydney, teaching planning law and governance and working on research related to urban and housing policy. She is also a Fellow at UNSW's City Futures Research Centre. Laura’s research interests cover a range of trends and issues in post-industrial cities, including urban renewal, urban governance, digital disruptions (e.g. Airbnb), place branding, and DIY urban revitalisation practices. She holds a PhD in urban planning from UNSW, an M.Litt in US Studies from the University of Sydney and a BA/LLB (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.

Publications

Book Chapters

Crommelin L; Troy L; Martin C; Pettit C, 2020, 'Is Airbnb a Sharing Economy Superstar? Evidence from Five Global Cities', in Disruptive Urbanism, Routledge, pp. 37 - 52, http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003010753-4

Crommelin L, 2020, 'The Tales of Two Cities: How Urban Narratives Have Shaped the ‘Wounded’ Cities of New Orleans and Detroit', in Hidden Cities: Understanding Urban Popcultures, pp. 153 - 164, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9781848881037_017

Crommelin L, 2020, 'Making place by making things again? How artisanal makers are reshaping place in post-industrial Detroit and Newcastle', in Bishop K; Marshall N (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of People and Place in the 21st Century City, Routledge

Crommelin L, 2019, 'Urban Utopia', in Orum AM (ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118568446

Pettit C; Ticzon C; Reades J; Wentz EA; Ong P; Martin C; Troy L; Crommelin L, 2018, 'How Disruptive Technology is Impacting the Housing and Property Markets: An Examination of Airbnb', in Reed R; Pettit C (ed.), Real Estate and GIS: The Application of Mapping Technologies, Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 36 - 64, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781315642789-3

Crommelin LM; Troy L; Randolph B; Easthope H, 2018, 'Everybody needs good neighbours, especially in strata: are new Australian laws enabling forced sales of strata properties justified?', in Searle G (ed.), Compulsory Property Acquisition for Urban Densification, Taylor & Francis, pp. 148 - 165, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781315144085

Crommelin LM, 2016, 'Examining Place-making in Practice: Observations from the Revitalization of Downtown Detroit', in Freestone R; Liu E (ed.), Place and Placelessness Revisited, Routledge, New York, pp. 153 - 167, https://www.routledge.com/Place-and-Placelessness-Revisited/Freestone-Liu/p/book/9781138937116

Journal articles

Vij A; Ardeshiri A; Crommelin L; Denham T; Washington L; Beer A, 2024, 'COVID-19, Shifting Urban Growth Dynamics and Preferences for Regional Living in Australia', Urban Policy and Research, 42, pp. 35 - 58, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2024.2311667

Crommelin L; Loosemore M; Easthope H; Randolph B, 2024, 'How information asymmetries exacerbate building defects risks for purchasers of Australian residential multi-owned properties', Building Research and Information, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2024.2321435

Easthope H; Crommelin L; Gillon C; Pinnegar S; Ruming K; Liu S, 2023, 'Redeveloping the compact city: the challenges of strata collective sales', Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, 16, pp. 51 - 67, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-04-2023-0016

Evans C; Harris MS; Taufen A; Livesley SJ; Crommelin L, 2022, 'What does it mean for a transitioning urban waterfront to “work” from a sustainability perspective?', Journal of Urbanism, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2022.2142648

Easthope H; Crommelin L; Kerr SM; Troy L; van den Nouwelant R; Davison G, 2022, 'Planning for Lower‐Income Households in Privately Developed High‐Density Neighbourhoods in Sydney, Australia', Urban Planning, 7, pp. 213 - 228, http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/up.v7i4.5699

Crommelin L; Parkinson S; Martin C; Troy L, 2021, 'Airbnb and amenity: Is short-term letting reshaping how we live in the city?', Critical Housing Analysis, 8, pp. 119 - 128, http://dx.doi.org/10.13060/23362839.2021.8.1.528

Troy L; Randolph B; Pinnegar S; Crommelin L; Easthope H, 2020, 'Vertical Sprawl in the Australian City: Sydney’s High-rise Residential Development Boom', Urban Policy and Research, 38, pp. 18 - 36, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2019.1709168

Crommelin L; Easthope H; Troy L; Randolph B, 2020, 'A new pathway to displacement? The implications of less-than-unanimous strata renewal laws for vulnerable residents', Australian Planner, 56, pp. 261 - 269, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2020.1854798

King C; Crommelin L, 2019, 'A different perspective on post-industrial labor market restructuring in Detroit and Pittsburgh', Journal of Urban Affairs, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2019.1645569

Crommelin LM; Troy L; Martin C; Pettit C, 2018, 'Is Airbnb a sharing economy superstar? Evidence from five global cities', Urban Policy and Research, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2018.1460722

Bunker R; Crommelin L; Troy L; Easthope H; Pinnegar S; Randolph B, 2017, 'Managing the transition to a more compact city in Australia', International Planning Studies, 22, pp. 384 - 399, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13563475.2017.1298435

Crommelin LM; Bunker R; Troy L; Randolph B; Easthope H; Pinnegar S, 2017, 'As compact city planning rolls on, a look back: lessons from Sydney and Perth', Australian Planner, 54, pp. 115 - 125, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2017.1319869

King C; Crommelin L, 2013, 'Surfing the yinzernet: Exploring the complexities of place branding in post-industrial Pittsburgh', Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 9, pp. 264 - 278, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/pb.2013.24

Conference Papers

Crommelin LM; Troy L; Easthope H, 2017, 'Inequitable density: the place of lower-income and disadvantaged residents in the compact city', Adelaide, presented at State of Australian Cities, Adelaide, 27 November 2017 - 30 November 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.4225/50/5b2ddff975912

Crommelin LM, 2013, 'Selling Newcastle to the World, and to Newcastle: a case study of the official and unofficial rebranding of Newcastle, NSW', in Ruming K; Randolph B; Gurran N (eds.), State of Australian Cities Conference 2013: Refereed Proceedings, SOAC Research Network, Sydney, presented at State of Australian Cities Conference 2013, Sydney, 27 November 2013 - 29 November 2013, http://www.soacconference.com.au/soac-conference-proceedings-and-powerpoint-presentations/

Drane JR; Cai W; Mussi E; Shi Y; Crommelin L; Wechsler Pizarro A, 2012, 'A tale of two cultures: Building community by researching community', in AARE Conference Papers - Electronic, AARE, Victoria, pp. 1 - 13, presented at AARE 2012: Australian Association for Research in Education National Conference, Sydney, - , http://www.aare.edu.au/publications-database.php/6491/a-tale-of-two-cultures-building-community-by-researching-community

Crommelin LM, 2011, 'Tales of Two Cities: How the Urban Imaginary Has Shaped Detroit and New Orleans', in Hidden Cities: Understanding Urban Popcultures, Interdisciplinary.net, 1st Global Conference: Urban Popcultures, Prague, presented at Interdisciplinary.net, 1st Global Conference: Urban Popcultures, Prague, 08 March 2011 - 10 March 2011, https://www.interdisciplinarypress.net/my-cart/ebooks/society-and-culture/hidden-cities-understanding-urban-popcultures

Conference Presentations

Crommelin L; van den Nouwelant R; Randolph B, 2017, 'These aren't the key workers you're looking for: Revisiting the key worker discourse from a central city productivity perspective.', presented at Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, Melbourne, 14 February 2017 - 16 February 2017, http://ahrc2017.com.au/program-2/

Troy LJ; Crommelin L; Randolph B; Easthope H; Pinnegar S; Bunker R, 2016, 'Delivering the numbers: Urban renewal, the market and the planning process', presented at PIA NSW State Conference, Newcastle, 13 October 2016 - 14 October 2016

King C; Crommelin LM, 2016, 'A Different Perspective on Post-Industrial Labor Market Restructuring in Detroit and Pittsburgh', presented at Urban Affairs Association 46th Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, 16 March 2016 - 19 March 2016

Crommelin LM, 2015, '"Tales from the Intersection of Creative Class Theory, Place Branding, and Urban Revitalization in the Post-industrial Cities of Detroit and Newcastle"', presented at Spaces and Flows 6th International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies, Chicago, USA, 15 October 2015 - 16 October 2015, http://spacesandflows.com/2015-conference/special-focus

Crommelin LM, 2015, '"Innovation in urban image change: insights from Newcastle, NSW and Detroit, Michigan"', presented at LESANZ Annual Conference 2015, Melbourne, Australia, 29 April 2015 - 01 May 2015, http://www.lesanz.org.au/conference-information/program-in-a-snap

Crommelin LM, 2014, 'Exploring the Diversity of Economic Revitalisation Efforts in Post-Industrial Cities: A Case Study of Informal Reimaging Strategies in Detroit and Newcastle', presented at Knowledge/Culture/Society, University of Western Sydney, Parramatta, 03 November 2014 - 05 November 2014, http://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/768599/KCE_Program_301014.pdf

Crommelin LM, 2013, 'Detroit: From the poster child of decline to the poster child of DIY?', presented at Urban Affairs Association, 43rd Conference - Building the 21st Century City: Inclusion, Innovation, and Globalization, San Francisco, 03 April 2013 - 06 April 2013, http://uaa43rd2012a.sched.org/company/Special%20Track:%20Burd%20Track%20on%20Media%20&%20Urban%20Life#.ULwPBGesArc?iframe=yes&w=800&sidebar=yes&bg=no

Crommelin LM, 2012, 'Post-Industrial Place-Making: Exploring Tactical Urbanism as a Revitalization Strategy.', presented at Association of Collegiate Schools and Planning, 53rd Annual Conference: Resurgence of Planning in a New Century., Cincinnati, OH, 01 November 2012 - 04 November 2012, http://www.acsp.org/node/36637

King C; Crommelin LM, 2012, 'Reaffirming the Yinzer in Post-industrial Pittsburgh', presented at Spaces and Flows, Third International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies, Detroit, MI, 11 October 2012 - 12 October 2012

Crommelin LM, 2011, 'The Tales of Two Cities: The Role of Popular Culture in Shaping the Recoveries of Detroit and New Orleans', presented at Urban Affairs Association, 41st Conference - Reclaiming the City: Building a Just and Sustainable Future, New Orleans, LA, 16 March 2011 - 19 March 2011, http://urbanaffairsassociation.org/conference/past-conferences/

Reports

Kerr S-M; Crommelin L; Easthope H, 2023, Housing Suitability Literature Review, UNSW

Easthope H; Palmer J; Sharam A; Nethercote M; Pignatta G; Crommelin L, 2023, Delivering sustainable apartment housing: New build and retrofit, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne, 400, http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri7128201, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/400,%20doi:%2010.18408/ahuri7128201

Liu E; Ng M; Kerr S; Crommelin L; Debnath R; Lin Y; Pettit C, 2023, Regional NSW Housing Metrics - Consultation report

Martin C; Hulse K; Ghasri M; Ralston L; Crommelin L; Goodall Z; Parkinson S; O'Brien Webb E; Ghasrikhouzani M; Baldry E; McCausland R, 2022, Regulation of residential tenancies and impacts on investment, AHURI Ltd, Melbourne, 391, http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri7124801, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/391

Ng M; Crommelin L; Pettit C, 2022, Housing Delivery Targets and Benchmarks in New South Wales

Crommelin L; Denham T; Troy L; Harrison J; Gilbert H; Dühr S; Pinnegar S, 2022, Understanding the lived experience and benefits of regional cities, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri7126301

Vij A; Ardeshiri A; Li T; Beer A; Crommelin L, 2022, Understanding what attracts new residents to smaller cities, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Melbourne, 375, http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri3226201, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/375

Beer A; Crommelin L; Vij A; Dodson J; Dühr S; Pinnegar S, 2022, Growing Australia’s smaller cities to better manage population growth, http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri3226001

Crommelin L; Thompson S; Easthope H; Loosemore M; Yang H; Buckle C; Randolph B, 2021, Cracks in the Compact City: tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing, City Futures Research Centre, https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/documents/670/Defects_final_report_for_publication_HSGP9LW.pdf

Easthope H; Crommelin L; Troy L; Davison G; Nethercote M; Foster S; van den Nouwelant R; Kleeman A; Randolph B; Horne R, 2020, Improving outcomes for apartment residents and neighbourhoods, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, 329, http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri-7120701, http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/329

Pettit C; Crommelin L; Sharam A; Hulse K, 2018, The potential of new technologies to disrupt housing policy, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri-7115001

Crommelin L; Troy L; Martin C; Parkinson S, 2018, Technological disruption in private housing markets: the case of Airbnb, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne, 305, http://dx.doi.org/10.18408/ahuri-7115201, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/305

Crommelin L; Easthope H; Troy LJ, 2017, Equitable Density: The place for lower-income and disadvantaged households in a dense city: Report 2 The Neighbourhood Scale, UNSW City Futures Research Centre, Sydney, https://cityfutures.be.unsw.edu.au/research/projects/equitable-density-place-lower-income-and-disadvantage-households-dense-city/

Easthope H; Troy LJ; Crommelin L, 2017, Equitable Density: The place for lower-income and disadvantaged households in a dense city: Report 1 The Building Scale, UNSW City Futures Research Centre, Sydney, https://cityfutures.be.unsw.edu.au/research/projects/equitable-density-place-lower-income-and-disadvantage-households-dense-city/

Troy L; Crommelin L; Easthope H, 2017, Equitable Density: The place for lower-income and disadvantaged households in a dense city: Report 3 Metropolitan Scale, UNSW City Futures Research Centre, Sydney, https://cityfutures.be.unsw.edu.au/research/projects/equitable-density-place-lower-income-and-disadvantage-households-dense-city/

van den Nouwelant R; Crommelin LM; Herath S; Randolph B, 2016, Housing Affordability, Central City Economic Productivity and the Lower Income Labour Market (AHURI Final Report #261), AHURI, 261, http://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/7431/AHURI_Final_Report_No261_Housing-affordability-central-city-economic-productivity-and-the-lower-income-labour-market.pdf

Troy L; Randolph B; Crommelin L; Easthope H; Pinnegar S, 2015, Renewing the Compact City: Economically viable and socially sustainable approaches to urban redevelopment, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia, https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/documents/159/Renewing_the_Compact_City_-_Final_Report.pdf

Working Papers

Beer A; Crommelin L; Vij A; Dodson J; Dühr S; Pinnegar S, 2022, Growing Australia’s smaller cities to better manage population growth, http://dx.doi.org10.31235/osf.io/3rafw, http://dx.doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/3rafw

Crommelin L; Denham T; Troy L; Harrison J; Gilbert H; Dühr S; Pinnegar S, 2022, Understanding the lived experience and benefits of regional cities, http://dx.doi.org10.31235/osf.io/kn6tm, http://dx.doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/kn6tm

Media

Crommelin L; Randolph B; Easthope H; Loosemore M, 2021, Water leaks, cracks and flawed fire safety systems: Sydney’s apartments are riddled with building defects, , https://theconversation.com/water-leaks-cracks-and-flawed-fire-safety-systems-sydneys-apartments-are-riddled-with-building-defects-169526

Thompson S; Randolph B; Easthope H; Crommelin L; Loosemore M, 2020, Dealing with apartment defects: a how-to guide for strata owners and buyers, , https://theconversation.com/dealing-with-apartment-defects-a-how-to-guide-for-strata-owners-and-buyers-150292

Easthope H; Crommelin L; Troy L; Nethercote M, 2020, Quality of life in high-density apartments varies. Here are 6 ways to improve it, , https://theconversation.com/quality-of-life-in-high-density-apartments-varies-here-are-6-ways-to-improve-it-139220

Loosemore M; Randolph B; Buckle C; Easthope H; Crommelin L, 2019, Lack of information on apartment defects leaves whole market on shaky footings, , https://theconversation.com/lack-of-information-on-apartment-defects-leaves-whole-market-on-shaky-footings-127007

Crommelin L; Randolph B; Easthope H; Loosemore M, 2019, The big lesson from Opal Tower is that badly built apartments aren’t only an issue for residents, , https://theconversation.com/the-big-lesson-from-opal-tower-is-that-badly-built-apartments-arent-only-an-issue-for-residents-109722

Crommelin L; Martin C; Troy L; Parkinson S, 2018, Who wins and who loses when platforms like Airbnb disrupt housing? And how do you regulate it?, , https://theconversation.com/who-wins-and-who-loses-when-platforms-like-airbnb-disrupt-housing-and-how-do-you-regulate-it-106234

Crommelin L; Martin C; Troy L, 2018, Airbnb regulation needs to distinguish between sharing and plain old commercial letting, , https://theconversation.com/airbnb-regulation-needs-to-distinguish-between-sharing-and-plain-old-commercial-letting-97613

Troy L; Easthope H; Crommelin L, 2017, It’s not just the buildings, high-density neighbourhoods make life worse for the poor, , https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-the-buildings-high-density-neighbourhoods-make-life-worse-for-the-poor-82070

Easthope H; Crommelin L; Troy L, 2017, This is why apartment living is different for the poor, , https://theconversation.com/this-is-why-apartment-living-is-different-for-the-poor-82069

Crommelin L; Easthope H; Pinnegar S; Randolph B; Troy L, 2017, Renewing the Compact City: Scenarios for fair and sustainable redevelopment of strata schemes, , https://landscapeaustralia.com/articles/renewing-the-compact-city/

van den Nouwelant RM; Crommelin L, 2016, High housing costs create worries for city tourism and hospitality, theconversation.com, , https://theconversation.com/high-housing-costs-create-worries-for-city-tourism-and-hospitality-57347

Troy L; Randolph B; Easthope H; Crommelin LM, 2015, When developers come knocking: why strata law shake-up won’t deliver cheaper housing, The Conversation, , https://theconversation.com/when-developers-come-knocking-why-strata-law-shake-up-wont-deliver-cheaper-housing-50971

Crommelin LM; Steinmetz C, 2012, Urban farming in Detroit: sowing seeds of hope in the motor city?, The Conversation, , https://theconversation.com/urban-farming-in-detroit-sowing-seeds-of-hope-in-the-motor-city-10674

Preprints

Easthope H; Palmer J; Sharam A; Nethercote M; Pignatta G; Crommelin L, 2023, Delivering sustainable apartment housing: New build and retrofit, , http://dx.doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/z6yn4

Martin C; Hulse K; Ghasri M; Ralston L; Crommelin L; Goodall Z; Parkinson S; Webb EO, 2022, Regulation of residential tenancies and impacts on investment, , http://dx.doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/sr65b

Vij A; Ardeshiri A; Li T; Beer A; Crommelin L, 2022, Understanding what attracts new residents to smaller cities, , http://dx.doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/fpxum

Other

Crommelin L; Osbaldiston N, 2022, Regional Australia: Opportunities and Futures, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2023.2210700

Easthope H; Crommelin L; Troy L, 2017, Building Defects in Apartments - what's going on?, Shelter NSW, , https://shelternsw.org.au/sites/shelternsw.org.au/files/public/documents/ATH109_jun17_final.pdf

Crommelin LM, 2017, Book review: DIY Detroit, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2017.1279719

Crommelin LM, 2017, Book review: Experiencing Cities (3rd edition), , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2016.1269521

Crommelin L, 2015, Gentrification: A Working-Class Perspective, Routledge, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2015.1038453