Dr Elisa Palazzo

I have broad international experience across academia and professional practice and am currently a Senior Lecturer at UNSW Sydney. My PhD in Urban Design, Regional and Environmental Planning examined how landscape architecture can contribute to more resilient and environmentally sustainable urban design. I have taught landscape and environmental planning and urban design at the Universities of Pisa and Florence, Tsinghua University in Beijing, and Australian universities.

My research develops regenerative, adaptive and transdisciplinary approaches to environmental change, with a particular focus on water-sensitive urbanism and Sponge City strategies to strengthen flood resilience across urban and rural systems. 

In Australia, I contributed to the Mount Lofty Ranges Cultural Landscape Heritage Bid in South Australia and currently contribute to cultural landscape mapping in the Hunter Valley, NSW, to support its potential National Heritage listing.

I served as Convenor of the Australia ICOMOS National Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes and Cultural Routes and co-authored the Burra Charter Practice Note on Cultural Landscapes. I am also an expert member of the ICOMOS/IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes.

I am a registered registered Architect, Urbanist and Landscape Planner, with more than 20 years’ experience leading large-scale, award-winning public projects and plans for government and international organisations. I have authored several projects and plans from research and design through delivery, including a €3.6 million development in Tavola, Prato, that I have led throughout the design and construction phases. 

My professional practice includes regeneration projects in urban and rural landscapes across Europe, the Middle East, China and Australia, and collaboration with renowned design and planning practices including Turenscape, L&A and THUPDI in China. 

As a UNESCO International Expert, I served as Scientific Coordinator of the Bethlehem Area Conservation and Management Plan (BACMP), a competitive UNDP/UNESCO-funded project (US$0.5 million, 2006–2010). The plan contributed to World Heritage nominations of two sites in Palestine in 2012 and 2014, including an agricultural landscape.

Career Highlights

• Research Funding
  • Chief Investigator, Category 3 competitive grant (Myer Foundation), AUD 0.94M (2018–2020)
  • Lead CI, Category 2 and 3 grants totalling AUD 199,000 (2015–2027)
  • Scientific Coordinator, UNDP/UNESCO BACMP grant, USD 0.5M (2006–2010)
• Academic Leadership and Service
  • Co-Chair, Australia ICOMOS National Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes and Cultural Routes (2022-2025)
  • Expert Member, ICOMOS/IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes
  • Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio).
• Research Impact and Engagement
  • Regular keynote speaker and invited contributor to national and international forums on landscape resilience
  • Contributor to public discourse through lectures, media appearances, and interviews
• Awards and Recognition
  • National Banksia Sustainability Award (2020, with Place Agency)
  • International Place Leadership Award (2019, with Place Agency)
  • Peter Joseph Lenné Prize (Berlin, 1999)
• Professional Practice
  • Principal Architect/Design Director for 38 implemented projects and strategic plans
  • Recipient of 29 design awards (including 11 first prizes)
  • Work exhibited internationally since 1999 across Europe (Italy, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Serbia)