Elucidating the Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Urban Landscape Design (A Comparative Study of Victoria, Australia)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.

2 Ph.D. student in Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.

3 M.Sc. in Project and Construction Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.48311/udd.2026.120318.82844
Abstract
Aims: Indigenous knowledge as an effective component in promoting urban landscape identity and sustainability, has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. Victoria, Australia is considered a successful example of utilizing indigenous knowledge in urban landscape design. The objective of this study is to identify and analyze strategies for integrating indigenous knowledge into urban landscape design by examining prominent examples in this state.

Methods: This applied research utilized a mixed-methods approach. In the qualitative phase, five prominent urban landscape projects in Victoria were examined through comparative analysis. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire based on indicators extracted from case studies was developed and completed by thirty specialists in architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture. Questionnaire reliability was confirmed with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.901, and data were analyzed using the T-test method in SPSS software.

Findings: Results demonstrated that indigenous community participation, the utilization of ecological knowledge, cultural storytelling, the use of native materials, and strengthening the sense of place are the most important success factors of the studied projects. Furthermore, the questionnaire results showed that all research indicators had an above-average mean and were statistically significant. Among these indicators, the sense of place and landscape identity gained the highest importance.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that integrating indigenous knowledge into the urban landscape design process can strengthen place identity, ecological sustainability and urban space quality. Ultimately, this approach provides a highly appropriate and adaptable strategy for landscape design in various other cultural contexts.

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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 06 September 2026

  • Receive Date 02 July 2026
  • Revise Date 26 August 2026
  • Accept Date 06 September 2026
  • First Publish Date 06 September 2026
  • Publish Date 06 September 2026