Natural Hazards Resilience Speakers Series: Stephen Dredge, “Linking Natural Hazards Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation: An International Perspective”

Stephen Dredge will discuss the linkage between natural hazards risk management and climate change adaptation, drawing on his practical experience applying land use planning and policy analysis tools in Australia. Dredge leads the firm MeridianUrban and is a Principal-level urban planner with Australian and international experience spanning a range of fields including land use planning, urban policy, disaster resilience, and adaptation. He has a Bachelor of Regional and Urban Planning, First Class Honours from the University of Queensland.

He is an industry leader in strategic planning and policy development, delivering these services for both governance reviews and urban policy changes. He utilizes innovative risk management processes to improve the operation of statutory planning instruments in a range of urban settlements and contexts.

Dredge has also pioneered innovations in the integration of natural hazard risk management and climate adaptation into land use planning practice. He has recently authored or significantly contributed to a range of national and state-level policy documents in these fields and has deployed this guidance into practice for multiple projects.