Christopher Martin Standen

Dr Christopher Martin Standen is a Research Fellow in Urban Development within the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney). His interdisciplinary work bridges urban planning, public health, and transportation research with a strong emphasis on health equity and sustainability.

His research focuses on enhancing decision-making tools in urban planning, particularly cost-benefit analysis and health impact assessment, to better reflect health and sustainability outcomes. He integrates health and sustainability considerations into urban planning and transport education, emphasizing equity of access, health, and liveability over traditional metrics like speed and travel time savings. His methodological expertise includes transport/land use planning, travel behaviour analysis, health/environmental impact assessment, environmental management, welfare economics, econometrics, and spatial data analytics.

Standen's recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on the intersection of urban infrastructure, active transport, and health outcomes. His work examines how transportation choices impact physical activity, wellbeing, and health equity, with particular attention to bicycle infrastructure, working from home patterns, and social housing redevelopment. His methodological approaches include longitudinal studies, quasi-experimental designs, systematic reviews, and economic appraisal techniques.

• Sydney Local Health District Innovation and Excellence Award: Health Innovation and Research, Highly Commended (2023)
• Dean's Citation for Teaching, University of Sydney Business School (2020)
• Australian Postgraduate Award Industry Scholarship (2013)

Standen has secured multiple research grants including projects with City of Sydney, Public Health Wales, NSW Ministry of Health, and the Charles Perkins Centre. His teaching experience spans transport policy, health impact assessment, GIS/spatial data analytics, quantitative analysis, and data science. He regularly serves as an expert commentator in major media outlets on urban planning and transport issues and has acted as an expert witness for the NSW Parliament.