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Interview with Lachlan Wills: Planning for equity

Posted May 28, 2025

SGS Economics and Planning Lachlan Wills

From a young age, Lachlan was curious about how cities work. Growing up in the outer suburbs of Ballarat, he experienced how frustrating a lack of planning and infrastructure can be. He wanted to find solutions to the problems he saw in his everyday life, like infrequent public transport. But it wasn’t until he met urban planners on a cultural program in Ho Chi Minh City that he realised planning was a career path.

Now, Lachlan is studying a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). Here, he is learning about solutions to many of the problems he experienced growing up. An area that has captivated him is achieving social justice through the planning of equitable cities. However, Lachlan, a Warumungu man from the desert mob in Tennant Creek, says his course material considers little to no indigenous perspectives.

Indigenous communities are often among the most marginalised by modern cities, and my planning course hasn’t yet considered how to achieve social justice outcomes that incorporate Indigenous knowledge.
— Lachlan Wills

Wanting to expand his knowledge of indigenous experiences, Lachlan travelled to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, last year. Here, he engaged with Indigenous communities and organisations while taking courses in Indigenous Studies at the state’s university. His time in Canada showed him that the indigenous struggle is global; Indigenous communities face many of the same problems despite their geographical distance. Lachlan wants to address these issues through planning.

Two challenges that Lachlan wants to tackle are housing and climate change. Affordable housing is a pressing matter for Indigenous communities and an issue he has experienced firsthand, having to couch surf for six months in Melbourne during his studies.

Providing housing is complex, but people need access to affordable and stable homes. If people have secure places to live, they can focus on helping themselves and their communities rather than just trying to survive.
— Lachlan Wills

Lachlan Wills

The second challenge of climate is vital to realising more equitable cities. Lachlan wants to see more reciprocity between urban forms and Country—cities that better integrate the benefits of nature into their planning and design. He points out that Western understandings of nature and cities marginalise communities by restricting public access to natural resources and open spaces.

Country has always provided a space for healing, trade and recreation. Modern open space design can limit the capacity of natural spaces, making them feel like a private backyard, rather than a multifaceted space that can serve diverse needs.
— Lachlan Wills

Lachlan hopes that if cities integrate Indigenous knowledge of Country, our urban centres will be more resilient to the climate risks his generation will face. Drawing on some of the oldest land management systems could lead to equitable city planning, which drew Lachlan to the profession in the first place.

This vision may take time to realise. After all, Lachlan is only at the start of his planning career. However, the young student is off to a promising start. He has already interned at several key organisations and is undertaking his second Aurora Internship Program with us at SGS.

I came back to SGS because I get to work with experienced planners who are happy to talk about the issues of equity and justice in our cities. It’s encouraging.
— Lachlan Wills

After he finishes studying, Lachlan wants to work on connecting cities with Country, community engagement, housing, and homelessness. He wants to push for urban centres that can integrate Indigenous knowledge and experiences to make our cities more resilient and socially just.

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