Governments and regulators assume compliance with building regulations will restore public confidence. But complying with the National Construction Code won't fix many common defects.
Traffic congestion causes more problems than just being stuck in traffic. There are real effects on the health, quality of life and wallets of taxpayers.
Most homes are not as cyclone-ready as they could be. It seems lower insurance premiums aren't enough of an incentive for owners to upgrade their homes, but a new study points to some solutions.
A major investment in renewing the urban centre of Dandenong is starting to pay dividends. But while research has found three keys to success, the benefits haven't reached everyone.
Unsolicited market proposals are not transparently assessed. Infrastructure should be built to serve the public interest, not shaped by its private backers, but the checks to ensure this are broken.
Self-driving vehicles that constantly roam the streets looking for passengers could overwhelm cities. But, if kept in check, these vehicles could be useful for improving urban transport.
Pilot studies in several cities have shown that innovative partnerships are essential in addressing urban transportation challenges and improving the quality of life for urban residents.
The ‘New Bradfield’ scheme seeks to revive a nation-building ethos supposedly stifled by bureaucratic inertia. But there are good reasons the scheme never became a reality.
Big cities are seen as the centre of everything, which creates an attitude that often devalues the work and skills of rural professionals. And sometimes even they subconsciously buy into this.
Democratic candidates are keen to burnish their climate credentials by calling for grand electric vehicle plans. But there are both economic and political reasons for going slowly.
Making better use of existing building space is a neglected but essential way to cut our carbon emissions. The key is human behaviour. Good low-carbon citizens will help create good low-carbon cities.
Malini Sur, Western Sydney University and Eric Kerr, National University of Singapore
The haze now engulfing Sydney isn't an isolated problem. Cities around the world struggle to manage the many sources of tiny airborne particles and the discomfort and illnesses these cause.
The government-backed body set up to help finance social housing providers is providing longer-term, cheaper loans. What's still missing in Australia is direct public investment in new housing.
In major cities around the world, dockless scooters and bikes are everywhere, yet the companies themselves are often breathtakingly short-lived. Basic economic concepts give us clues why.
The difficulty of finding out about building defects creates an information deficit that threatens public confidence and stability in the apartment market. NSW has begun work on a solution.
Venice is a beautiful city with legendary myths that have attracted travellers for hundreds of years. These myths may be what brings the resources needed to save the city.
The cement needed to make concrete – the most widely used man-made material – is a major source of global emissions. Researchers are working on a green replacement that could transform the sector.
Residents of the 'leafy suburbs' will continue to fear what they might lose to increasing urban density without an explicit planning approach that enhances green space in affected neighbourhoods.
When primary school children in a disadvantaged part of Sydney were asked to map what they valued in the area, their choices were revealing and sometimes surprising.
The music we choose to listen to not only allows us to retreat into a place of peace and privacy, but also helps frame our daily routines and interactions with others.
Where bikes are kept is a strong pointer to the place of cycling in the owner's life. Effective active transport policy starts with understanding what stops people using their bikes instead of cars.
City trees are often short-lived and many others get cut down in their prime. Turning them into mulch both wastes timber and releases stored carbon. A wood rescue program creates a more fitting legacy.
Faced with the eye-watering costs of building infrastructure, it makes sense to turn to much more cost-effective smart technology to get traffic flowing.
Expanding on sustainable practices in remote parts of Australia can deliver great benefits to both local Indigenous owners and national and global communities.
Montréal is one of the most congested cities in Canada. In 2018, a total of 145 hours per capita were lost by people stuck in rush hour traffic.
(Shutterstock)
Traffic congestion causes more problems than just being stuck in traffic. There are real effects on the health, quality of life and wallets of taxpayers.
Democratic candidates are keen to burnish their climate credentials by calling for grand electric vehicle plans. But there are both economic and political reasons for going slowly.
In major cities around the world, dockless scooters and bikes are everywhere, yet the companies themselves are often breathtakingly short-lived. Basic economic concepts give us clues why.
The demands on land and resources from our fast-growing cities are unsustainable, as are the wastes they produce. Yet still our leaders act as if unlimited growth is possible.
Ecological economics focuses on sustainability and development rather than efficiency and growth. Cities, as home to 70-80% of economic activity, are at the heart of the challenge of being sustainable.
Expanding on sustainable practices in remote parts of Australia can deliver great benefits to both local Indigenous owners and national and global communities.
Most homes are not as cyclone-ready as they could be. It seems lower insurance premiums aren't enough of an incentive for owners to upgrade their homes, but a new study points to some solutions.
The government-backed body set up to help finance social housing providers is providing longer-term, cheaper loans. What's still missing in Australia is direct public investment in new housing.
While many Australian households have solar power, our very large houses and wasteful use of building space are factors in our very high emissions.
Jen Watson/Shutterstock
Making better use of existing building space is a neglected but essential way to cut our carbon emissions. The key is human behaviour. Good low-carbon citizens will help create good low-carbon cities.
Pilot studies in several cities have shown that innovative partnerships are essential in addressing urban transportation challenges and improving the quality of life for urban residents.
When so much of the green space in our cities is in the form of nature strips, current restrictions on plantings are denying us the many social and environmental benefits of more diverse greenery.
Smart transport solutions make better use of existing infrastructure and reduce the need to build expensive new roads.
AdobeStock
Faced with the eye-watering costs of building infrastructure, it makes sense to turn to much more cost-effective smart technology to get traffic flowing.
Most new apartments were not designed with families in mind and parents of young children can struggle to make social connections.
Lolostock/Shutterstock
Almost half of apartment residents in Australia are families, but few high-rise dwellings were built with them in mind. Many find these apartments present barriers to building social connections.
Car parking occupies a large proportion of urban areas, and cities cannot keep sacrificing so much space to meet demand.
Neil Sipe
The global trend is to free up valuable city space by reducing parking and promoting other forms of transport that don't clog roads and pollute the air. Australian cities are still putting cars first.
In 1924, Canberra’s civic planners placed a ban on front fences to stop people forming ghettos.
Randy Fath/Unsplash
Increasing numbers of older Australians don't own their homes. Whether they are private renters or live in social housing can make a big difference to their risk of loneliness and anxiety.
The Northern Territory government is expanding the CCTV surveillance network.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Darwin is one of the aspiring 'smart cities' that is adopting Chinese technology that can identify and track individuals. Add changes in Australian law, and we have the makings of a surveillance state.
Bright light does not necessarily make a space feel safer, as seen here where there’s a sharp drop-off into dark shadows at the edge of the path.
grafxart/Shutterstock
Bright lighting alone does not make a space feel safe. It can blind and disorientate and create dark shadows at the edges. Tellingly, 'unsafe' places had much higher illuminance than 'safe' places.
Multiple forms of electric aircraft are being developed rapidly.
MagniX
Some countries have already committed to using electric aircraft on domestic routes. These aircraft could slash costs and emissions on some of Australia's busiest flight routes.
The kebab van enlivens and humanises otherwise unattractive and abandoned parts of the city.
James Connor
Kebab vans symbolise the success of 'bottom-up' multiculturalism, providing a way for the non-European cultural ‘other’ to become part of our way of life.
Granny flats are often the result of informal arrangements between parents and children who assume it will all work out well.
Markus J/Shutterstock
Parents and children rarely put agreements about granny flats in writing and almost never consult a lawyer. But when these arrangements go wrong, the consequences can be disastrous and costly for all.
The enthusiasm for recycling water that Australians had at the height of the drought little more than a decade ago has waned.
Shaney Balcombe/AAP
Cities relied entirely on conserving and recycling water to get through the last big drought. We now have desalination plants, but getting the most out of our water reserves still makes sense.
Children in suburbs with low levels of education and employment and high rates of poverty and crime are also missing out on the experiences that help make upwards social mobility possible.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
Children growing up in the most disadvantaged suburbs also lack the social opportunities to develop skills and aspirations that would improve their prospects in life.
There is help available for young refugees who find themselves homeless in Australia, if only they can find it.
Supakit Wisetanuphong/Shutterstock
Young refugees are at high risk of being homeless in Australia. A five-year study has found re-establishing connections with their communities was the pathway out of homeless for most of them.
When neighbourhoods lose their corner stores, they also lose a place where people meet and feel like part of their local community.
Susan Fitzgerald/Flickr
As neighbourhoods lost their milk bars, they also lost a daily point of connection for locals. But all is not lost. In some areas, the humble corner store is making a comeback.
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