As cities aspire to be smarter, technologies are only part of the answer. No utopia on the horizon but we need hostistic answers more than ever before.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
Whether in Melbourne or in Paris, African immigrants face social and cultural challenges, which public housing can either add to or help overcome.
Google, Amazon and other powerful groups are renaming American cities and neighborhoods. That may make the area more appealing to newcomers – but, in many cases, residents aren't happy.
Pacific island nations are often framed as remote atolls facing rising seas and cyclones. But their cities are growing fast, so are efforts to help the most climate-vulnerable people hitting the mark?
For two decades, a competitive design process pioneered by Sydney City Council has been transforming the city skyline and, new research shows, raising standards as it goes.
Landlords could have a big impact on public health, if they help their tenants to feel at home.
New South Wales now has a minister for public spaces, a nod to their importance to the life of a city. But not all is well with public spaces and some issues demand the minister's attention.
Housing policy is a stark point of difference at this election. While the government took promising steps to set up social housing finance, it has yet to give any sign it will finish what it started.
Immigration has featured as an issue in every Australian election since 2001. But the numbers often tell a different story from the political posturing.
Years of regulatory failure are have direct impacts on the hip pockets of the many Australians who bought defective houses or apartments. It's turning into a multibillion-dollar disaster.
Under the new code, buildings are hardly likely to differ measurably from their fault-ridden older siblings and can still fall short of a six-star rating. It's possible they may have no stars!
The Coalition's infrastructure budgets over this term of government have been around the midpoint of government investment over the past decade. But how projects are chosen leaves a lot to be desired.
The Commuter Car Park Fund announced in the budget sounds big, but is likely to create only around 30,000 extra spaces – a marginal benefit for Australia's 1.2 million daily public transport users.
Rather than mourn the end of a seven-year reign as 'world's most liveable city', Melbourne could raise its sights to become more liveable, healthy and sustainable for all who live in the city.
Every day, e-scooters and helmets are put out together, but some people ride without helmets and at the end of each day helmets are missing. So what can be done to ensure safe riding behaviour?
The exploding popularity of e-scooters has the potential to reshape transport in our cities. Regulators need to adapt their approaches to handle the new mobility service rather than ban it altogether.
The focus on roads reflects the fact that this infrastructure program lags well behind the growth of our biggest cities, resulting in less-than-ideal transport patterns.
Despite boasts of 'record' infrastructure spending, relative to GDP it's comparable to previous budgets. What's different is that Treasurer Frydenberg has chanced his arm more over the longer term.
Cities need to pay attention to how extreme weather events effect their resources.
Starting in 2021, drivers will pay a fee to enter midtown and lower Manhattan during busy times of day. Will this clear New York's air and streets?
Population growth has pros and cons, and the Morrison government's plan is less about a change in immigration numbers than about increasing the benefits and minimising the costs.
Capital city populations are growing twice as fast as the rest of Australia, because of the employment and business opportunities and lifestyle on offer to both new migrants and long-term residents.
Encouraging migrants to move to regional areas could be a win-win' scenario, as long as policymakers pay attention to five key factors.
Muslims need places where they feel safe from Islamophobia. And being made to feel unwelcome has lasting impacts – Muslims still avoid Cronulla beach, the scene of anti-Muslim riots in 2005.
When we plan a better future for an increasingly urbanised world, we need to be aware that more than half of all children now live in the tropics. That calls for solutions with a tropical character.
China is funding global infrastructure projects to expand its influence and capacity for economic growth.
A new study examined how growing numbers of single women in one of the world's most expensive cities are contributing to its gentrification.
City fringe foodbowls supply much of our fresh produce and can increase climate resilience by making better use of wastewater and organic waste. A new roadmap outlines how to protect these foodbowls.
Christchurch is now inextricably associated with the mass shootings at two mosques in which 50 people died. So what can a city do when its name become synonymous with such an event?
An observational audit found almost all of the parks in Sydney's inner west were substandard. But perhaps even more important was the issue of access.
Building standards
For two decades, a competitive design process pioneered by Sydney City Council has been transforming the city skyline and, new research shows, raising standards as it goes.
Years of regulatory failure are have direct impacts on the hip pockets of the many Australians who bought defective houses or apartments. It's turning into a multibillion-dollar disaster.
Moving the masses
Collisions at intersections between motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians cause many deaths and injuries. Design that considers how each group approaches intersections improves everyone's safety.
Businesses are weighing up the costs of queuing and using innovative ways to minimise these costs by doing away with queues.
Australian cities in the Asian Century
This is the first article in our series, Australian Cities in the Asian Century, which looks at the impact of the rise of China and Chinese migration on our cities.
China-born migrants in Australia's capital cities are becoming more suburban, but there are differences in settlement patterns between the biggest cities and smaller cities.
Sustainable cities
Research shows that moving from a larger dwelling to a tiny home can change behavior in surprising ways.
Cities need to pay attention to how extreme weather events effect their resources.
Research and Expert Database
Heritage
The illegal demolition of a historic pub in Melbourne is the subject of a legal bid to order its rebuilding. Although the heritage value of such a move is debatable, there are other justifications.
Granny flats
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.
Housing affordability
It's natural to assume that a downturn in the property market is good news for people who've been priced out of the market. In practice, they might still not be able to buy a home.
Water supply
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.
Tiny houses
Tiny houses aren't for everyone, but most people who live in them are positive about the experience. Yet planning laws still make this way of life harder and less secure than it could be.
Moving house
Think moving won't change you? You might want to rethink that. To feel 'at home' you need to accept the new place where you live as part of your changing identity.
Apartments
Building defects in apartment blocks are far from unusual. We need to identify the systemic flaws contributing to them.
Mining towns
The industrial patterns of mining shaped many Australian towns, which found varied uses for disused mine sites. The mining boom ensures the challenges these sites present will be with us a long time.
Urban heat
Darwin's climate is getting even hotter and it's one of the main reasons people leave the city. A lot more can be done, though, to make our tropical cities safe, cool and enjoyable.
Social housing
A tenfold increase in building is needed to overcome the current social housing shortfall and cover projected growth in need. But it can be done, and direct public investment is the cheapest way.
Seachangers
Once seen as being driven mainly by retirees, migration out of of our biggest cities to less crowded coastal regions is now being led by younger Australians.
Housing
Until now most people have eventually owned a home. But two trends – falling ownership and a growing aged population – will put the budgets of retirees and government under real pressure.
Disadvantaged neighbourhoods
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.
Public toilets
Men spend, on average, around 60 seconds in a toilet, while women spend 90. This is for many reasons, including biology. This leads to a bottleneck that keeps women waiting around to use the loo.
Parking
There are thousands of empty parking spots in cities. So what can we do to make better use of this space?
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Events
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Most Read past week
- Paris? Melbourne? Public housing doesn’t just look the same, it’s part of the challenges refugees face
- Pacific island cities call for a rethink of climate resilience for the most vulnerable
- Reshaping Sydney by design – few know about the mandatory competitions, but we all see the results
- When granny flats go wrong – perils for parents highlight need for law reform
- Sexism and the city: how urban planning has failed women
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