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.
An artist’s rendering of Toronto’s shoreline in 2050. Regulating the future city poses new challenges for different levels of government.
Picture Plane/Heatherwick Studio for Sidewalk Labs
The seemingly ad hoc collection of nine City Deals announced so far falls short of a national settlement strategy that finally gets to grips with where our growing population might live and live well.
Indonesia plans to relocate its capital from the sprawling city of Jakarta – and it isn’t the only country with plans to build whole new cities.
AsiaTravel/Shutterstock
Other countries are planning new cities using technological innovation to achieve more sustainable development. Such plans aren't new for Australia, but existing city growth is the focus of attention.
Downtown Seattle’s busy, protected bike lanes.
Seattle Department of Transportation
Anne Lusk, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Minorities are driving the bicycling boom, but bike infrastructure investments often neglect their needs. A new study explores what riders in low-income and minority neighborhoods want.
Public bikes are meant to complement a city’s existing mass transit network, so the location of docking stations is critical.
MusikAnimal/Wikimedia
Under 10 percent of new Citi Bike and Divvy bike docks are sited where residents suggested using interactive online maps, a new study shows. But that doesn't mean city officials weren't listening.
Unloading packages and arranging them for delivery in New York City.
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
Rising e-commerce means more delivery trucks and urban gridlock. Lockers at transit centers, where carriers can leave packages for people who live or work nearby, are a potential solution.
Port of Long Beach, California.
USCBP/Charles Csavossy/Wikimedia
How smart are our cities now? In Queensland, a study of all 78 local government areas reveals major gaps between the ten leading the way in becoming smart cities and the rest of the state.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, right, and California Governor Jerry Brown, left, discuss drought and water restrictions on August 11, 2015. Faulconer has championed renewable energy, water recycling and other climate-friendly policies.
AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi
They may not say 'climate change,' but many Republican US mayors support clean energy, jobs in renewable industries, and other climate-friendly policies. And so do majorities of their constituents.
Citibike station in midtown Manhattan.
Jim Henderson
Dozens of US cities have launched bike-share programs in the past decade. There have been bumps – critics want wider access, and cities want bikes stored out of the way – but bike sharing is on a roll.
Business-as-usual projections assume our four biggest cities must absorb three-quarters of Australia's population growth over the next 30 years. Might new cities be a better way to deal with it?
Even in cities with good public transportation, some areas can be 'transit deserts,' where demand exceeds supply. Living in these zones makes it hard to access good jobs, health care and other services.
The Urban Planning Exhibition Centre in Shanghai – good planning is immensely valuable.
Jordiferrer/Wikimedia Commons
Given the challenges Australian cities face, the need for urban planning based on solid research is greater than ever. Sadly, when it comes to research funding, planning is at the back of the queue.
Cars sit in flood water from Boston Harbor on Long Wharf during a coastal storm on Jan. 4, 2018.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer