When talking about heritage, we need to be clear about our definitions and our objectives for each building. Then we can work on achieving the optimum balance of heritage and sustainability.
The State of Australian Cities Conference begins in Adelaide today. In major cities across the nation, there’s a stark contrast between lofty planning goals and the sprawling reality on the ground.
Traffic congestion is the main cost that cars create when they use existing roads. Road use charges are a more efficient and fairer way to cover the cost and help ensure traffic flows.
The rising number of older Australians is exposing the shortage of housing options and services to meet their needs, putting them at increasing risk of homelessness.
A city-wide experiment suggests well-designed road use charges could ease congestion by encouraging people to drive at different times, take other routes or use other transport.
Yet again the evidence shows supply is no cure-all for affordable housing. All levels of government in Australia need to concentrate on housing for low-income renters in particular.
Toronto has entered a joint venture with a Google sister company to create a high-tech urban development area. The goal is to ‘re-imagine cities from the internet up’ – Google’s internet, of course.
It’s not all bad news at Bonn – with low carbon precincts, living infrastructure and urban networks, cities are leading the charge against climate change.
Low-density suburbs can cause social isolation that’s harmful for individual and community well-being. But research confirms we can plan neighbourhood centres so they become vibrant social hubs.
What decisions can we make today to reduce the future risk of hazards like floods and fire? Particularly in a time of climate change, modelling various plausible futures helps us plan for uncertainty.
So you’re having to room share to live in the city. What if you need more than a place to sleep? Well, now you can rent a living room by the minute. Welcome to the world of distributed living.
An innovative collaboration between government, a non-profit group and philanthropists has found a way to provide urgently needed housing on land that would otherwise be left vacant for years.
Movies often portray the city as a dystopia, particularly in the ‘neo-noir’ genre, which explores postmodern themes. TV shows and ads present an altogether sunnier picture of life in the city.