Menu Close

Articles on Sustainable development

Displaying 61 - 80 of 147 articles

More by luck than design, recent recent levels of immigration seem to be in a ‘goldilocks zone’ that balances economic, social and environmental objectives. www.shutterstock.com

If you think less immigration will solve Australia’s problems, you’re wrong; but neither will more

Immigration is neither the problem nor solution in many areas where Australia is off-track, from government debt to environmental action.
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

Indonesia isn’t the only country planning new cities. Why not Australia?

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.
Australia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gillian Bird, makes a statement at the 2016 Habitat III conference, where the New Urban Agenda was adopted. Alexei Trundle

This is why health has to be at the heart of the New Urban Agenda

Australia and other United Nations member states signed up to the New Urban Agenda more than a year ago. But how well is health being integrated into sustainable urban development?
A worker inspects solar panels at a solar farm in China. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Developing countries can prosper without increasing emissions

What do China, India, South Africa and Mexico have in common? They all reduced the carbon intensity of their economies without sacrificing economic growth. Other developing nations can do the same.
Brazilian President Temer, Russian President Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s President Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Modi. Reuters/Kenzaburo Fukuhara

BRICS needs a new approach if it’s going to foster a more equitable global order

The promise of BRICS was that it would usher in a new approach to development. But after meeting annually for the last nine years there’s no sign that the old order has been challenged.
The city of Dortmund is seeking citizens’ input on plans for this 44-hectare brownfield site of Hoesch Spundwand und Profil in Dortmund. Robing Chang

How ‘temporary urbanism’ can transform struggling industrial towns

Pop-up parks and tiny houses are just a few of the innovative solutions that can help post-industrial cities across Europe and North America adapt to the future.
A boy jumps from a water pipe into a canal as temperatures soar in New Delhi. Access to clean and regular water remains a challenge for India’s capital. Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

New Delhi is running out of water

Access to clean and regular water remains a challenge for New Delhi, a city that could easily tackle its water crisis with greater effort.
Our national wellbeing probably peaked with Australia’s population at roughly 15 million in the 1970s, when this photo was taken in Hunters Hill, Sydney. John Ward/flickr

Why a population of, say, 15 million makes sense for Australia

Australia’s GPI, a broad measure of national wellbeing, has stalled since 1974. So what has been the point of huge population and GDP growth since then if we and our environment are no better off?
After decades of sustainability initiatives, key environmental indicators keep getting worse. The Capital Wind Farm, REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo

After 25 years of trying, why aren’t we environmentally sustainable yet?

Why, after decades of international agreements, are we still damaging the environment? New research, looking at dozens of unsuccessful policies, has uncovered the basic elements of failure.

Top contributors

More