Reducing air pollution is one of the best investments for Australians’ health, the environment, the economy and social equity. But achieving cleaner air requires a new approach from government.
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Compared to roughly 80% in the US, UK and NZ, only 11% of Australian homes have high-performance windows. Installing them can transform a household’s comfort, energy use and emissions.
For people who feel lonely, a trip to the supermarket could help – if only the store provided opportunities to chat at the checkout. A Dutch chain has done just that, and customers and staff love it.
Despite adopting the goal of creating medium-density neighbourhoods to end urban sprawl, our cities have struggled to achieve it. Confused debates about ‘good density’ are part of the problem.
Early in the pandemic, when there was much less traffic on the roads, people took to their bikes. But since then, fewer people are cycling, with rates now lower than in 2011.
COVID-19 halted immigration and housing affordability got much worse. We’d feel the impacts of internal migration and undersupply of affordable housing even if we again blocked migrants from overseas.
Research on where businesses and households want to be points to growth in suburban and regional centres on the coast, with Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth also gaining ground on Sydney and Melbourne.
We can construct buildings that reduce atmospheric CO₂ by more than their lifetime emissions. They now don’t cost much more – and a project involving 1.2 million homes would drive costs down further.
In some cases, adding a battery to your rooftop solar system will pay off. But to be sure of this, households need information about many factors – and there’s no single reliable place to find it.
A new study shows we can maximise the benefits of green roofs and rooftop solar systems by putting them together on the one roof.
The people with the worst health often live in rental homes likely to make them sicker, and poor policy could make it worse.
Having a small backyard in outer suburban developments doesn’t make up for everything else that’s missing in these new neighbourhoods.
A new report sets out the practical ways New Zealand can improve its urban resilience to flooding due to climate change. But time, rather than money, is of the essence.
An ageing population is caught in a perfect storm of rising house prices and rents, falling home ownership rates, mortgage debt carried into retirement, insecure rentals and a lack of social housing.
The last time an Australian government made housing the homeless a priority was 15 years ago. The Albanese government’s promised plan is a second chance to get it right by drawing on models that work.
People on the general waiting list can wait a decade to be housed. Even those on the priority list may wait years. Asked how the wait affects them, their responses reveal devastating impacts.
The Seine will be used for Olympic events in 2024 and remain open for public swimming, ending a century-long ban. It’s part of a global movement to make city rivers healthy and swimmable again.
Interest in bird feeding surged soon after COVID lockdowns began in more than 100 countries. While this activity boosts people’s wellbeing, care must be taken to ensure it’s also good for the birds.
The National Party’s transport policy risks locking the country into a car-dependent, high-carbon future.
The ban on gas connections to new homes in Victoria reflects global trends and will ultimately save households money and cut their emissions.
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Associate Professor, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
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Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Neil G Sipe is a Friend of The Conversation.
Honorary Professor of Planning, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology
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Alan Morris is a Friend of The Conversation.
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