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Articles on Cities & Policy

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The Morrison government’s population plan looks to reduce the concentration of growth in the big cities and to raise the benefit-cost ratio of population change more broadly. Andrew Taylor/AAP

Government’s population plan is more about maximising ‘win-wins’ than cutting numbers

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.
Mingoola resident Julia Harpham has led the way in welcoming African migrant families to revitalise the tiny NSW township. Regennovate/YouTube

Settling migrants in regional areas will need more than a visa to succeed

E⁠n⁠c⁠o⁠u⁠r⁠a⁠g⁠i⁠n⁠g⁠ ⁠m⁠i⁠g⁠r⁠a⁠n⁠t⁠s⁠ ⁠t⁠o⁠ ⁠m⁠o⁠v⁠e⁠ ⁠t⁠o⁠ regional areas could be a win-win’ scenario,⁠ as long as policymakers pay attention to five key factors.
Mosques like the one in Lakemba, Sydney, were among the few places of belonging where Muslims could feel safe from Islamophobia. Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Christchurch attacks strike at the heart of Muslims’ safe places from Islamophobia

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.
Marine Drive in Mumbai, viewed here from across Chowpatty Beach, is an ‘accidental’ planning legacy that’s now one of the most popular places in the city. Dirk Ott/Shutterstock

Healthy, happy and tropical – world’s fastest-growing cities demand our attention

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.
About two-thirds of Australia’s strawberries are grown on the fringes of Melbourne and Brisbane. Xavier La Canna/AAP

To protect fresh food supplies, here are the key steps to secure city foodbowls

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.
Community members come together in Parkland, Florida, to mark the first anniversary of the killing of 14 students and three staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Cristobal Herrera/EPA

What Parkland’s experience tells us about the limits of a ‘security’ response to Christchurch

Parkland, Florida, where 17 people died in a school shooting on Valentine’s Day 2018, was already a place of highly secure, gated communities, so the survivors instead united against guns and hate.
Cities have a choice of autonomous vehicle futures: cars or mass transit vehicles. Which one we adopt is likely to determine how people-friendly our cities are. SueBeDoo888/Shutterstock

Autonomous transport will shape our cities’ future – best get on the right path early

Autonomous mass transit vehicles like ‘trackless trams’ are a better bet than autonomous cars to give us people-friendly cities that capture the value created by infrastructure for the common good.
Despite a ten-point roadmap and bold commitments, Australia has not stayed on track to reduce youth homeless over the past decade. Roman Bodnarchuk/Shutterstock

Youth homelessness efforts get a lowly 2 stars from national report card

In 2008, Australia had a national homelessness strategy, plus a ten-point roadmap to reduce youth homelessness. Why has it fallen so far short of its goals, and what still needs to be done?
Labor wants housing to be a federal election issue, but to solve the problems of recent decades Australian governments need to comprehensively rethink their approach. Julian Smith/AAP

Housing policy reset is overdue, and not only in Australia

The problems with housing systems in Australia and similar countries run deep. Solutions depend on a fundamental rethink of our approach to housing and its central place in our lives and the economy.
Commuters at Epping train station board replacement buses during work on the line for the Sydney Metro, the biggest of all the promised projects. Mick Tsikas/AAP

How the NSW election promises on transport add up

The major parties are promising projects costing tens of billions of dollars, with a surprisingly large overlap between them. Yet only two have been endorsed by infrastructure authorities.
In rankings of Sydney railway stations with the most passengers and fastest growth, Bankstown line stations are way down the list. Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Which lines are priorities for Sydney Metro conversion? Hint: it’s not Bankstown

Every major transport study since the 1970s has identified Sydney’s western rail corridor as the priority for an upgrade. The latest patronage figures confirm that’s where the need is greatest.
Reduced to a pile of rubble in 2016, the Corkman pub had been a favourite local meeting place since the mid-1880s. Tracey Nearmy/AAP

Once a building is destroyed, can the loss of a place like the Corkman be undone?

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.
The ways in which older women maintain meaningful social connections are many and varied – in this case, they do volunteer work for a greyhound adoption service. Joe Castro/AAP

Vital conversations: older women have their say about the challenges of life in a city like Melbourne

What matters to women as they grow older, as the city’s population changes and urban development continues apace? You don’t know unless you ask them – and they have so much to contribute.
Nearly half of female tertiary students surveyed in Melbourne say they ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ feel safe on public transport after dark. KN/Shutterstock

Students don’t feel safe on public transport but many have no choice but to use it

As they return to classes, a survey finds nearly half of female tertiary students in Melbourne don’t feel safe using public transport at night. And 79% have been sexually harassed or victimised.
Flames spread rapidly up the external wall cladding at the Lacrosse building in Melbourne in November 2014. More than four years on, the combustible panels are still in use. MFB

Lacrosse fire ruling sends shudders through building industry consultants and governments

Architects, certifiers and engineers who work as consultants to builders are on notice about potential liability for the use of flammable cladding, but governments are also culpable for their actions.
A shade tree makes a big difference to the comfort of this couple. Nancie Lee/Shutterstock

How do we save ageing Australians from the heat? Greening our cities is a good start

Two trends in Australia, an ageing population and warming climate, are increasing the threat that heatwaves pose to our health. Increasing vegetation cover is one way every city can reduce the risk.

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