By publishing photos and details of two teenagers who allegedly illegally went into Queensland from Victoria, the media have stripped them of due process and encouraged vigilantism.
The rise of global cities, metropolises that dominate their states, is exposing Australia’s lack of metropolitan governments. It’s time to restart the evolution of our states after a century on hold.
Only the inner suburbs of Melbourne and other capital cities meet the 20-minute neighbourhood test. But we could transform the other suburbs for much less than the cost of current transport projects.
Declining water levels in Warragamba Dam reflect generally falling national levels of stored water.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Australia’s capital cities have collectively lost 30% of their stored water over the last six years. But this loss is not evenly distributed across the country.
Siouxsie Sioux in Edinburgh in 1980: a Goth pioneer she was a big influence on the tribe known as Goth in steamy Brisbane.
Wikimedia Commons
Lakes of kohl in danger of smudging in the humidity. Black clothes soaking up the sun. It took commitment to be a Goth in 80s Brisbane - here are some of the influences that shaped the scene.
A customer waits for the world’s longest flight from Singapore to Newark.
AP Photo/Wong Maye-E
The day and a half it takes to get from New York to Singapore and back offers plenty of time to ponder the economics of ultra-long-haul flights – and wonder why we’d want to make it any longer.
It won’t be long before many cities find life without a car even easier, and possibly even cheaper.
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Researchers looking at Australia’s first trial of e-scooter sharing find the Brisbane public has embraced this mode of transport. They make five recommendations to deal with issues that have emerged.
The southern elevation of Two Pavilion House, showing the separate pavilions that give the house its flexibility.
Image: Scott Burrows
People living with the change and uncertainty of this century need flexible and adaptable housing. Here we look at a couple of examples of what’s possible.
The queen opens Expo 88, a hastily conceived event that has had a lasting impact on Brisbane.
Queensland State Archives/Flickr
Expo 88 helped to create Brisbane’s South Bank Parklands by raising expectations of what the city could be like.
Sydney’s WestConnex is being constructed as a “high priority” project, despite its business case failing to meet Infrastructure Australia’s stated requirements.
Ben Rushton/AAP
Analysis of the business cases for three of the biggest projects deemed “high priority” by Infrastructure Australia raises questions about the process.
The Commonwealth Games is often dubbed the ‘friendly games’, but its history shows that friendliness applies only to ‘the right sort of people’.
AAP
Preparations for next month’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast are pushing homeless people out of town, and out of the state. Sadly, that’s not unusual for events of this sort.
The ‘Bicycle Snake’ in Copenhagen separates pedestrians and cyclists, allowing both to navigate the city more safely.
Cycling Embassy of Denmark/DISSING+WEITLING
New analysis reveals just how little is spent on cycling and walking projects around Australia. No state’s spending on cycling is more than 1.5% of its road funding.
With water storages running low, residents of Cape Town get drinking water in the early morning from a mountain spring collection point.
Nic Bothma/EPA
The situation in Perth in particular has some parallels to that of Cape Town, but Australian cities responded to the last big drought by investing in much bigger water supply and storage capacity.
Heidi Mellington, performing here with Anthony Smith in Dizzygothica in 2007, has spoken about the importance of a supportive local music scene for emerging artists.
Rachel Cobcroft/flickr
Cities aren’t just a male creation, but women’s contributions have been sidelined. There are ways we can rediscover and restore these women to their rightful place in the stories of our cities.
The Cross River Rail project offers a solution to a narrowly conceived problem while ignoring the bigger picture of metropolitan planning.
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The rail project may well help get more commuters into the CBD, but offers few benefits for the parts of the broader metro area where most population growth is occurring.
The 2011 Brisbane floods were thought to be a ‘one-in-100-year’ event.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Do affordable housing projects drive down property values? Does neighbours’ quality of life suffer? Case studies in Brisbane and Sydney suggest such fears aren’t justified.