More than 60% of Australian households include at least one companion animal, which are seen as family members by 88% of these.
from www.shutterstock.com
With a majority of households having pets and growing numbers living in apartments, a review of regulations on keeping animals in such communities is timely.
Streetlife density in Florence – urban buzz or overcrowding?
Kim Dovey
Kim Dovey, The University of Melbourne e Elek Pafka, The University of Melbourne
One person’s high density may be another’s sprawl; the same tall building may be experienced as oppressive or exhilarating; a “good crowd” for one can be “overcrowded” for another.
While state and territory leaders will be partners, Malcolm Turnbull’s government intends to be the driver of a national policy for Australia’s cities.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The Turnbull government’s cities policy is the latest incarnation of ‘the-Commonwealth-knows-best’ approach, with little regard for whether urban issues are best resolved at the metropolitan level.
Malcolm Turnbull made an early campaign visit to western Sydney with Liberal MP Fiona Scott.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Using elements of game play, we can create incentives for people to change how and when they make various transport choices in ways that enable the whole system to work better.
In one Melbourne case study, half-a-dozen bikes occupying the same space as a parked car generated, on average, nearly four times as much retail spending.
flickr/Richard Drdul
Pro-bike policies can boost local business. In one Melbourne case study, the average hourly retail spending from six bikes was $97.20 compared to $27 from one car occupying an equivalent space.
The Green Growth Plan for Perth represents the first strategic environmental assessment of a whole city in Australia.
Richard Wainwright/AAP
With a strategic plan adopted, it not only shows where development should be avoided but clears the way for development in other areas. So Perth needs to get it right.
Proposed developments in Brisbane illustrate the scale of urban consolidation.
flickr/Brisbane City Council
In the media, urban consolidation is often depicted as a threat to Australian suburban life. In reality, it’s a result of managed planning processes to ensure growing cities remain liveable.
Many things go into making a healthy community, so the earlier services and infrastructure become available, the better.
Cecily Maller
Early residents in new communities are known as ‘pioneers’ – they arrive before many services are in place. A five-year study points to the many benefits of putting in good services early on.
While Melbourne City Council is responsible for the CBD, governance of the vast area of metropolitan Melbourne is poorly co-ordinated between 31 councils in all.
Alex Proimos/Flickr
Governance of metropolitan Melbourne is fragmented among 31 city councils. All levels of government need to work towards creating a metropolitan authority to meet the challenges of a growing city.
Coastal communities around Australia are facing the rising threat of coastal erosion.
AAP/Dave Hunt
Coastal communities include 24 federal seats held by margins of 5% or less, and their local councils are pressing the Australian government to show more urgency about the impacts of climate change.
Men and women living in areas of highest socioeconomic disadvantage have a 29% higher risk of being obese.
AAP/Dave Hunt
The government’s focus on treating chronic disease neglects the importance of obesity and the benefits of preventive health measures tailored to gender and socioeconomic circumstances.
A special tax paid for the Gold Coast light rail. But there is another way.
Bahnfrend/Wikimedia Commons
Much of the infrastructure Australia needs will be funded by “value capture” – raising tax revenue by boosting land values. Some have decried it as a tax hike in all but name, but it isn’t really.
The budget doesn’t provide either the infrastructure investment or financing details needed to flesh out the Smart Cities Plan.
AAP/Mal Fairclough
The budget paints a picture of higher debt, little relief for growing cities crying out for infrastructure investment, and no detail of how City Deals might work to fix this.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that Australia’s houses are overvalued by around 10%.
AAP/Paul Miller
Ballooning borrowing to invest in the housing market is impeding investment in the real economy, holding back investment in skills and jobs, and driving up inequality.
Living in supported smart technology homes is liberating for young people with disability who would otherwise be trapped in unsuitable nursing homes.
Fred Kroh/Summer Foundation
Thousands of young people with disability who end up in nursing homes lead lives of isolation and boredom. Better and smarter housing finance and support options are at last being developed.
The Smart Cities Plan sounds good, but the proof will be in the detail – all still to be worked out.
AAP/Mal Fairclough
The discussion paper makes all the right noises, but the proof of the policy will be in the detail of partnership arrangements and implementation structures, and in how new money is used.
Homeless young people have a significantly higher prevalence of adverse health issues and greater levels of contact with the justice system.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
The Turnbull government sees the ‘City Deal’ as a way for ‘smart cities’ to drive innovation and growth. But what is the value proposition behind this UK concept and how might it work in Australia?
As machinery demolishes houses behind them, Jakarta police evict residents from the settlement of Luar Batang in April.
Reuters/Beawiharta Beawiharta
The world’s informal settlements are growing at an unprecedented rate, with about one in four urban dwellers living in slums. We need to rethink how we view and deal with these people and places.