Mature gum trees will be important for visual amenity among the higher-density residences being built to house a population growing at 5.1% a year for the next two decades.
AAP/McGregor Coxall
The Green Square urban renewal area – expected to be Sydney’s most densely populated area by 2030 – represents a new paradigm of urban living.
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.
There is growing concern the proliferation of skyscrapers will be to the detriment of cities.
AAP/Dean Lewins
We need to move away from thinking about the skyscraper as an “icon”. Instead, we should be asking how the tall building – which will always “stand out” – can also “fit in” to cities.
Central to Sydney’s congestion problem is the journey-to-work rat race in the city’s western suburbs like Blacktown.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Sydney, as a whole, is lurching toward an urban structure where its transportation problems are impossible to solve. The only alternative is to create new centres of employment.
A fast rail link between Sydney and Melbourne was first proposed in 1984. So why haven’t we done it yet?
When public housing like the properties in Sydney’s Millers Point is privatised, it profoundly changes the social mix of the inner city to something much more homogenous.
AAP/Newzulu/Peter Boyle
The NSW government agenda would deny the ‘right to the city’, that network of diverse communities, practices and places which give rise to the convivial and inclusive potential of cities.
Residents protest against the felling of century-old trees to make way for light rail along Anzac Parade in Sydney.
AAP/Karen Sweeny
If planning decisions properly considered the value of trees in a city, we could have a modern transport system and tree-lined views to enhance the journey.
The critical issues underlying the debate about Sydney’s nightlife include worsening inequality and who is getting left behind.
AAP/Richard Ashen
Without the public mobilising over inequalities that are so ingrained in its psyche, Sydney is unlikely to see its nightlife reflect true social inclusion and diversity.
Sydney Harbour is arguably the city’s only truly great public space.
flickr/Duncan Hull
Under pressure to be a global city, market-led infrastructure provision is shifting the focus from public to private interests, from government as promoter to government as client, with mixed results.
Speaking with: Lucy Turnbull on the Greater Sydney Commission
CC BY-ND31,4 MB(download)
Dallas Rogers speaks with Lucy Turnbull about the new Greater Sydney Commission, its structure, plans and mandate, and the criticisms of what some see as a "top-down" approach to urban planning.
Nice day for the beach. In fact there have been rather a lot of those in Sydney lately.
Natalia Montes de Oca/Wikimedia Commons
Sydney is in the process of smashing the record for the longest run of days above 26°C. Weather, El Nino and climate change are all playing their part.
There are still concerns over the impact of upstream coalmines on water in the Warragamba Dam, a key part of Sydney’s water network.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
The cutting of senior staff from WaterNSW, the body that oversees the safety of Sydney’s water supply, poses serious risks to Australia’s most complex water network.
Motorists in New South Wales must now keep a minimum distance of one metre when passing cyclists.
AAP/Richard Milnes
An experiment compared the experience of Anglo, Indian and Muslim Middle Eastern “renters” looking for housing. The differences in how they were treated were significant.
It looks great – but what about the wildlife?
Tree image from www.shutterstock.com.
As Queensland considers new laws to curb alcohol-fuelled violence in response to a one-punch death, several policy experiments that have occurred in recent years can provide valuable lessons.
Almost four years since the process of restructuring local government began, the Baird government faces many challenges in finalising its plans.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Bligh Grant, University of Technology Sydney e Roberta Ryan, University of Technology Sydney
Wherever governments have merged local councils, they have faced a political backlash. New South Wales is no exception and, nearly four years into the process, many challenges lie ahead.
PhD Candidate, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, and Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney