The following field note on cities as democratic laboratories was inspired by a recent visit to the Republic of Korea. The highlight of my journey was an afternoon meeting and press conference with Park…
A community-led advocacy campaign helped steer the Victorian government away from building the East West Link.
AAP/Julian Smith
Communities want urban policy to deliver the right projects at the right time in the right place. Governments should embrace local citizens and interest groups as key players in crafting such policy.
Housing affordability, especially in Sydney, is now a source of political protests and the NSW government has announced a funding scheme with the potential to ease the pressure.
AAP/Teresa Parker
In what looks to be a landmark policy announcement with possible national ramifications, the NSW government has outlined the first phase of a $1 billion fund to develop social and affordable housing.
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 et 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.
Urban plans that consider health and well-being must be part of integrative planning policies.
Jason Wesley Upton/flickr
Urban planning aims to create cities that support healthy and productive communities, and the success in putting health on the NSW planning agenda offers lessons in achieving better integrated policy.
Good access to people, services and other essential ingredients of wellbeing is a defining feature of liveable communities.
flickr/US Department of Agriculture
Communities that rate highly for liveability share certain essential features. We can identify and build these key ingredients into our cities to create thriving places where people want to live.
Carrots from farms on Melbourne’s urban fringe.
Matthew Carey
Australians may need to get used to coping with more disruptions to their food supply and rising food prices in a warming climate.
City residents are embracing the bike as the fastest, most convenient transport in areas like Brunswick, yet an apartment building has been blocked for not providing car parking.
flickr/Takver
It’s up to state governments to ensure urban planning rules properly reflect both the desires of residents in the 21st century and the principles of sustainability.
Replacing old apartments with new ones may not improve affordability.
AAP Image/John Donegan
New research released today shows that changes to NSW strata law that allow the sale of apartments against the owner’s wishes likely won’t improve housing affordability or availability.
The rapid rise of connectivity is transforming the interactions between people and all the elements that make up a city.
Rae Allen/flickr
City dwellers have better access to more information about the people and places around them than ever before, but it has never been more difficult to preserve privacy as a result.
Green space and infrastructure are consistently high on the public’s list of priorities, but urban planning has struggled to incorporate their value.
Wang Song/from www.shutterstock.com
When communities are surveyed, green infrastructure is usually high on their list of urban planning priorities. But until now planners have lacked tools to quantify the long-term benefits.
As a product of the Melbourne music scene, Nick Cave’s global reputation has benefits for the city.
Reuters/Claudio Bresciani
It is now possible to imagine Australia having a national affordable housing strategy, backed by funding, by the end of 2016.
Cities are places of integration, intense population pressures, migration flows, cultural interactions and variations in socio-economic positioning and values. But what makes them liveable?
Mick Tsikas/Reuters
A liveable city has become the highest form of praise we can give to a city space. But we need to discuss what that means and who gets to participate in the process of governing and shaping a city.
A social housing development in Parramatta, Sydney, that was initially opposed by local residents.
Edgar Liu
Ignoring residents’ concerns about boarding houses and failing to allay their fears helps nobody – least of all those in dire need of affordable housing options.
Federal governments have traditionally struggled to develop a coherent view for our cities.
AAP Image/NewZulu/Thinking Media
For the first time, both major parties have a cities portfolio in their front bench team. With a few more changes, the government could create a structure that will really get to grips with urban issues.