When the pandemic hit, green space was there for us at a time when others weren’t or couldn’t be. Urban greening might be the solution to the ‘lonelygenic environment’ that our cities have created.
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Planning has begun for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and already it’s clear the city has learned from the mistakes of other hosts, but its plans to be truly sustainable have one glaring weak point.
The race to build the tallest timber building makes the news, but mid-rise construction is where using timber can make the biggest sustainability impact.
A bid to amend plans for the final stage of the Barangaroo project would once again favour developers’ interests over the public interest. It shows how badly the planning process has been undermined.
The housing crisis facing Australians has been brewing for a long time. A national housing strategy guided by expert, independent and transparent advice is long overdue.
Lead levels in backyard hen eggs are often much higher than in eggs bought in the shops. A new study of soil lead, chickens and eggs locates the high-risk areas in our biggest cities.
Before the pandemic, our cities had a simple plan: let population growth drive economic activity. But the world is changing and the perpetual growth mindset has to change with it.
Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness. The stories of women who had to flee their homes make it clear the dire shortage of social housing in Australia leaves them with nowhere to go.
Seeing Japanese parents send toddlers out on their own to do errands has shocked viewers. But not that long ago our neighbourhoods were also child-friendly, and we can make them so again.
Until now, a more expensive type of silicon was used to produce the highest-efficiency solar panels. Now there’s a way to use cheaper raw materials, cutting the cost of solar power for everyone.
Ad hoc, lot-by-lot efforts to house more people in our ageing suburbs are failing to increase liveability and sustainability. Our cities need strategic, precinct-scale regeneration.
Property buybacks and managed retreat from high-risk areas were once seen as far-off options as the planet warms. Now this ‘last resort’ adaptation to climate change is an urgent priority worldwide.
Seen from above, parts of our cities now have very little green space, and we’re losing the green corridors that enable wildlife to move between the remaining urban habitats.
Australia’s big cities have grown rapidly and strains are showing. Yet the state of the urban environment has been rated good and stable due to local and state responses to these challenges.
Having so many threatened species live among us in our towns and cities reflects the impacts of urban development but is also an opportunity for us all to pitch in and ensure their survival.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
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Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Neil G Sipe is a Friend of The Conversation.
Honorary Professor of Planning, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology
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Alan Morris is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor, Institute for Public Policy and Governance, University of Technology Sydney
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Louise Grimmer is a Friend of The Conversation.
Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, University of Tasmania
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Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, College of Design & Social Context, RMIT University
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Professor of Housing Research, University of Adelaide
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Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
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Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
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Research Associate, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology
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Adjunct Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
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Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University
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Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
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Lecturer in Planning and Human Geography, La Trobe University
