New South Wales now has a minister for public spaces, a nod to their importance to the life of a city. But not all is well with public spaces and some issues demand the minister’s attention.
Those in charge of urban spaces would like the public to believe that town and city environments have a predetermined function: participatory art challenges this view.
Amid fears that parts of Townsville and other Australian cities might become “uninsurable”, making urban areas more resilient and adaptable to flooding is becoming more urgent.
Two trends in Australia, an ageing population and warming climate, are increasing the threat that heatwaves pose to our health. Increasing vegetation cover is one way every city can reduce the risk.
In the fight against climate change, cities are now seen as having a major role to play. An ongoing study examines the effectiveness of the adaptation and mitigation plans of 126 coastal cities.
Much of the growth in our cities is in the outer suburbs, now home to around 5 million people. And that creates problems like traffic that detract from the advantages residents see in living there.
City planners and politicians have pitched carbon emission reduction as an individual choice but this leads to green gentrification and fails to make broad changes. We need a new guiding philosophy.
If the menu of potential activities that do us good is made to look uninviting or challenging, we are more likely to choose the easier but less healthy option.
Canberra is growing as fast as anywhere in Australia. It’s driven by a knowledge economy that is transforming the city centre but is also displacing poorer residents.
Planning innovations around the world offer inspiration, but ultimately the innovations needed to make Australia’s sprawling cities more sustainable must be shaped by local conditions.
The health concerns that dominate public submissions to the parliamentary inquiry into WestConnex are a reminder that papering over such issues comes back to haunt governments.
How smart are our cities now? In Queensland, a study of all 78 local government areas reveals major gaps between the ten leading the way in becoming smart cities and the rest of the state.
By the time a building is abandoned and falls into disrepair, its community is already suffering. Michigan scholars suggest it’s time to plan for structures’ end of life before they even go up.