New Zealand’s councils are over-reliant on ratepayers to cover increasing costs. Central government needs to help support councils to do the work that helps local communities thrive.
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove addresses the Convention of the North in Leeds in March 2024.
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Paying for your parking via an app promises ease and efficiency. But we are entering a bargain with unclear terms around data privacy and public revenue.
Women are most likely to feel unsafe in their cities or towns, but planning authorities have rarely listened to them. Here’s what we can do to change that.
Our elected representatives should simply choose to open their official council meetings with something more inclusive and representative of the whole community.
The ruin of Detroit, Michigan.
Jacob Boomsma | Shutterstock
Councils are trying to balance competing priorities in urban development, with limited resources and stretched budgets.
Cities have a choice of autonomous vehicle futures: cars or mass transit vehicles. Which one we adopt is likely to determine how people-friendly our cities are.
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Autonomous mass transit vehicles like ‘trackless trams’ are a better bet than autonomous cars to give us people-friendly cities that capture the value created by infrastructure for the common good.
The Australia Day debate will likely become more pronounced each year.
from shutterstock.com
Scott Morrison believes local councils are “playing politics” with Australia Day. But they’re simply reflecting the views of their community, and these views will only get stronger over time.
Joseph Downing, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
As fire tore through Grenfell Tower, I witnessed the complete and terrible destruction of 120 homes just like the one I grew up in.
With high capital costs linked to petroleum and gas infrastructure, collection of PRRT funds for regional development may be delayed for several years.
Phil Noble/Reuters
Local communities are likely to be dissatisfied with the report from the PRRT review because its recommendations only apply to future projects and won’t herald any changes in the budget.
A new study of more than 2000 Australians has found we care deeply about local councils, and overwhelmingly want governments – not private contractors – to deliver local services.
With a forced smile and through gritted teeth, Tower Hamlets’ elected mayor, Lutfur Rahman, has announced himself willing to accept – and even “welcome” – the intervention package set out for his borough…
Bins. bins, good for your budget …
Paul Faith/PA Wire
Public sector procurement isn’t sexy, but it is important. Government purchases approximately £120 billion worth of goods and services from third parties every year. That’s more than £4,000 per UK income…
Wrexham, like this driver, is ill-prepared for floods and other climate change-related problems.
Matt Price/Flickr
More than half the world’s population now lives in cities or urban areas, which means our vulnerability to the impacts of climate change is tied up with cities’ ability to cope. Responsible for more than…