The high-profile Indian startup is under pressure from rivals at home and is also preparing to list on the stock exchange.
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Articles on Better Cities
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Infill development is patchy across Australian cities, as is its quality. Bigger and better projects are needed to hit planning targets and reduce urban sprawl.
What are ‘squatters’ rights’ and do they apply in Australia? They do, but using them will likely prove difficult.
South Australia stands out as having the weakest tree-protection laws, but cities around the nation are losing tree cover at a time when climate change makes them more important than ever.
Roughly half of people surveyed support the development of autonomous vehicles. But a third were undecided about many aspects and will need to be convinced about their safety and other benefits.
The energy transition could be scuppered by community scepticism. Communities have to see the benefits.
Even in states that don’t have daylight saving, most people favour it. However, support is strongest in the country’s south, where the difference between summer and winter daylight hours is greater.
Serious air pollution is a common problem in stations around Australia and the world. But solutions already exist, and some can be applied immediately to protect station staff and commuters.
We could make our hot cities cooler with white roofs and light roads. But progress has been glacially slow.
For the Commonwealth, the best measure is rent assistance. For the states, it’s a mix of two-thirds first homebuyer grants and one-third stamp duty discounts.
The amount of detailed real-time data a smart grid needs to manage the push for electrification and renewables presents challenges – but there’s an affordable solution.
Co-operatives make up only a small part of Australia’s accommodation stock but their users say the benefits warrant it being considered as a way of easing the housing crisis.
Low-income customers who qualify for subsidised rates are five times more likely to use shared e-scooters and e-bikes for daily travel. People with disabilities also value them.
Australia builds only 45,000 new homes per quarter. If we really want to fix the rent crisis we’ll have to build more.
Buildings can be engineered to resist bushfires, but we can’t engineer the many aspects of human behaviour and decision-making that will still put lives at risk.
Neither investors nor super funds are prepared to wear the losses needed to put low-income Australians into housing. The government should double the size of its Housing Australia Future Fund.
The number of active short-term rental listings is a small fraction of the total number of dwellings in Australia – and many listings are not in the city areas of great housing need.
Negative gearing is popular because it lowers home owners’ tax bills. But its critics say it has reduced affordable housing stock keeping the less well off out of the market.
A new government housing assistance scheme risks becoming a lottery because many more people are eligible than the 10,000 places available each year.
Even changing the tax system won’t end steadily-climbing property prices. They are the result of urbanisation, and while COVID has eased some of the pressures, it has added some more.
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
