From special paving to green walls, the recent Cool Towns project highlights the best ways to protect urban areas, and the people living there, from the effects of heatwaves.
What steps is the state government taking to bring Brisbane closer to being a smart city while managing rapid growth? And what differences can city residents expect to see for themselves?
Julius Gatune, Maastricht School of Management dan Deon Cloete, South African Institute of International Affairs
The scenarios provide plausible and possible alternatives for futures of industrialisation. They also alert decision makers to desired and undesired development pathways.
Cities occupy just 3% of the Earth’s surface, yet more than half the world’s population live in urban environments. We need nation-wide plans to keep our cities cool so no one gets left behind.
The states are primarily responsible for providing infrastructure, but lack the budgets, especially since the pandemic hit revenues. Making up the shortfall depends very much on the Commonwealth.
Jeanie Chin, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
In an era of climate change and extreme weather, a microgrid — a self-sufficient, energy-generating distribution and control system — puts communities on the path to self-reliance.
Municipalities are now forced to identify new cemetery planning methods and models that are environmentally sensitive and consistent with diverse cultural practices, and facilitate social cohesion.
Natural assets produce important city services and complement engineered infrastructure. Investing in natural assets can help protect our environment, reduce municipal service costs and create jobs.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the lack of green space available to those living in urban areas. Cities must be managed as ecosystems to make them more liveable and resilient.
When so much of the green space in our cities is in the form of nature strips, current restrictions on plantings are denying us the many social and environmental benefits of more diverse greenery.