Does diversity mean everywhere has to be the same?
Posted: March 31, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentMore diversity seems to be a “no-brainer” to most urban policy-makers and it’s mostly a very good thing, but insisting on it at every scale misunderstands what cities are about
Does diversity mean everywhere has to be the same?
Is 20% two and three bedroom apartments in this new development diverse enough?
Posted: March 30, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentRequiring new developments to have more 2 & 3 bedroom apartments in order to attract families with children is questionable – it’s likely to impact affordability; it’s unnecessary; and it probably won’t work anyway
Is 20% two and three bedroom apartments in this new development diverse enough?
Are Sydney’s “empty homes” the result of perverse tax incentives?
Posted: March 29, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIt’s not certain Sydney even has a serious “empty homes” problem much less one driven by perverse tax incentives. There are simpler and more plausible explanations for the great bulk of unoccupied dwellings
Are Sydney’s “empty homes” the result of perverse tax incentives?
Easter reading – all the topics discussed by The Urbanist last month
Posted: March 24, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIncluding doing something about cars, safety and cycling, Skyrail, dogbox apartments, improving the media, Minister for Cities, value capture, National Infrastructure Plan, value of open space, RMIT’s Design Hub
Easter reading – all the topics discussed by The Urbanist last month
How much time do we really spend getting to work?
Posted: March 23, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe duration of the average work-related trip in Melbourne is consistent with other large world cities in developed countries but the average doesn’t show there’s considerable variation by mode
How much time do we really spend getting to work?
Will Sydney and Melbourne implode as they get bigger and bigger?
Posted: March 22, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe idea of Sydney and Melbourne doubling in population to eight million by the 2050s conjures images of total traffic gridlock and super long commutes. Fortunately, it’s not likely
Will Sydney and Melbourne implode as they get bigger and bigger?
Who’s had enough of Fairfax clickbait?
Posted: March 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentFairfax readers don’t like clickbait and some are cancelling their digital subscriptions. Their choice but I’m keeping mine because digital media like The Age and SMH still provide a valuable service
Who’s had enough of Fairfax clickbait?
Is the Grand Prix worth dropping $60 million a year on?
Posted: March 17, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe benefits from this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park won’t be remotely commensurate with the circa $60 million subsidy it demands from Victorians
Is the Grand Prix worth dropping $60 million a year on?
Is Turnbull’s “30-minute city” all spin (or a useful idea)?
Posted: March 16, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentPoliticians don’t like to be too specific because it invites criticism and accountability, so both the Government and the Opposition are spinning the aspirational idea of “the 30-minute city”
Is Turnbull’s “30-minute city” all spin (or a useful idea)?
Why are we still taking East Coast High Speed Rail seriously?
Posted: March 15, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentEast Coast High Speed Rail is the boondoggle that just won’t go away. Yet gunzels, rent-seekers and progressives stand side-by-side in support of squandering $100 Billion of public money
Why are we still taking East Coast High Speed Rail seriously?
Are bingles an inconvenience for cyclists or deadly serious?
Posted: March 14, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentWhat’s a mere bingle for a motorist is usually a painful injury for a cyclist and often much worse. Policy needs to recognise that for cyclists bingles aren’t a minor annoyance; they can be deadly
Are bingles an inconvenience for cyclists or deadly serious?
Is Eddie McGuire’s proposed “Victoria Stadium” what Melbourne needs?
Posted: March 11, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentCollingwood football club Chair Eddie McGuire has a grand proposal for a new stadium he says provides “an opportunity to reshape and remodel Melbourne for the next 50 to 100 years”
Is Eddie McGuire’s proposed “Victoria Stadium” what Melbourne needs?
How much do inner city residents love their cars?
Posted: March 10, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentEven in the dense, congested and walkable inner city suburbs of Australian cities, car ownership rates – and consequently the demand for parking – are remarkably high
How much do inner city residents love their cars?
Melbourne fantasy rail map 2047
Posted: March 9, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIt seems everyone loves a ‘fantasy’ map of how the rail network in their city might look in a parallel universe of more money. This is a vision of what Melbourne could look like in 2047
Melbourne fantasy rail map 2047
Melbourne Metro: what do you get for $10 Billion?
Posted: March 8, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe Business Case for Melbourne Metro was finally released publicly last month. It confirms the need and the solution. Now the Commonwealth needs to come to the party with funding
Melbourne Metro: what do you get for $10 Billion?
Is New York’s spectacular new train station worth the cost?
Posted: March 7, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe visually arresting World Trade Center Transportation Hub designed by Santiago Calatrava opened in New York last week to a chorus of naysayers worried mostly about the $4 Billion it cost to build
Is New York’s spectacular new train station worth the cost?
Recap: all the topics discussed by The Urbanist last month
Posted: March 4, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIncluding decking over freeways to create parkland, local hotels, congestion charging, driverless cars, innovation policy, Walkley Awards and policy, defining a metro, sprawling cities, and good fiction
Recap: all the topics discussed by The Urbanist last month
Should we be building new rail lines up in the air?
Posted: March 3, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIt would be a pity if the “Sky Rail” brouhaha in Melbourne over removal of level crossings were to damage the potential use of elevated rail for totally new rail lines in all Australian cities
Should we be building new rail lines up in the air?
Managing excessive car use: what’s the low hanging fruit?
Posted: March 2, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentA study of urban form in the US concludes that increasing the density of population and employment is a slow and difficult way to significantly reduce car use compared to directly pricing driving
Managing excessive car use: what’s the low hanging fruit?
Are infrastructure costs a lot higher in the outer suburbs?
Posted: March 1, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIt’s a truism that development costs are much higher on the urban fringe than in inner areas. But there’s little evidence that the claim still holds and good reason to think it’s no longer the case
Are infrastructure costs a lot higher in the outer suburbs?
The Melbourne Urbanist 