Are electric vehicles a game changer?

Posted: May 31, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The outlook for plug-in electric vehicles powered by clean energy looks promising but they aren’t likely to ameliorate major urban issues like traffic congestion and sprawl

Are electric vehicles a game changer?

Is Turnbull’s ’30-minute city’ a serious election issue?

Posted: May 30, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The 30-minute city is the big urban policy idea both the Government and the Opposition are bringing to the election. But how realistic is it? Can they actually deliver on this one?

Is Turnbull’s ’30-minute city’ a serious election issue?

Will a McDonalds store be the end of Glebe?

Posted: May 26, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Some residents of inner city Sydney oppose a new McDonalds store they say will destroy their suburb’s “village feel”. But is it much the same impulse as opposing a mosque?

Will a McDonalds store be the end of Glebe?

Does having a Minister for Suburbs mean it’s a whole new world?

Posted: May 24, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

First we had a Federal Minister for Cities, now we have a state Minister for Suburban Development; but the early indications are the latter is more about politics than real policy

Does having a Minister for Suburbs mean it’s a whole new world?

Is the suburban quarter-acre block a myth?

Posted: May 23, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The idea that Australians sprawl across the suburban landscape on massive “quarter acre” lots is common but it’s a myth and was never true in the modern era

Is the suburban quarter-acre block a myth?

Fantasy tram map 2048, Melbourne

Posted: May 19, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Here’s a parallel universe “fantasy” vision of what Melbourne’s tram network could look like in 30 years time given more money and more acceptance from motorists

Fantasy tram map 2048, Melbourne

Is “denser than Singapore” too dense for Sydney?

Posted: May 18, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The City of Sydney reckons the NSW Government wants to redevelop Waterloo at a density “greater than anything in Singapore”. Turns out Council’s fear of density is ill-founded

Is “denser than Singapore” too dense for Sydney?

Why was cycling for transport slow to get moving?

Posted: May 17, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Cycling as a means of transport was largely ignored by policy-makers in Australian cities until relatively recently but the work of early activists like the late Alan Parker was crucial

Why was cycling for transport slow to get moving?

Is academia researching the urban issues that matter?

Posted: May 16, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments

A starter list of practical and pressing issues facing cities that don’t seem to get nearly enough attention from Australian university researchers

Is academia researching the urban issues that matter?

What do awards tell us about the quality of architecture?

Posted: May 12, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Architecture awards could provide valuable insight into what it takes to create excellence but it seems they’re mostly about keeping up professional appearances

What do awards tell us about the quality of architecture?

Is it time our cities got Cycle Superhighways?

Posted: May 11, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is promising to follow in the tracks of Boris Johnson and build more Cycle Superhighways. It’s time we did too

Is it time our cities got Cycle Superhighways?

What’s the cost of cycling vs driving?

Posted: May 10, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The social costs of cycling are much lower than those of driving but according to a recent Danish study it’s not because of reduced pollution or emissions

What’s the cost of cycling vs driving?

Is decentralisation the answer to cities that are “too big”?

Posted: May 9, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Regional development and decentralisation are rhetorical favourites of Australian politicians but they’re really promoting regional sprawl over suburban sprawl

Is decentralisation the answer to cities that are “too big”?

Recap: all the issues discussed by The Urbanist last month

Posted: May 5, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Miscellaneous, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Amsterdam

Density by itself does not necessarily create vibrant street life. Late Saturday morning in Borneo, inner city Amsterdam

Are infrastructure costs a lot higher in the outer suburbs?

It’s a truism that development costs are much higher on the urban fringe than in inner areas. But there’s little evidence the claim still holds and good reason to think it’s no longer the case

Managing excessive car use: what’s the low hanging fruit?

A study of urban form in the US concludes that increasing the density of population and employment is a slow way to significantly reduce car use compared to directly pricing driving

Should we be building new rail lines up in the air?

It 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

Read the rest of this entry »

Recap: all the issues discussed by The Urbanist last month

Posted: May 5, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Including infrastructure costs, elevated rail, Calatrava’s NY rail station, fantasy rail, parking, cycling, sports stadia, High Speed Rail, Grand Prix, Fairfax clickbait, empty homes, dwelling diversity, and more

Recap: all the issues discussed by The Urbanist last month

What can be done about parents who “rich switch” schools?

Posted: May 4, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Some parents are avoiding “undesirable” local primary schools and sending their children to out-of-zone schools. That has a raft of ill effects but there are no easy solutions

What can be done about parents who “rich switch” schools?

Do dark tinted car windows look cool to cyclists?

Posted: May 3, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The bicycle is already a serious mode of urban travel but riders are vulnerable in traffic – the fashion for very dark tinting of cars windows threatens the potential of cycling

Do dark tinted car windows look cool to cyclists?

Turnbull’s Smart Cities Plan: is that all there is?

Posted: May 2, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Prime Minister’s vaunted Smart Cities Plan is light on actions but it offers some interesting insights into the Government’s thinking on cities policy

Turnbull’s Smart Cities Plan: is that all there is?