Why was cycling for transport slow to get moving?
Posted: May 17, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentCycling 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 Filed under: Uncategorized 2 CommentsA 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 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentArchitecture 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 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe 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 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe 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 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentRegional 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 Filed under: Miscellaneous, Uncategorized | Tags: Calatrava, clickbait, Cycling, diversity, elevated rail, High Speed Rail, Infrastructure, parking, stadia Leave a comment
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
Recap: all the issues discussed by The Urbanist last month
Posted: May 5, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIncluding 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 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentSome 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 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe 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 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentThe 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?
How should our cities prepare for self-driving vehicles?
Posted: April 27, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentCity managers aren’t doing much to get ready for self-driving vehicles yet the signs are they’ll be ready to use on public roads very soon – as autonomous buses and trams
How should our cities prepare for self-driving vehicles?
Would building this new rail station be a sensible idea?
Posted: April 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThere’s pressure to expand the proposed Melbourne Metro project to incorporate a new station at South Yarra; but the Government insists it can’t be justified
Would building this new rail station be a sensible idea?
How important is public transport?
Posted: April 20, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentNew data provides valuable and possibly surprising insights into how Australian city dwellers use public transport and its potential to change the nature of urban travel
How important is public transport?
Will capping the number of bottle shops contain family violence?
Posted: April 18, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentA Melbourne Council opposes a new Dan Murphy’s packaged liquor outlet because its concerned it would increase the number of family violence incidents within the municipality
Will capping the number of bottle shops contain family violence?
Is there anyone left at Fairfax to do editing?
Posted: April 14, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentFairfax ran an article on High Speed Rail yesterday that shouldn’t have survived even a basic credibility test. It’s as if all those who used to do the sub-editing have been ‘let go’
Is there anyone left at Fairfax to do editing?
Why do we say public transport is so important is so few of use it?
Posted: April 13, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentImproving the experience of occasional users of public transport – those who might use it only to go to the footy – is a key way of building community support for improvements
Why do we say public transport is so important if so few of us use it?
Is High Speed Rail our National Boondoggle?
Posted: April 12, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIf there were any doubt, the Prime Minister’s embrace of east coast High Speed Rail and his spinning of value capture shows he’s just as cynical and opportunistic as Labor and the Greens
Is High Speed Rail our National Boondoggle?
How important is cycling in Australian cities?
Posted: April 11, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentNew data shows cycling is already a much more important transport mode than policy-makers recognise. More trips are made by bicycle on a weekday in Melbourne than are made by either tram or bus
How important is cycling in Australian cities?
Why are Australians downsizing their dogs?
Posted: April 7, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe shift towards higher density living seems an obvious reason why Australians are apparently downsizing their dogs; but there are other possible explanations, like fashion
Why are Australians downsizing their dogs?
The Melbourne Urbanist 