By Brian McMahon, principal planning consultant, PlaceMaking and Planning, Parsons Brinckerhoff 20 July 2011 – With the release of its draft consultation plan, Public Transport for Perth in 2031, the state government in Western Australia cannot be... 
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By Richard Nicol 19 July 2011  – I’m sure most of you remember the compact fluorescent light bulb “swap for free” scheme  under the NSW Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme and the Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates... 
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By Peter Droege and Matthew Ulterino 19 July 2011 – In an age of petroleum production risks and mounting carbon costs cities should plan their sustainable development strategies by assessing and lowering their exposure to airport dependency risk –... 
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By Pete Dormand, manager environment and climate change, City of Newcastle 19 July 2011 – The City of Newcastle is successfully positioning itself as the national research centre and showcase for clean energy technology and practice. The momentum... 
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By Michael Mobbs 8 July 2011 – When he was 45 Rainer Maria Rilke wrote the first sentence below and the rest when he was in his late twenties: Read More > >  
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By David Wilson 7 July 2011 – What’s the view from your window? Do you like what you see? Do you want to change it? As the percentage of the world’s population living in cities continues to grow, the view for many can be bleak: cars, congestion,... 
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By Caroline Noller, The Footprint Company 11 July 2011 – Letter to the editor: While many will hail the Carbon Tax announcement, it is worth taking a moment to consider the implications for the property sector. In recent years, property has been the... 
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By Romilly Madew, chief executive, Green Building Council of Australia 28 JUNE 2011 –  [UPDATED 5 JULY 2011] Last week, the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) released a paper, Putting a price on pollution: what it means for Australia’s... 
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By Monique Alfris 5 July 2011 – The thought of coming to Ghana petrified me, in a way. Africa’s “second least most failed state” is a long, long way from Australia – and not just in geography. What use would they have for an Australian... 
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28 June 2011 – Almost half of those surveyed by global engineering company MWH in an Australia-wide study of attitudes to natural disasters believe not enough is being done to improve infrastructure to prepare for such events. Twenty four per cent of... 
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By Michael Mobbs If every building in Australia was the greenest it could be our cities would still be vastly unsustainable. The answer to the question, “How do we make our cities sustainable?” usually depends on who you ask. Read More > >  
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By Dick Clarke, past president and fellow of the Building Design Association of  NSW 8 June 2011 – Is humanity capable of change before it feels pain? Animals are adept at avoiding pain, but generally only after at least one exposure to the cause.... 
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By Monique Alfris Earlier this year I spent two months working in Mauritius – with the Green Building Council of Mauritius (GBCM) and WSP Mauritius I was invited by the GBCM which was  inaugurated in November 2010. The GBCM is keen to adapt Green... 
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By Ronald Wood, Innovative Plant Technology 11 February 2011 – The new glazing standards in Section J of the Building Code are based on energy savings and not on the health and wellbeing of building occupants. But we can do both, with a better understanding... 
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By Jane Jose  15 June 2011 Five simple engagement lessons In seeking to bottle the mystery ingredients in the fourth dimension of place-making here are a few lessons. Lesson 1: keep it authentic The authenticity of a place keeps it alive because... 
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By Jane Jose 9 June 2011 – We are living in a time of back to the high street. It is more than 20 years since the mainstreet movement began and on 3 May the National Mainstreet conference in Adelaide had the fervour of a prayer meeting. Lord Mayor... 
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By David Burns 8 June 2011 – The Manly Council’s 2015 master plan is a great initiative but the plan could be improved if the council considered Green Building Council of Australia Green Star ratings and sustainable intensity metric benchmarks. Proposed... 
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By Michael Mobbs 10 June 2011 – What is a garden? Is it an idea?  A mirage we walk towards, planting and harvesting, but never reaching? These questions came to me last Sunday. Walking back in the caressing autumn sunlight after the most recent climate... 
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Waste management is one of the primary urban environmental issues facing Asia today. This article from Sustainability Asia, published by CB Richard Ellis, Asia Pacific, examines regional waste management and recycling practices and looks at how the issue... 
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By Elena Bondareva 13 May 2011 – In the spirit of keeping a healthy debate alive, two KNOWCHANGE* events were run (Melbourne, 10 March and Sydney, 16 March) to facilitate reflection on what GreenCities 2011 tells us about the state of the property industry. Even... 
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By Gail Broadbent 3 May 2011 – Right now the only thing protecting us from higher petrol prices is the strong Australian dollar. Should the value of our dollar fall below its US counterpart we could be paying $2 a litre for fuel. The NRMA recently... 
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By Alan Pears All Australian export businesses have had to cope with a large increase in the Australian dollar. And they didn’t ask for compensation.  So why is a much smaller carbon price such a tragedy? That and other mysteries are ripe... 
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By Michael Mobbs 29 April 2011 – Merchants of doubt: how Earth is sold out What if someone said to you at dinner: “Scientists are divided about whether the Earth orbits around the Sun, you know.” Would you reply? If you did, what would you say?¬ May... 
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By Eli Gescheit 15 April 2011 – In the wake of the recent floods in Queensland, I undertook some research on how the planning system addresses flood management situations. Viewing the horrific images showing the damage caused by the severe floods can... 
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by Michael Shaw 19 Jan 2011  – FAVOURITES – The energy efficiency requirements in the Building Code of Australia became more stringent for commercial buildings on 1 May 2010.  With the exception of Tasmania and the Northern Territory, the revised... 
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By Geoff Lazarus 7 April 2011: It’s impossible not to love the magnificent scenery and spectacular glacial mountains of Milford Sound on New Zealand”s South Island. I began to think it would be a great place to retire to, but its isolation... 
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By Nicola Woodward 24 March – As it is currently proposed, the Tax Breaks for Green Buildings has several design features that render it at best a consultant’s windfall and at worst, a $1billion buffer for a government under intense pressure from... 
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By Michael Mobbs 31 March – Australia – the country, its resources, Australians, me – if we ever we have a massive natural disaster or disruption as has occurred in Japan, we could be worse off than Japan. May I explain? Yes, the physical scale... 
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By Chris Taylor 17 March – The Forest Stewardship Council is becoming wedged in the middle of a battle between environmentalists and Australia’s largest paper manufacturer. The Wilderness Society launched its campaign in February against Australian... 
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By Simon Wild The US Green Building Council is being sued for false advertising about its  rating tool LEEDS.  Let’s not allow fear of litigation to stand in the way of innovation in Australia, argues Simon Wild. 18 March 2011 – Opinion: The... 
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