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The following is a response to the NSW Productivity Commission Green Paper. The Green Paper argued zoning is restrictive and recommended it be loosened. Unfortunately, the Commission misses the forest for the trees and fails to recognise the economic and strategic value of zoning. Economic recovery has thrown up complex tasks for government, with minds […]
It’s hard to think of more visceral impact on our sense of wellbeing than the thought of losing our home.
The pitch to replace stamp duty with a broad-based land tax is seeing a new surge of advocacy. Just in the past few days the Reserve Bank Governor together with state Treasurers in both NSW and Victoria have all weighed into this debate once again, arguing that such a transition is now an urgent priority.
Our pick of the sustainable business opportunities on offer around Australia.
In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, last week Britain’s chancellor issued a new budget that promised much infrastructure and, of course, to tackle the pandemic.
US authorities have learnt from past natural disasters that retrofitting homes to protect against wildfires is an effective strategy. Australia should take note.
Throne rooms, powder rooms, the WC… let’s talk basics. Australian homes are being built with too many toilets and its wasting precious resources.
The Hogeweyk dementia village in the Netherlands is like The Truman Show. The community is designed to look identical to the outside world, complete with nurses, doctors and carers dressed in plain clothes. Specialist dementia villages are just one way this sector is evolving – The Fifth Estate has taken a closer look at alternatives that turn traditional senior living on its head.
More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed in Australia since the start of the bushfire season. More will certainly be destroyed before the season ends in March. Could these houses have been built to better withstand fire?
OXYGEN FILES: The design, supply and affordability of housing for older Australians isn’t keeping up with our rapidly aging population, say experts. But the solutions aren’t straightforward.
The fast growing Darebin City Council has appointed its first city architect to ensure new developments are up to scratch.
In the midst of a general election, and following declarations of a climate emergency by many parts of the country including by the UK Parliament, UK political parties are competing on building efficiency.
I don’t know about you, but after working in sustainability for 12 years, I have never been more hopeful nor more terrified of what the future could bring.
Coliving can indeed be fun, social places to live but could the benefits peddled in the brochure be a bit overblown? The Fifth Estate investigates.
Australian households are doing their bit to cut the nation’s carbon emissions by adopting solar rooftop panels but not all of them are saving on their energy bills.
You might not have picked it but an old hospital actually makes for a great library. The new Marrickville Library in the inner west of Sydney combines the old with the new in a way that leverages the best of existing assets while meeting the vast and varied needs of modern library-goers.
In July, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and the state’s minister for planning, Richard Wynne, trumpeted that $600 million would tackle Victoria’s high-rise cladding crisis. It was paraded as a safety solution for owners of affected buildings but the “fix” was a contemptible confidence trick.
New South Wales now has two Passive House certified buildings. The experience of the designers and builders behind these projects shows that the building standard isn’t easy to follow but it’s worth it to get ultra-low energy homes that are comfortable, quiet and secure.
In a time when space is at a premium, it’s no surprise Silicon Valley is working on robotic beds that can be stored on the roof after you wake up.
The rise of living alone has been well-documented but are our cities doing enough for this growing cohort?
The Green Star rated Ginninderry community in the ACT is taking a suburb-wide approach to planning for fire. The development will be something of a living laboratory, with developer Riverview Projects signing a Collaborative Arrangement Agreement with CSIRO. CSIRO Bushfire Urban Design research leader Justin Leonard will be part of the research team, which also […]
UK construction firms have been figuring out how to prepare for a no-deal Brexit for some time, but now that Boris Johnson is PM, most are even more worried as orders are reaching new lows.
Industry superannuation fund dedicated to the health and community services sectors, HESTA, has committed $20 million to the Nightingale Village sustainable housing project in Melbourne.
The federal government keeps pushing back on taking responsibility for major national infrastructure centred on cities. But there are five good reasons it needs to reassess and take a leadership position.
Chris Johnson responds to Philip Bull’s contributed article: ‘Posh Sydney says no to density’.
Despite the cooling property market, affordable rental housing remains in critically short supply across Australia.
Green Cross Australia is using hypothetical scenarios to explore the problems homeowners and stakeholders face when affected by changes to sea-level rise and flooding caused by climate change.
When Peter Dutton grabbed headlines last week claiming his Labor opponent in Dickson, Ali France, was using her disability as an excuse for not moving house ahead of the election, it showed a clear lack of awareness about the situation facing people who need accessible housing.
Newly appointed chair of the Housing and Urban Research Institute Adrian Harrington hopes to research in front of a broader audience, including more of the private sector.
The Netherlands could soon house what’s touted as the world’s first commercial 3D printed housing project. And might complex construction such as vaulted ceilings or curved walls soon be printed off site on a concrete 3D concrete printer?
