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The NSW Productivity Commission in November released its final report on the Review of Infrastructure Contributions in NSW (PC Review). It controversially ruled out capturing a share of windfall gains made from rezonings or the granting of additional development, even though this is widely used in voluntary planning agreements (VPAs) and state infrastructure contributions (SIC). […]
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 […]
The City of Melbourne declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and now it wants to put its money where its mouth is, mandating minimum sustainability standards.
If we’re picky about the projects we choose, fast-tracked planning approvals could accelerate the low carbon transition, fix social problems and boost the economy at the same time.
The world is on the brink of the worst economic conditions in decades thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic but we should be wary of governments rushing to strip back regulation in a bid to restart industries.
OXYGEN FILES: Yes, some of the communities devasted by bushfires are in high-risk zones but that’s no reason to not rebuild. We didn’t stop flying, driving or swimming because they are risky, “Instead we manage the risk through the most effective tools available; education, innovation, safety systems, warning systems, engineering, regulation.”
In 2018, the US state of California saw its worst-ever bushfire season on record. The Fifth Estate spoke to US architect and sustainable design guru David Hertz about what the region learnt about designing and managing infrastructure in the face of ever-increasing fire risk.
Most of the time we discuss climate change as affecting cities and the people who live in them. Less well known is that cities – specifically their planning and design – also create climate change through the urban heat island. Encouragingly, this means that cities can provide climate solutions. Why are we not discussing this?
If government won’t explore innovative ways to grow Sydney’s CBD, perhaps the private sector – with all its faults – may be our only hope. It sometimes seems that planning is as much a concealing and evasive discipline as it is a coordinating and enabling one. As explained recently in The Fifth Estate, Pyrmont is […]
Tomorrowland19 – I, human: Property consultant Abdul Khan told Tomorrowland19 about plans for a new style of sustainable housing, with apartments to suit everyone from youth with disabilities to retirees looking to downsize. But will politicians and developers back this vision?
PLANNING FOR HIGHER TARGETS: All eyes are on Sydney’s west as a site of huge growth but is all this new development equipped to cope with the impacts of climate change and other ecological pressures? The city of Parramatta certainly will, if Helen Papathanasiou has anything to do with it. City of Parramatta manager, environmental […]
Despite piles of reports, oodles of analysis and a substantial application of common sense, the federal government is proceeding at a glacial pace with plans for fast rail at scale. This week, another inquiry was launched, this one by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities. It is an inquiry into […]
In the face of rapid development in Western Sydney, a big gap remains between what the people of Western Sydney need and what the NSW government is delivering.
OPINION: Climate change is without much doubt the greatest threat now confronting the planet – and the dread most of us feel about accelerating global warming is being deepened by the failure of our elected leaders to act decisively.
Fear of falling property values could be blinding coastal communities to the risks posed by rising sea levels, new research has found.
In brief: Western Australia now has a Precinct Design Policy that encourages designers to consider a precinct in its entirety rather than just individual sites. The Department of Planning Lands and Heritage have collaborated with Urbis to develop the state’s new policy. Community participation will be at the core of the new policy.
A digital engagement tool that relies on gamification elements could bring hard-to-reach community members, including time-strapped millennials, into Australia’s planning process. The tool’s creator, founder and chief executive officer of UK-based Built-ID Savannah de Savary, has global ambitions for the tool and is in Australia teaching potential clients how it works. The engagement tool allows […]
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 […]
What can Australia learn about creating more sustainable, functional cities from the ancient Romans? A fair bit according to urban planner and history enthusiast Dr Shane Geha.
You might think that a city like Tokyo, with a metro population of 14 million, has very little in common with a city like Sydney or Melbourne.
The NSW and federal 2019 elections saw the return of Coalition governments. My perspective – from western Sydney – is: Coalition infrastructure policies have been dreadful, Labor’s offerings weren’t any better.
OPINION: Philip Bull’s article “Posh Sydney says No to density” incorporates an inaccurate, emotive attack on me that requires a response.
Rob Stokes, the recently reappointed planning minister for NSW is to be admired, but also a tad feared for.
There is an abundance of self interest in the collaboration between the Save Our Suburbs crowd and developer lobby The Urban Task Force – in furious agreement to stop medium density in middle ring leafy suburbs. But why? And is it fair?
BRIEF: Brisbane City Council will terminate the life of its inner city golf course and combine its 26 hectares with surrounding land to create the biggest new public park the city has seen in 50 years. The Victoria Park Vision project will cover 45 hectares in total, “more than double the size of City Botanic Gardens […]
Dr Sharon Harwood took out the top honour at this year’s National Planning Awards for her work advancing the interests of First Nations people in the planning system.
Sustainability played a star role in this year’s National Planning awards on the Gold Coast.
This is a tale of two cities. They’re both imaginary – or are they?
The attacks in Christchurch, and more recently Sri Lanka, are examples of how terrorists have significantly changed their modus operandi in the new millennium.
OPINION: The recent debate on the Greater Sydney Commission’s policy on the management of Sydney’s industrially-zoned lands is welcome as it means this issue is finally getting the attention it deserves.