Where we work has everything to do with the transport choices available to us for getting there. For CBD and inner-city workers, transport choices are amongst the widest – including a variety of forms of public transport (ferries, buses, trains) along with more options for walking and cycling (thanks to the infrastructure but also because…
There is nothing inevitable about the rate of our population growth in Australia. So why does so much of our urban planning assume that the rates of growth are something “we can’t do anything about” when the opposite is in fact true? Only recently we proved it can be done when we pulled the policy…
Each major Australian capital city is faced with predicted population growth of millions more people within just the next 25 years. In Brisbane it’s over 1.5 million more, Sydney will cop another nearly 4 million, and Melbourne over 3 million more people. Here’s a scary fact: at current rates of cars to people, Brisbane will…
One of the more infuriating ideas that seem to have more followers than it deserves is the notion that “tiny houses” are part of the solution to the housing affordability (and availability) challenges being faced in large Australian cities. “Tiny houses” are variously defined, but Wikipedia offers a useful description: “The tiny-house movement is an…
Global markets are actively exploring how to repurpose now empty office buildings, as the post covid impacts of work-from-home and distributed employment take their rising toll. Typically, it is the older-style office buildings that are most affected. Owners of premium office property compete more aggressively for premium, large-scale tenants who still want the high-performance CBD…
We have plenty of things we could call a crisis, but suggesting we have a housing supply crisis isn’t one of them. Here’s why. The Law of Supply and Demand First, recall that the immutable law of Economics 101 is called “the law of supply AND demand.” The two work together. In periods of high…
So, the “National Jobs & Skills Summit” succeeded in what seemed a predetermined outcome: to lift migrant numbers and boost our population once again. Permanent migration will be lifted to 195,000 per annum, to address “skilled labour shortages” that is “holding back the economy.” Set aside that full employment would ordinarily see real wages grow…
Recently leading Australia developer Mirvac called for an overhaul of what it called “outdated metrics defining office spaces.” The call was in response to new, hybrid modes of work and new workplace design in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Mirvac is right to explore new office metrics. The current building grades categories, methods of…
Rational, balanced, evidence-based policy left the room long ago. In its place, it seems all you need now is a clever-looking infographic posted to social media, and you’ll be getting “likes” from thousands of professionals and community members already persuaded of a particular agenda and “wanting to believe.” Very few bother to question sources, motives,…
Who remembers this famous speech? “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the…
