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Aug 28

Renewable energy generates enough power to run 70% of Australian homes

The Guardian, 28 August 2017
Australia’s renewable energy sector is within striking distance of matching national household power consumption, cranking out enough electricity to run 70% of homes last financial year, new figures show. The first Australian Renewable Energy Index, produced by Green Energy Markets, finds the sector will generate enough power to run 90% of homes once wind and solar projects under construction in 2016-17 are completed.
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Aug 28

Green for wellbeing – science tells us how to design urban spaces that heal us

The Conversation, 28 August 2017
One in five Australians will suffer from a mental health issue this year and living in a city makes it far more likely. Research shows that city dwellers have a 20% higher chance of suffering anxiety and an almost 40% greater likelihood of developing depression. Promisingly, however, research has also found that people in urban areas who live closest to the greatest “green space” are significantly less likely to suffer poor mental health.
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Aug 28

Why trams on Sydney’s booming inner west light rail aren’t running more often

Sydney Morning Herald, 27 August 2017
Commuters wondering why trams aren’t running more frequently on Sydney’s inner west light rail line during peak hours despite a boom in passengers can now blame “capacity constraints”. Internal government documents obtained by Fairfax Media show constraints such as “power supply, stabling facilities, single track near Dulwich Hill and fleet size” are limiting a significant increase in services on the line from Central Station to Dulwich Hill during the morning peak, when overcrowding is at its worst.

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Aug 17

Cars, bicycles and the fatal myth of equal reciprocity

The Conversation, 17 August 2017
Any public conversation about on-road cycling in Australia seems to have only one metaphor for the relationship between drivers and cyclists: equal reciprocity. An utterance like “Drivers must respect cyclists’ space on the road” must inevitably be followed by something like “For their part, cyclists must ride responsibly and obey the road rules.”

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Aug 15

Pace of renewable energy shift leaves city planners struggling to keep up

The Conversation, 15 August 2017
Renewable energy is driving profound changes in cities. It’s happening much more quickly than was expected even five years ago. Responding to climate change, networks of decision-makers, such as the C40 collective of major cities, have begun adopting strategies to promote the uptake of renewable energy. Yet land use planning has seemingly begun to lag behind.
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Aug 8

This is how regional rail can help ease our big cities’ commuter crush

The Conversation, 8 August 2017
In Sydney and Melbourne, the squeeze is on. Population is booming; house prices are still rising; roads and trains are congested. Australian governments generally have ignored the benefits of relating metropolitan and regional planning. However, some state governments are now investigating more integrated sectoral and spatial planning strategies, initially through shifting public sector jobs to regional centres.

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