Writing retreats: Academic indulgence or scholarly necessity?

28 April 2017

It’s not uncommon for academics to attend conferences that cost thousands of dollars and require time away from our usual place of work.

What can the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals do for cities?

19 April 2017

Our cities are increasingly beset by a lack of affordable housing, inequality, lagging infrastructure – the list goes on.

Making sense of the global infrastructure turn

06 April 2017

This is the final article in our series Making Cities Work. It considers the problems of providing critical infrastructure and how we might produce the innovations and reforms needed to meet 21st-century needs and challenges.

How do we restore the public’s faith in transport planning?

04 April 2017

This is the third article in our series Making Cities Work. It considers the problems of providing critical infrastructure and how we might produce the innovations and reforms needed to meet 21st-century needs and challenges.

What’s critical about critical infrastructure?

03 April 2017

This is the first article in our series Making Cities Work. It considers the problems of providing critical infrastructure and how we might produce the innovations and reforms needed to meet 21st-century needs and challenges.

Gas crisis? Energy crisis? The real problem is lack of long-term planning

20 March 2017

If you’ve been watching the news in recent days, you’ll know we have an energy crisis, partly due to a gas crisis, which in turn has triggered a political crisis.

Not everyone wins from the bank of mum & dad

15 March 2017

The “bank of mum and dad” is helping young Australians with more than just their housing aspirations. 

Airport privatisations have put profit before public safety and good planning

28 February 2017

The plane crash at Essendon Airport last week shows the folly of allowing runways to co-exist with commercial development.

Making the case for evidence-based apartment design guidelines

13 February 2017

Financial motivators from both the supply and demand side of the housing market have increased pressure on apartments to be spatially efficient - that is, smaller.

Fuzzy households in an era of urban growth

Housing affordability stress is acute for both low-income households and a growing number of middle-income households, and with housing increasingly commodified and financialised, and as affordability reaches crisis levels, owner-occupation models are also being challenged.

How does relationship dissolution influence the housing careers of mothers with kids?

The breakdown of a marriage or partnership can mean housing career adjustments for one or both parties, but how does it affect mothers with dependent children and their housing circumstances?

Housing deprivation or financial debt: betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea?

Houses are not merely homes, says AHRC speaker Ashton De Silva, and the level of wellbeing of a household unit depends on more than just access to a safe and affordable physical structure.

Bohemians, diversity and residential locational choices

The importance of creativity and diversity as drivers of regional growth is well documented but few studies have examined the interaction between creativity and diversity, particularly in the Australian setting.

Are new housing developments in suburbia catering for diverse aspirations?

Better understanding of diverse and multicultural aspirations towards housing and neighbourhood is vital to foster a cultural recognition that responds to various domestic social needs.

Sensible reform to finance affordable housing deserves cross-party support

02 February 2017

Much like Australia, the UK has a serious problem with housing affordability and supply, made worse by policy and market settings that fuel instability rental housing.

2017 will be a big year for Australia’s energy system: here’s what to look out for

31 January 2017

2017 is looking like a busy and challenging year across the energy sector and it is the year where many long-festering energy policy problems must be addressed.

How is family housing property reshaping welfare regimes?

23 January 2017

While intergenerational inequalities have become more pronounced in recent years, they also appear to have reinforced intergenerational cooperation and the revival of the family as a provider of welfare and economic security. 

How do housing and labour market affect homeless entry and exits

22 January 2017

Homelessness continues to be a feature of wealthy nations, and most recently, has dominated Victorian front page news, as the figures of people sleeping rough on the streets of Melbourne rise.

Federal relations – millstone or keystone in housing policy?

19 January 2017

The Australian government is reshaping federal-state relations that govern many areas of social infrastructure funding and delivery, including public housing. But what type of transformation do we want and how can this best be achieved?

Thinking about a sustainable retrofit? Here are three things to consider

16 January 2017

Sitting at home in the summer heat, your mind may start to wander to that fancy new air conditioner. But when it comes to making your house comfortable and sustainable, prevention is better than cure.

Hot dogs and cool cats: keeping pets cool without blowing your energy bill

As the weather heats up, Australian households won’t just be cranking up the air conditioning for themselves. Some households will be turning it on for their dogs or cats.

Getting smarter about city lights is good for us and nature too

21 December 2016

A network of street lighting links these “islands of illumination”. The effects of this can, in some large cities, result in “sky glow” that interferes with star visibility at distances of more than 300 kilometres.

Postcard from Munich

22 November 2016

With apologies to Jean-Paul Sartre, I am able to announce that I have formally registered my address in Munich with the German government therefore I am, I exist.

The long and winding road to safe and healthy cities

14 November 2016

I believe in the strong correlation between physical space and social behaviours and I believe that buildings and artefacts are not only environmental modifiers but social modifiers. As Winston Churchill said: “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us."