Urban Renewal
We South Australians have some harebrained ideas sometimes. This week, Adelaide City Council decided to push ahead with multi-million dollar plans to revitalise the dreary and deserted Victoria Square into a major CBD hub.
That’s despite the fact that the State Government is already pushing ahead with its own multi-BILLION dollar plans to revitalise the nearby Riverbank precinct as the new city’s heart and soul.
After lengthy debate on Tuesday night, Adelaide City Council voted to invest $11.5 million on Victoria Square – despite the fact that there’s no commitment from the state or federal government to cough up the $100 million needed to complete the project.
Continue reading "How many revamped precincts does one city need?" »
Ask any poor wage slave trapped in rush hour traffic or crammed like a sardine into a sweltering carriage on their hour-long daily commute and my guess is you’ll find no shortage of strong opinions on Australia’s less than terrific track record in urban planning.
As our major cities have grown in population over recent decades the unimaginative response of state governments has largely been to drive new housing towards our metropolitan fringes.
But as many of us experience daily, on the whole they’ve done so without putting in place the economic and social infrastructure to accommodate such expansion – public transport, training and employment opportunities and access to essential community services such as childcare.
Continue reading "Traffic jams? No jobs? Ghettoes? Blame poor planning" »
Latest 2 of 39 comments
View all comments-
SM says:
@Yak corner shops disappearing? come to Sydney sometime - 2 on every corner Read more »
-
James1 says:
Yak, In terms of convenience and services, I meant more that we have things like hospitals with expensive, modern equipment, we have specialists of every type imaginable and never have to travel for medical attention, no matter how specialised, and we get to choose the schools we send our kids… Read more »
News that New South Wales may soon pass laws to enable land seizures for private housing shouldn’t surprise us.
It’s the latest in a series of alarming headlines about the state of urban development and planning in NSW.
Putting aside the benefits or otherwise of compulsory land acquisition – a tool for achieving public planning goals, already embedded within NSW legislation – it’s worth revisiting the core issues driving the latest proposal – and the range of options to address them.
Continue reading "Yes to housing affordability, but don’t take my home" »
Latest 2 of 42 comments
View all comments-
Ads says:
Shabangabang, you DO realise Rudd is planning to take over major aspects of urban planning don’t you? He’ll love the power these laws give him. Glad I don’t live in NSW. Read more »
-
paul says:
Russell I think Labor banning political donations showed they recognised that they had an issue. A big smelly one. “Donations” arn’t made for altruistic purposes. Labor has also gone to extreme, record lengths to hide information using Commercial in Confidence type excuses. Why are they so insecure and opaque with… Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
In light of today's news, I eagerly await the empassioned calls for polygaymarriage
Marc Glasby says he's the 'meat in the sandwich' - he loves two women. And they're identical twins... http://t.co/kL2jL1RK via @sharethis
RT @ThePunchHQ: COMING SOON to a suburb near you: A controversial #NT intervention policy. @drpiotrowski explains http://t.co/MYjvaAy6#auspol
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
On a hiding to tweet nothing over mining jobs
You know you’re in strife as a political leader when you must rely on the almost uniformly vacuous…
An NT intervention policy coming to a suburb near you
A controversial policy from the Northern Territory intervention has managed to get through the atrocious…
An insight into a particularly tricky relationship
Marc Glasby has been married to his wife Belle for over thirty years. Three years ago, Belle was reunited…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Latest 2 of 32 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment