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A huge congratulations to @philipthalis on his well-deserved award.
A huge congratulations to @philipthalis on his well-deserved award.
Philip is undeniably both one of Australia's most respected architects and a tireless advocate for good urban design.
More importantly, he's not afraid to speak up publicly against bad state government planning decisions, as he did with Barangaroo, even when there's a personal cost.
@urbanism #Planning #UrbanPlanning #Cities #Urbanism #Buildings [#Architec
When urban renewal goes wrong: Inside a dead mall frozen in 1990.
When urban renewal goes wrong: Inside a dead mall frozen in 1990.
Very interesting short film by Bright Sun Films. Along with the usual urban exploration bits, he gives a good history of how and why it failed.
The shopping centre was supposed to revitalise downtown Hamilton, Ontario.
But within six years, it had just a 40% occupancy rate.
A decade after opening, it sold for only CAN$3.6 million — just 5% of what it originally cost to build.
https://youtu.be/NVccRZdE?si=4fNO5BJAoWzcxbw
urbanism #UrbanPlanning #Canada #Ontario @urbanism #UrbanRenewal #malls #DeadMalls #UrbEx [#UrbanExplaration](https://au
See, here's why I think the Parramatta light rail should be extended from Sydney Olympic Park to Strathfield.
cross-posted from: https://aus.social/users/ajsadauskas/statuses/111889839858310804
See, here's why I think the Parramatta light rail should be extended from Sydney Olympic Park to Strathfield.
See, here's why I think the Parramatta light rail should be extended from Sydney Olympic Park to Strathfield.
It's not just that it would allow it to connect directly to many of the train lines serving the western and northern suburbs, including the T1, T2, T3, and T9. Or intercity trains to the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Newcastle.
It's not just that Strathfield is a major bus hub with many services across western suburb.
It's not just that DFO Homebush (between Strathfield and Olympic Park) is a busy shopping centre that generates a lot of traffic.
No, the big reason I say it's a good idea is because these photos were taken on the 526 bus, between Strathfield and Olympic Park, on a Sunday afternoon.
bus [#tram](https://au
See, here's why I think the Parramatta light rail should be extended from Sydney Olympic Park to Strathfield.
See, here's why I think the Parramatta light rail should be extended from Sydney Olympic Park to Strathfield.
It's not just that it would allow it to connect directly to many of the train lines serving the western and northern suburbs, including the T1, T2, T3, and T9. Or intercity trains to the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Newcastle.
It's not just that Strathfield is a major bus hub with many services across the western suburbs.
It's not just that DFO Homebush (between Strathfield and Olympic Park) is a busy shopping centre that generates a lot of traffic.
No, the big reason I say it's a good idea is because these photos were taken on the 526 bus, between Strathfield and Olympic Park, on a Sunday afternoon.
bus #tram #LightRail #nsw #nswpol #planning [#Urbanism](https://aus.
Climate resilience: Has the time come to start demanding lighter-coloured streets in hotter climates?
Climate resilience: Has the time come to start demanding lighter-coloured streets in hotter climates?
At this stage, the challenge with climate change is not just preventing it from happening by cutting emissions. We also need to make our cities resilient to the climate change we've already locked in.
That's where lighter coloured paving for streets, rather than dark asphalt, can help:
"Sebastian Pfautsch doesn't hesitate when asked what he would change first to cool Australian cities in summer.
"And it's not what you might expect. It's not the seemingly endless expanse of black roofs, soaking up the sun beneath a shimmering haze.
"It's the roads. About a third of any outer suburb is thermally dense black asphalt that can reach 75 degrees Celsius, according to Professor Pfautsch, an expert on urban heat at the University of Western Sydney.
...
"Lighter-coloured roads may make intuitive sense, like wearing a white shirt on a hot day, but how effectively do they reduce surface and
Whoopsie! Sydney's road planners just discovered induced demand is a thing, after opening a new motorway.
Whoopsie! Sydney's road planners just discovered induced demand is a thing, after opening a new motorway.
For those outside Sydney, the New South Wales state government recently opened a new spaghetti intersection just west of Sydney's Central Business District.
It was supposed to solve traffic. Instead, it's turned into a giant car park:
"For the third straight day, motorists and bus passengers endured bumper-to-bumper traffic on the City West Link and Victoria Road. A trip from Haberfield to the Anzac Bridge on the City West Link averaged an agonising 44 minutes in the morning peak on Wednesday.
"Several months ago, Transport for NSW’s modelling had suggested traffic from the interchange would add only five to 10 minutes to trips on Victoria Road through Drummoyne and over the Iron Cove Bridge during morning peaks.
"Those travel delays have now blown out."
So what do motorists say when their shiny new road that was supposed to solve traffic instead turns into a massive traffic
Quick tip for anyone who wants more urbanism/urban planning/cycling/public transport posts in their Mastodon feed.
Quick tip for anyone who wants more urbanism/urban planning/cycling/public transport posts in their Mastodon feed.
Thanks to the wonders of the Fediverse, you can follow and post to Lemmy groups from Mastodon.
Here are some transport/planning/cycling groups to get you started:
For those unfamiliar with it, Lemmy is basically a federated version of Reddit, distributed across multiple servers like Masto
I'm in two minds about this one.
I'm in two minds about this one.
Yes, above shopfronts is generally a good place for housing, and densification is generally a good thing.
But.
Why are we putting more suburban subdivisions and density in towns like Gisborne, instead of having more density in the inner suburbs of Melbourne?
Wouldn't it be better to have more apartments in inner-suburbs like Camberwell, where there are multiple train and tram lines, than have more sprawl on the fringes?
A tale of two Americas.
A tale of two Americas.
The untold story of mega-mansion maintenance crews. It turns out your typical US$20 million Los Angeles mega mansion costs around US$42,000 each month in upkeep costs: https://youtu.be/k-ImID3kpAg?si=fYZEEr8lLKaSInKi
Bel Air mansion on the market for US$250 million: https://youtu.be/o1d-hjuuXmI?si=1sDgXZpir8ptDgCV
Meanwhile...
Eviction notices piling up in Los Angeles: https://youtu.be/EYwpat1RDks?si=W7cJG2ipxggC9cqh
Hollywood residents outraged over growing homeless encampment: https://youtu.be/leeTGryOOfQ?si=T1rgfTsDS6NFlmJZ
@urbanism #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #RealEstate [#politics](https://aus.social/tag
Cleveland
Cleveland
"In those metros, pedestrian-centered places are within easy reach of people of color, people with low income, and people with less educational attainment. Cleveland topped the report's "Social Equity Index" rankings; Baltimore, Cincy, Detroit and Philly also made the top 10, while St. Louis landed at number 11."
"Cleveland's current mayor has announced an initiative to transform the Ohio community into a 15-minute city."
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/02/07/americas-most-equitably-walkable-city-is-cleveland
Inside Australia's home building and housing crisis—and the dodgy developers that corporate regulators don't touch.
Inside Australia's home building and housing crisis—and the dodgy developers that corporate regulators don't touch.
Really interesting episode of the ABC's Four Corners program this week: https://youtu.be/JwqdvttDwUI
Along with the ongoing issues the building industry is facing, including skills and product supply shortages, the episode looks at a dodgy Sydney-based development firm the corporate regulators haven't touched.
"Dyldam was once a towering force. Its apartments still line the streets and light up the skyline of western Sydney.
"But for more than a decade, the Dyldam group has left a trail of misery behind it that includes bankrupt businesses, unpaid taxes, tradies denied payment for work they've done, suppliers ripped off, and anguished apartment buyers stuck with defective buildings — one built so badly it posed a hazard to human life.
"Time and again, a litany of potential law-breaking has been identified by those brought in to clean u
Why American malls are dying, and European ones aren't.
Why American malls are dying, and European ones aren't.
Adam Something's latest video looks at while malls in Europe aren't seeing the same fate as their American counterparts, despite the same competition from Amazon.
He suggests that low-density urban planning and car-dependent suburban sprawl are a big factor that no-one talks about.
For what it's worth, Australia also hasn't seen the massive number of dying/dead malls that the US has since the GFC.
At least in Sydney, many of our big shopping centres tend to be close to public transport. (Think QVB, Westfield Bondi, Westfield Chatswood, Chatswood Chase, Westfield Parramatta, Stocklands Merrylands, Burwood Plaza, Strathfield Plaza, Westfield Hornsby, Westfield Miranda, Castle Towers, Westfield Hornsby...)
Most also have at least two supermarkets (a Coles and a Woolies).
Time to remove cars from Melbourne's Sydney Road.
Time to remove cars from Melbourne's Sydney Road.
One of the interesting details the ABC shows is that retailers along the strip significantly overestimate the percentage of customers who arrive by car.
While retailers assume nearly two-thirds of customers drive to their stores, the real figure is closer to 30%.
Already, just under 70% of customers either walk, catch public transport, or cycle.
Most of those who drive to businesses in the area park in one of the 2000 parking spots off Sydney road, rather than the 450 on the road itself.
Meanwhile, the lack of a dedicated protected bike lane makes it far less attractive to cyclists. The cars significantly slow down trams. And the exhaust fumes make it unpleasant for pedestrians.
auspol #vicpol #Urbanism #UrbanPlanning [#cycli
America. A land where basic public housing is socialism, and also of US$250 million New York penthouses.
America. A land where basic public housing is socialism, and also of US$250 million New York penthouses.
planning #housing #politics #UrbanPlanning #PublicHousing #capitalism #economics @fuckcars @politics @usa @urbanism
Personally, I think Sydney could have an amazing and iconic public square at Circular Quay, if only it tore down that ugly freeway.
Personally, I think Sydney could have an amazing and iconic public square at Circular Quay, if only it tore down that ugly freeway.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/city-and-state-should-join-forces-to-give-sydney-the-public-square-it-deserves-20230510-p5d77w.html @urbanism
What's the biggest component of inflation in Australia at the moment? Housing.
What's the biggest component of inflation in Australia at the moment? Housing.
(Groceries follow close behind.)
Here's an interesting breakdown from Alan Kohler on the ABC:
housing #HousePrices #HousingAffordability #economics #news @australia @news #AusPol @urbanism
It should not take three minutes to cross a road
It should not take three minutes to cross a road
Yet as @DrTCombs shows in this video, many road crossings are designed to make pedestrians wait at least that long before getting a walk signal.
This video shows one such crossing in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but there are many more intersections like this across North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
https://urbanists.video/w/8esJ8mPNrRK2vzGekrKVKL
cycling #pedestrians #walkablecities #walking #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #planning #bike #cycle #cities [@fuckcars](https://lemm