What teenagers want their cities to be like when they are asked
Despite evidence that urban life can affect mental health and even induce psychosis, no study has investigated whether specific features of urban neighbourhoods increase children's risk for psychotic symptoms, the research published in the Schizophrenia Bulletin in 2016 noted. (read related article: How our cities worsen the mental health of teenagers)
the Free To Be project, conducted by Plan International,...
How our cities worsen the mental health of teenagers
Are our cities planned in a way that supports the mental health of teenagers? Or does the way we design our cities have a negative impact on their happiness?
Mental health is the top issue on the minds of young people, according to a recent youth survey report from Mission Australia. This survey and a report by engineering company Arup...
Why I, a cyclist, won’t run down a pedestrian (even though they are walking in the bike lane)
Of course, I am not going to run over a pedestrian on my electric bike! Well, I hope not anyway. Mind you, they look so fiercely determined as they march along the designated bike lane on Bourke Street towards Southern Cross station. And they don’t get out of my way as I ride on the small sliver of the...
Baugruppen: A new housing affordability model
The housing affordability crisis in Australia is a product of the cause and effect of numerous factors including the way we fund and build apartments on multi-residential developments.
But emerging financial models may help ease the pain.
Source: Peter Clarke
The word baugruppen means ‘building group’ in German. It is also the name of a new funding model promising savings of up to 30 per cent on the cost of...
Why autonomous vehicles won’t reduce our dependence on cars in cities
Australians have a phobia of sitting in traffic and not finding a car park.
Shutterstock
Jennifer Kent, University of Sydney
The technology of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is progressing rapidly, but have we really thought through how they’ll work in reality?
In its report on AVs in Australia, Austroads (the association of Australasian road transport and traffic agencies) paints both positive and negative scenarios...
Feeding cities in the 21st century: why urban-fringe farming is vital for food resilience
City fringe agriculture gives farmers unique access to direct markets and provides those living in cities the opportunity to connect with local growers.
Foodprint Melbourne
Rachel Carey, University of Melbourne; Jennifer Sheridan, University of Melbourne, and Kirsten Larsen, University of Melbourne
This article is part of a series focusing on the politics of food – what we eat, how our views of...
Sidewalk Talk – a global listening movement – arrives in Australia
Two chairs and a sign: FREE Listening Here. With this simple design, a global movement is born and arrives in Australia: Sidewalk Talk.
Sidewalk Talk, a global movement of volunteer listeners, started in San Francisco in the autumn of 2014 when two therapists wondered if listening could “heal the divide” between people. Traci Ruble, co-founder and director of Sidewalk Talk,...
The City of Melbourne gives the go ahead to the new, award-winning Draft Central Melbourne Design Guide
Wednesday 20 November 2018: In a landmark move towards changing planning rules in the CBD, the City of Melbourne councillors unanimously voted in favour of the Draft Central Melbourne Design Guide (see page 128 of the linked document) proceeding to Planning Victoria, taking it a step closer to embedding the 50 design principles into law (Click here to find out...
It’s time for architects to insist projects meet their personal values, says renowned architect, Alison Brooks
Historically, architects have been reluctant to declare their politics, world-renowned architect Alison Brooks said in Melbourne last month.
Brooks, who won the 2008 Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize for excellence in architecture, said, “I felt it was really important, at this moment in my practice, to declare the importance of a value system for architects working today.”
Brooks made the comment while presenting...
What MPavilion means to me: Deborah Cheetham, AO
For the next four months, visitors to the new MPavilion 2018 will be treated to events, talks and performances by over 500 Australian and international guests and collaborators. All events are free. MPavilion is in Queen Victoria Gardens opposite the Victorian National Gallery.
The first event featured a welcome-to-country song
The first event featured a welcome-to-country song composed by Deborah Cheetham (AO), a renowned...
