The music we choose to listen to not only allows us to retreat into a place of peace and privacy, but also helps frame our daily routines and interactions with others.
Many rarely used bikes end up languishing in the shed.
peace baby/Shutterstock
Where bikes are kept is a strong pointer to the place of cycling in the owner’s life. Effective active transport policy starts with understanding what stops people using their bikes instead of cars.
Turning a street tree into timber is much more respectful and useful than mulching it all.
City trees are often short-lived and many others get cut down in their prime. Turning them into mulch both wastes timber and releases stored carbon. A wood rescue program creates a more fitting legacy.
Smart transport solutions make better use of existing infrastructure and reduce the need to build expensive new roads.
AdobeStock
Faced with the eye-watering costs of building infrastructure, it makes sense to turn to much more cost-effective smart technology to get traffic flowing.
The declaration of the 5 million-hectare Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area around Uluru in 2015 helped take the land area of northern Australia in the hands of traditional owners to around 60%.
Central Land Council/AAP
Expanding on sustainable practices in remote parts of Australia can deliver great benefits to both local Indigenous owners and national and global communities.
The traditional owners have won widespread support for their fight to protect Djab Wurrung Country and their sacred trees.
Djab Wurrung Embassy
The demands on land and resources from our fast-growing cities are unsustainable, as are the wastes they produce. Yet still our leaders act as if unlimited growth is possible.
Ecological economics focuses on sustainability and development, rather than the traditional economic concerts of efficiency and growth.
thodonal88/Shutterstock
Ecological economics focuses on sustainability and development rather than efficiency and growth. Cities, as home to 70-80% of economic activity, are at the heart of the challenge of being sustainable.
Car owners’ attachment to driving and the willingness of others to switch from public transport could confound rosy predictions for autonomous vehicles.
Steven Giles/Shutterstock
Scenarios based on a survey of Adelaide commuters and analyses of traffic flows show it’s possible the congestion could get worse in the transition to driverless vehicles.
Processes of data collection and analysis being used to decide policy need to be as independent and transparent as possible, particularly on issues as contentious as Sydney’s lockout laws.
Subel BhandariEPA/AAP
The collection and analysis of data used for making policy should be independent and open to ensure public trust in decision-making. The debate over alcohol licensing shows why this matters.
The school run for private school students is typically much longer than for government school students.
kryzhov/Shutterstock
An analysis of trips to school has found the extra time and distance private secondary school students travel is a significant contributor to morning peak-hour congestion.
A cyclist not wearing a helmet can expect to attract the attention of NSW Police – and not always just for that offence.
NSW Police/Facebook
Bike helmet laws are meant to be about safety. But the hefty penalties and huge number of fines are causing resentment – made worse by some police abusing the law to stop, question and search riders.
In cities like Copenhagen that have good infrastructure for cycling it’s an established commuting option alongside road and rail.
Heb/Wikimedia Commons
A breakdown in the road or rail systems often causes commuter chaos in Australia. Some overseas cities are more resilient because they have other options – and our bicycle network could give us that.
Rental stress leaves hundreds of thousands of Australians struggling for years to cover all the other costs of living.
Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock
After paying rent, more than half of low-income tenants don’t have enough left over for other essentials. And the latest evidence shows nearly half of them are stuck in this situation for years.
Even the standard grassed nature strip has value for local wildlife.
Michelle/Flickr
When so much of the green space in our cities is in the form of nature strips, current restrictions on plantings are denying us the many social and environmental benefits of more diverse greenery.
In Victoria, the Andrews government’s level crossing removal project has lifted property prices by up to 28% around sites where work has been completed.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
Value capture depends on infrastructure increasing the value of affected areas in the first place. Victoria’s level crossing removal project shows the impact on property values can be significant.
Peak-time drivers to the CBDs of Sydney and Melbourne typically earn much more than the average worker.
Taras Vyshnya/Shutterstock
Commuters who drive to and from the CBD typically earn much more than most. Concerns about the fairness of charging drivers who use these busy roads at peak times are overblown.
The evidence shows permanent housing, like the Fitzroy housing estate, is the best and most cost-effective way to reduce homelessness.
Kate Shaw
It’s time to tackle the shortage of public housing head-on, rather than skirt around the problem. Public housing is the single most cost-effective way to turn around the rise in homelessness.
Sea Line Park, one of the shortlisted entries in the competition to design a new park for the Melbourne of 2050.
Future Park Design Ideas Competition
Some might scoff at the free-ranging ideas sparked by a competition to design future parks for Melbourne. But the legacy of a radical idea to green a CBD street in 1985 shows why we need such thinking.
Prospective tenants need to make a good impression on the real estate agent who will decide who gets to rent the property.
Shutterstock
Two-thirds of tenants in Australia rent through an agent, so making a good impression on the agent matters. Certain characteristics count in tenants’ favour, but some factors are beyond their control.