Current construction approaches are too slow to achieve the ambitious national housing target. But there’s a proven alternative building technology that’s more efficient, faster and greener.
New Zealand tends to focus on big infrastructural projects such as tunnels or light rail to change cities. But there are cheaper ways to add public spaces to urban design.
Water features are commonly used in city centres across the Netherlands to cool urban areas
Boris Stroujko/Shutterstock
From special paving to green walls, the recent Cool Towns project highlights the best ways to protect urban areas, and the people living there, from the effects of heatwaves.
Simon Fraser University students compile survey packages for a community housing resident survey in North Vancouver in November 2023.
(Meg Holden)
Before we draw conclusions about the implications of social isolation, we should check our expectations of how, when and why neighbouring does or does not happen.
Madrid city centre aerial panoramic view at sunset, 2020.
JJFarq/Shutterstock
Infill development is patchy across Australian cities, as is its quality. Bigger and better projects are needed to hit planning targets and reduce urban sprawl.
Buildings can be engineered to resist bushfires, but we can’t engineer the many aspects of human behaviour and decision-making that will still put lives at risk.
Delhi’s bazaars offer an alternative infrastructure and economy.
Richard Sennett|flickr
Too often government policy is not designed with the long-term in mind. Instead, short-term economic outcomes and political gains are prioritised - to the detriment of public health.
Cities should be planned around existing natural resources.
Stephen Appiah Takyi
Stephen Appiah Takyi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Owusu Amponsah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
The inability of city authorities to enforce land-use regulations has allowed people to carry out ecologically unfriendly activities along the water bodies.
How much land does a car need?
pisaphotography/Shutterstock
Paying for your parking via an app promises ease and efficiency. But we are entering a bargain with unclear terms around data privacy and public revenue.
Lagos has a long history of housing demolition.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Decades of activism have resulted in legislation and infrastructure to make cities more accessible, but the lived experiences of disabled residents shows there’s still a long way to go.
San Francisco skyline.
Marti Bug Catcher/Shutterstock
From lit-up orbs to bland office blocks, cities are full of buildings that people do or do not like. What really shapes how they live – for better or for worse – is urban planning.
The four Cs – convenience, choice, competitive prices and COVID-19 – will decide the retail battle and how it affects the structure and function of our cities.