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Melbourne has evolved into a city of great diversity and at its best it is a model for other new world cities. Arnold Zable will explore the evolution of cosmopolitan and multicultural Melbourne…
When we think about cities of the future, we think about edgy architecture and technological breakthroughs. But what we should be thinking about is how to plan for a Melbourne that seems likely to…
Melbourne is famously multicultural – but the past year has proven that racism is also rife.For instance, a VicHealth survey reported 97% of Aboriginal Victorians had experienced racism in the past 1…
Tonight, 20,000 Victorians are homeless. How do we get people off the streets and into shelter?Should we give money – and if so, to individuals or organisations? Is homelessness inevitable – or can w…
Melbourne is famously multicultural – but the past year has proven that racism is also rife.For instance, a VicHealth survey reported 97% of Aboriginal Victorians had experienced racism in the past 1…
In 30 years, Melbourne’s CBD will have another 220,000 new residents. A ‘second CBD’ has been proposed for Melbourne’s west, along with a third runway for Tullamarine airport – and more green wedge l…
In 30 years, Melbourne’s CBD will have another 220,000 new residents. A ‘second CBD’ has been proposed for Melbourne’s west, along with a third runway for Tullamarine airport – and more green wedge l…
In the clash between money and conservation, money usually wins – with devastating results in a land that tolerates few mistakes. Tim Flannery delivers a wake-up call about the consequences of…
What does it mean to be Lord Mayor of one of the world’s most liveable cities? And how can we keep that ‘liveable’ status – and the relaxed lifestyle we enjoy – in the face of pressures like a…
What does it mean to be Lord Mayor of one of the world’s most liveable cities? And how can we keep that ‘liveable’ status – and the relaxed lifestyle we enjoy – in the face of pressures like a…
Australia’s population has become a political hot potato. With forecasts of 30–40 million people by 2050 and up to 60 million by 2100, Australians are becoming increasingly concerned about the…
What role does creativity play in creating liveable environments? What kind of things can squash the creation of a good city? Can we save the post-Spencer St end of our city? Whose job is it to do…
The past two years have seen people take to the streets in more and more countries, seeking out change without knowing how to articulate it yet. As Spring warms up the city streets, a different and m…
In our series of lectures and discussions on the classics of Australian literature, Ramona Koval and critic Kerryn Goldsworthy bring Helen Garner’s classic book (later a successful film), Monkey…
Rebecca Starford, managing editor of Kill Your Darlings, writes back to Geordie Williamson’s Long View essay on Australian rural writing and wonders: what does this trend of privileging the rural…
In 2012, Ideas for Melbourne will be the talk of the town.With city elections looming in 2012, we’re kicking off this year’s programming by turning the spotlight on some of Melbourne’s biggest civic …
In 2012, Ideas for Melbourne will be the talk of the town.With city elections looming in 2012, we’re kicking off this year’s programming by turning the spotlight on some of Melbourne’s biggest civic …
In his Lunchbox/Soapbox talk, David Holmgren explores the profound improvements that the application of permaculture principles and strategies could deliver for the sustainability and liveability of …
In recent years, as we have become more aware of the negative effects of our high-impact lifestyles, a number of environmental responses have been introduced – such as building insulation…
The capital of what used to be known as the garden state is graced by green wedges and a cool climate – but for how much longer? Adam Morton, Kelly O'Shanassy and Kirsten Larsen discuss.
In 2012, Ideas for Melbourne will be the talk of the town.With city elections looming in 2012, we’re kicking off this year’s programming by turning the spotlight on some of Melbourne’s biggest civic …
With greater Melbourne growing by thousands every week, how will we ensure bigger really is better? Does high density mean high rise? As we live ever-closer to our neighbours, can we all get along…
In 2012, Ideas for Melbourne will be the talk of the town.With city elections looming in 2012, we’re kicking off this year’s programming by turning the spotlight on some of Melbourne’s biggest civic …
Planes, trains, automobiles and – latterly – cycling are a perennial Melbourne bone of contention. Is there room on the roads for everyone, or are we heading for traffic armageddon? Paul Mees…
In 2012, Ideas for Melbourne will be the talk of the town.With city elections looming in 2012, we’re kicking off this year’s programming by turning the spotlight on some of Melbourne’s biggest civic …
Melbourne is currently a city of 4 million people. By 2050, that number is projected to grow to 7 million. This means our population will nearly double over the next 40 years.But where will they…
Melissa Cranenburgh, former editor of Bicycle Victoria’s Ride On magazine, argues that we can learn to share the road – if we see each other as people who ride bikes/drive cars, rather than as…
Some time ago, we reported on a tiny phone booth library located in Somerset, England. We even pondered whether it may be the world’s smallest. But it seems the field is thicker with competition
David Nichols concludes his series on urban liveability with a visit to Baltimore.Liveability is a lot about perspective. Melbourne may well be a terribly liveable city from some points of view; a…
On the liveability trail, our intrepid scout David Nichols finds himself nestled amongst dogs, babies and bagels in the biggest smoke of all.New YorkNew York is like some kind of enormous share…
David Nichols continues his series investigating what makes a city liveable with a visit to a town dubbed one of Britain’s ‘funkiest’, and a city built on reclaimed land in the Netherlands.Hebden…
In the third in his series on urban liveability, David Nichols finds a Dublin in uncharacteristically gloomy mood.The ancient Greeks used to build cities to be confusing: the idea was that enemy…
Our liveability ambassador David Nichols continues his highly unscientific international survey of liveability with this look at Tel Aviv.Not only liveable but also lovable, Tel Aviv strikes a…
Melbourne is consistently rated at the top of liveability surveys year in, year out. When Melbourne was rated number 1 in one such 2011 poll, we wondered, just what does liveability mean? We asked…
Today is the day the United Nations Population Fund has deemed the day most likely the world’s population hits the seven billion mark. We’ve just uploaded the video/podcast of our recent event…
High density living is great for the environment, right? But what does it do to our heads and hearts? The Australian psyche was moulded by the myth of the ‘wide brown land’, so what might life…
“[V]ibrant and living and edgy and cool and urbane.” Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was dispensing the adjectives liberally yesterday following news Melbourne has edged out perennial winner Vancouver in…
Sociology professor and author John Carroll takes issue with the “excessive fearfulness” he argues is common in modern Western upper-middle-class life, illustrated by the paranoia about children…
Kyung-won Chung is the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s chief design officer and the deputy mayor of South Korea’s capital city. In 2010, the former industrial design professor oversaw Seoul’s status …
Each year the country’s peak academic body for Australian writing – Association for the Study of Australian Literature – comes together to unpick and discuss the ideas and climate of our literary…
Kerryn Goldsworthy (Adelaide) and Matthew Condon (Brisbane) discuss the culture, architecture, landscape and mood of the cities that have inspired them with Louise Swinn.Presented with the…
