Australia
Beauty Queen's Day-Job is Town Planner
A town planner from Brisbane, Australia, has been crowned the beauty-queen face of an annual open-air motor racing event.
Gold Coast Bulletin
TOD Down Under
Transit-oriented development is catching on in Australia, as several projects spring up around Brisbane. The article is accompanied by a photo gallery of recent developments.
Brisbane Times
Sydney Facing Significant Risk From Climate Change
A new study warns that climate change will bring significant changes to weather patterns and coastlines, with serious planning implications for Sydney, Australia.
Sydney Morning Herald
Desperate Commuters Cheating in Carpool Lanes
Commuters in Sydney, Australia are risking fines rather than waiting in traffic. Along one stretch of highway, over 1000 cheaters were documented in just one hour.
The Daily Telegraph
Friday Funny: Mayor Urges Ugly Women to Move to Town
Facing what he sees as an extreme gender imbalance, the mayor of an Australian town has urged ugly women to move into town, assuring them they'll be able to find a man.
AFP
Unique Wayfinding in Parking Lot
Boing Boing reports on Axel Peemoeller's award-winning parking lot design, which has giant words that snap into focus when you stand (or drive) in the right position.
Boing Boing
The City-Suburb Commute is Not What it Used to Be
Wendell Cox looks at commuting patterns, and finds that the old supposition that most commuters are going from suburban housing to urban jobs no longer holds water.
newgeography
Kids Afraid to Play in Public
A recent report by The Australian Commission of Children and Young People reveals that kids in Sydney are too afraid to play outside or ride the bus.
The Daily Telegraph, Sydney
Sprawl Can Work, It Just Needs Fixing
If jobs and services are reoriented and public transport rethought, sprawling cities like Melbourne can mitigate the consequences of dwindling energy supplies, argues a recent column.
The Age
Curing Ills in Suburban Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia, has its own brand of suburban sprawl: suburbia without the space. A new comprehensive plan aims to address the woes of suburban Melbourne, but some say it doesn't go far enough.
The Age
Melbourne, Australia: A Pedestrian Paradise
After a decade spent redesigning the public realm, Melbourne, Australia is a haven of people-oriented development and mobility.
Streetsblog
Planning System Needs to Look at the 'Big Picture'
Officials in Melbourne, Australia, are so frustrated with the city's lackluster planning process that they are pushing for the creation of a new planning authority -- one they hope will look at the "big picture".
The Age
Sydney Contemplating Tearing Down Freeway
Sydney Mayor Clover Moore has suggested that the road be demolished, and a recent report from planning experts indicates the plan would not bring the city's traffic to a halt.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Funding Remains Uncertain for Sydney's 'Grand Project'
A major plan to improve Sydney's walkability, urban design and public transit system have been applauded throughout the city. The only problem is figuring out how to pay for it.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Locals Apprehensively Excited About Sydney's Big Transit Plans
A recently announced $12.5 billion metropolitan rail system plan for Sydney has many in the region excited about finally getting a good mass transit system. But they are also wary, as many other proposals promising similar services were never kept.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Traffic Calmed
This video from StreetFilm shows the extensive traffic calming efforts taken by one beach community in Australia.
Streetsblog
Drought Hurts Global Wheat Supplies
A severe drought in Australia has cut into the country's wheat production -- and pushed prices up all over the world.
BBC
Australia's 'White Flight' and the Rise of the Aborigines
The Aborigine population in Australia is on the rise, and the shift in demographics is posing problems for the country's school system.
The Sydney Morning Herald
City's 'Lungs' Paved Over
Urban projects have resulted in the paving over of significant chunks of parkland in Melbourne, Australia -- land set aside more than 150 years ago to act as the city's lungs.
The Age
Is Now the Time for an MPO in Melbourne?
With government plans to increase the amount of land used for affordable housing in Melbourne, Australia, some say it's time for a regional planning entity.
The Age



















