April, 2010

Reviews can sometimes be very scathing. Consider this reviewer’s reaction to a recently released philosophy book: “Self-important, pompous, pretentious, solipsistic, often obscure, sometimes barely coherent, his book seems to address itself only to those in the know. The translation by Jane Marie Todd renders all these faults with exemplary accuracy” Cutting! Architectural criticism however is [...]

I like Melbourne City Council’s proposal for higher dwelling densities along tram lines but I think the claim that it would increase sustainability is exaggerated. There’s a whole ‘second half’ missing from this proposal. The idea, which seems to be largely the brainchild of Council’s Rob Adams, is essentially that multi unit developments of up to [...]

Melbourne has had a long and sorry history in its search for a successful city square, but it eventually all came good when Federation Square was opened to instant acclaim and popularity in 2002. So why do some places like Fed Square have “buzz” but others, like the previous attempt at a city square, seem [...]

The idea of a very fast train (VFT) connecting Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne is gaining momentum (again). The CRC for Rail Innovation launched a pre-feasibility study earlier this year; veteran journalist Brain Toohey expressed his enthusiasm for the idea on Insiders on 11 April; and now the Greens are calling on the Federal Government to [...]

You need to be careful with incentive programs that aim to change behaviour by providing consumers with feedback on, for example, their level of electricity consumption. Husband and wife academics at UCLA, Matthew Kahn and Dora Costa, gave households information about their own consumption of energy and that of their peers (the paper is here [...]

This study by three University of Sheffield researchers finds that commuting has a detrimental effect on the well-being of women, but not men. The authors explore possible explanations for this gender difference and find no evidence that it is due to women´s shorter working hours or weaker occupational position. Rather, the greater sensitivity of women [...]

Radio National had a fascinating talk-back session yesterday on older drivers (audio download here; no transcript). This is a pressing issue because of the ageing of the Australian population – by around 2040 a quarter of the population is projected to be aged over 65 years. However the good news is that elderly drivers, including [...]

WordPress wouldn’t let me upload my planned post last night or early this morning about Melbourne City Councils’ proposals for apartments along tram routes, so I’m trying something more modest. Fortuitously, hot on the heels (top box?) of my post earlier this week about motor scooters, The Age has some related stories today. The first [...]

I’ve referred to satellite cities in passing in recent weeks, both those around London and our own Melton and Sunbury. They’re a once-fashionable but very peculiar idea that might get another run if recent population projections are taken seriously. So it’s worth looking at the idea more closely, particularly how it’s been handled in Melbourne. [...]

I’ve believed for some years that motor scooters and motorcycles are likely to become a much more important component of Melbourne’s transport system if the cost of fuel increases dramatically. Scooters and small motorcycles are extremely popular in cities like Hanoi where, like the probable Melbourne of the future, the cost of transport is very [...]