Education, justice, health
Do the suburbs make you fat?
October 17, 2017 3
Suburbanites are fatter than inner city residents, but it might not be because the suburbs are more car-oriented; it might be because the two regions attract different types of people
Do residents of green places live longer?
May 9, 2017 2
It's arguable whether greener residential areas reduce mortality but there are plenty of other good reasons to promote planting more trees, especially along streets
Why has walking to school stumbled so badly?
April 11, 2017 12
The proportion of children driven to primary school has raced ahead over the last 30 to 40 years. The standard solutions won't change that by much, but there's hope
Have the Premiers finally ‘gotten’ New Urbanism?
April 1, 2017 6
A visiting Canadian expert appears to have done what the locals couldn't: inspired most of the Premiers to improve the health of city dwellers through better urban planning
Is better health a key rationale for urban policy?
November 8, 2016 1
A significantly more compact urban form in a city like Melbourne would improve public health, but it doesn't seem a very compelling justification for strategic land use policy
Is it time to rethink how smoking is taxed?
July 5, 2016 12
With the 2016-17 budget potentially a relic, there's an opportunity to step back from the cruel and uncaring decision to increase the excise on smoking by (yet another) 50%
Does Turnbull’s ’30-minute city’ work for secondary school trips?
June 8, 2016 8
If Malcolm Turnbull’s idea of the 30-minute city is going to work anywhere it should work for traditionally local trips like getting to high school, shouldn't it?
What to do about schools and “rich switch”?
May 4, 2016 5
Some parents are avoiding "undesirable" local primary schools and sending their children to out-of-zone schools. That has a raft of ill effects but there are no easy solutions
Surely the 30-minute city makes sense for primary school trips?
April 6, 2016 6
Malcolm Turnbull's 30-minute city idea might look easy at first glance, but even delivering on primary school trips will require a level of commitment and political courage he can't manage
Should public transport be free for school students?
February 16, 2016 7
Making public transport free for school students sounds good but it would be expensive; it would be inequitable; and it's doubtful it would shift many students out of cars and into buses and trains