New planning rules intended to improve CBD amenity in the face of Melbourne’s apartment tower boom look like Clayton’s rules. The problem they're supposedly addressing has probably passed
The Victorian Government wants to stop "dogbox" apartments getting built. But it’s doubtful mandatory standards would help residents; it's more likely they'd raise prices and fetter housing choice
Victoria's new government shouldn't dismiss CBD residential towers as the playthings of avaricious developers. It should think about the wider benefits from increased housing supply
The supply and price of new housing affects affordability and is implicated in growing inequality. Debate about planning issues like city centre towers needs to take account of this wider context
It's increasingly common to hear the derisory term “vertical sprawl” used to describe those residential towers springing up in the inner city. But does it really make sense to call them "sprawl"?
High-rise apartments in the city centre are under constant popular attack, but they facilitate walking, improve housing affordability elsewhere in the metro area, and improve sustainability