The big question: What does the future hold for urban lifestyles? There is no indication that the ‘pre-COVID-19 normal’ will be returning. So, is the ‘now normal’ going to be the ‘new normal’? And what does this mean for future urban environments? UQ|UP experts, including Drs Thomas Sigler and Dorina Pojani, talk about the future … Continue reading
Development applications lodged with Brisbane City Council are being flooded with proforma submissions in a bid to sway the council’s decision to approve or reject applications, but submitters may be wasting their time. Experts say the system isn’t perfect but provides democratic input for residents. Read the full story, including Dorina’s interview: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-04/development-applications-flooded-with-submissions/13208310 Continue reading
The Sunshine Coast faces a battle to keep young families and maintain diversity as surging home prices threaten to “gentrify” the region, a national expert warns. Gentrification happens when wealthier people move into a lower-income area, pushing up house prices and often displacing original residents. Interviewed experts, including UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani, warn the Sunshine Coast … Continue reading
Why do we need more trees in Brisbane? What’s the connection between trees and urban transport? UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani was interviewed by Kelly Higgins-Devine at ABC Radio Brisbane to discuss these issues. The interview aired on 4 Feb, at 8.50 am. Listen to the recording of Mornings: http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/mornings/mornings/13101292 (min. 22). Continue reading
Brisbane City Council’s latest solution to the climate crisis: an incentive to develop sustainable buildings. These climate-sensitive design practices may be the future but at what cost? What climate-burden are these green buildings carrying and are they damaging to the public purse? Dorina Pojani invited by 4zzz reporter Isabella Cheng to provide her expert opinion; … Continue reading
If Brisbane is going to survive in increasingly sweltering temperatures, it needs to be compact, green, comfortable to live in and easy to get around. The Queensland capital has a reputation for balmy outdoor living with timber houses, tropical parklands and a lazy river meandering through the suburbs. But simmering humidity in summer months means … Continue reading
Gentrification has moved from the CBD to the suburbs of Australia’s three largest cities, in a trend researchers say shows the country’s housing system is “broken”. A University of Queensland team mapped urban renewal and population demographics from 2006 to 2016 to see how the process had spread through Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. UQ urban … Continue reading
An inner-city suburb on the Brisbane River could be home to the “greenest residential building in the world” with ambitious plans currently under review by the city’s council. Development plans lodged last week by the Aria Property Group propose a 30-storey “vertical forest” and “a beacon for sustainability in South Brisbane”. Dr Dorina Pojani at … Continue reading
With thousands of people turning to cycling and walking to get around during the pandemic, how long will the change last – forever, or just until “normal life” resumes? Read Dorina Pojani’s interviews on: Brisbane Times: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/how-cycling-and-walking-could-change-in-brisbane-post-pandemic-20200514-p54sx8.html iMove: imoveaustralia.com/thoughtpiece/dorina-pojani-covid-19-transport/ Continue reading
Disease shapes cities. Some of the most iconic developments in urban planning and management, such as London’s Metropolitan Board of Works and mid-19th century sanitation systems, developed in response to public health crises such as cholera outbreaks. Now COVID-19 is joining a long list of infectious diseases, like the Spanish flu of 1918 in New … Continue reading
The Swedish Network for Feminist Urban Planning was initiated for the purpose of developing the concept and making relevant research more easy to use for practitioners. NFUP newsletters typically include two interviews, one with an academic and one with a practitioner. Dr Pojani gave an interview on women’s safety in public space. Read the interview … Continue reading
In just ten years, the inner city populations of Australia’s biggest state capitals have boomed. But where is this growth coming from? While Australian inner cities are “youthifying” and somewhat “studentifying”, they aren’t “familifying”. Listen to the full interview on ABC Radio Brisbane, Afternoons program (start at min. 5.40): http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/afternoons/afternoons/11250630 Continue reading
A planned ban on townhouse developments in Brisbane’s low-density suburbs, designed to protect the city’s character, could have unintended consequences. Read the full article and Dorina’s interview on Brisbane Times: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/doubts-cast-over-brisbane-city-council-s-townhouse-ban-20190704-p5248v.html Continue reading
Free speech is critical to urban planning research and practice, as this profession is predicated on the ability to conduct open public debate and participation. The article below originally appeared in The Conversation, 7 June 2019. “Because we are so saturated in American culture, very few Australians realise that free speech in this country isn’t … Continue reading
Matters asked some experts to comment on the scientific accuracy of popular sci-fi narratives. Black Mirror, in particular, has turned casual prophesying of technological dystopia into a mainstream cultural phenomenon. But this ever-present sense of looming dystopia is not always based on a clear or detailed picture of our world. Matters asked a few experts … Continue reading
Courtney Herron death highlights broader issue faced by women, expert says | 7News 31 May 2019 North Lakes golf club plan facing rough times | Courier Mail 31 May 2019 Continue reading
The promise of free public transport is an enticing one: fewer cars, less congestion, less pollution. But would it work in Brisbane? UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani talks to ABC Radio’s Katherine Feeney. Listen to the Afternoon program: http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/afternoons/afternoons/10891044 Continue reading
If shopping centres killed the suburban high streets and online shopping is killing the shopping centres, is it time for the high street to make a comeback? The whole concept of high street design and the idea of creating a genuine community was the subject of a recent study by a UQ|UP team. Dr Dorina … Continue reading
After Sydney was inundated with dockless shared bikes last year, many of which ended up in trees and rivers, where have all the bikes gone? So 2ser got to work to find out. UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani talks to Victor Petrovic. Listen to the podcast: 2ser.com/where-have-all-the-share-bikes-gone/ 2ser FM is a community radio station based in Sydney. Operated … Continue reading
Major Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn is leading a class-action lawsuit against Uber for their disruption of the taxi industry. Blackburn, backed by thousands of taxi drivers, licence owners, and public transport officials, is suing Uber on the basis that their operations in 2014 were undertaken outside the law, which led to the taxi industry … Continue reading