After the floods, Bellbowrie Shopping Plaza could be totally transformed. Brendan O’Malley of the Courier Mail interviewed local experts, including UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani, to pick their brains. Dorina said that: “Demolishing the building was not a climate-friendly option, while replacing it with housing posed more complications than adaptively reusing the building for a high school … Continue reading
An airport hotel, a transport-oriented community and a walkable, tree-lined high street-style shopping strip – what should replace Toombul Shopping Centre? Brendan O’Malley from the Courier Mail set out to investigate options by interviewing the local state MP as well as a series of planning and business experts, including UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani: Dr Pojani questioned … Continue reading
Urban mobility must tackle an over-reliance on automobiles, which has led to both sprawl and inequity of access to amenities and opportunities, if it is to re-invent itself. Citizens, particularly in the Global South, are already spending on informal, often unregulated private transport. To learn about this and more, listen to: The Oblique Life Global … Continue reading
Rio to Brasilia, Seoul to Sejong, Old Cairo to New Cairo, Yangon to Naypyidaw, and now Jakarta to Nusantara. Climate mitigation in capital cities costs. Is building new ones the solution? UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani, author of Trophy Cities, talks to Ivy Lerner-Frank at the Globe and Mail (Canada) without mincing words. Read the full article: … Continue reading
A derelict Queenslander has been slated for demolition even though it should be protected under heritage regulations. The decision angering the local community, but Council says it’s damaged beyond repair. Dorina Pojani pitches in: https://mobile.twitter.com/9newsqueensland/status/1518872220529045504 Continue reading
GEMS held its first industry event of the year, a panel discussion on the 2032 Brisbane Olympics! Members had the privilege of listening to an engaging and diverse panel including Council Member Jonathan Sri and UQ|UP’s Sebastien Darchen, who provided invaluable insight and greatly contributed to this challenging conversation. The panel discussed topics like the … Continue reading
Outside of Brisbane, regional centres are booming. So why is there ‘not a lot’ for them in SEQ’s $1.8b City Deal? Read Laurel Johnson’s interview on ABC News: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-28/seq-public-transport-challenges/100939888 Continue reading
A month on from Queensland’s devastating flood disaster, thousands of families are attempting to rebuild as federal government funding for a joint support package remains up in the air. Build back better? Build back faster? Not build at all? Various experts from Queensland universities are interviewed, including UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani. Watch the full news clip: … Continue reading
If you had $285 million to make your neighbourhood more liveable, what would you spend it on? In southeast Queensland’s City Deal, there’s big ticket items – like the $450 million Brisbane Metro Woolloongabba Station or $210 million for affordable housing in Caboolture West. And then there’s $285 million dollars for a “Liveability Fund”. UQ|UP’s … Continue reading
The SEQ City Deal is great news for the development sector. It’s an exciting time to be a planner in Brisbane when there is all this money set aside for planning projects. But are we focusing too much on big-ticket transport items and neglecting smaller scale projects such as cycling networks and greenways? Read Dorina … Continue reading
Queensland floods raise questions about the ethical obligation of planners. Laurel Johnson says the planning industry needs to return to its roots of caring for the health and safety of urban residents. Read Laurel’s interview in The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/20/queensland-floods-raise-questions-about-the-ethical-obligation-of-planners-industry-figures-say Continue reading
The Hustle and Bustle is a series of conversations with city thinkers and shapers, focused on South East Queensland. The podcast is hosted by Nicole Bennetts, a passionate urbanist on the Gold Coast. The episodes are light hearted, conversational and inspiring. In Episode 18, Nicole interviews UQ|UP’s Dorina Pojani on one of her latest research … Continue reading
Indigenous knowledge systems are vital to the design of solutions to climate change — so why are Indigenous voices so rarely included in deliberations? The limits to meaningful Indigenous presence in climate change response events are more structural than simply the day-to-day politics of exclusion. While there is now a growing chorus of calls by … Continue reading
Devastating flooding is ongoing across Australia, where an area the size of Alaska with some 10 million people is at risk for excessive rainfall and storminess. The devastating floods come a little over a year after one of Australia’s worst fires seasons on record. From a planning perspective, an obvious suggestion is that housing shouldn’t … Continue reading
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