Affordable, accessible and sustainable transport and infrastructure are crucial to the economy and wellbeing of every community.
This briefing explores the requirement for local governments in all states to report past and projected future financial performance using financial sustainability indicators, suggesting that while this is a good thing in principle, we need to ensure that the indicators and any associated targets are appropriate.
As urban areas consolidate and densify, one challenge is to ensure the availability of adequate social infrastructure to service the population and cater for health and wellbeing. This briefing looks at the challenges of delivering social infrastructure that both meets the needs of growing populations and changing community need.
This briefing provides a discussion of the Draft Principles, and the background and context associated with current reform processes. It explores recent urban freight trends and the impacts of COVID-19 (and associated restrictions), and the potential longer-term implications thereof.
Recent major floods across areas of NSW and Queensland have again shown the exposure of Australians to natural hazards and disasters, along with the resilience of local communities. This briefing contains resources from the BNHCRC regarding flood responses.
In this briefing, SGS Economics & Planning’s Luke Nicholls provides an outline of the key changes to the development contributions system in NSW as a result of the State government accepting all 29 recommendations for significant reforms to the infrastructure contributions system made by the NSW Productivity Commissioner. This briefing is intended as a high-level…
This briefing explores local government’s potential role in decarbonization, looking at how councils can take action, along with some local government case studies. This briefing concludes with a framework for the development of a local action plan for emissions reduction.
This briefing, part of a series looking at the concept of a circular economy, explores the importance of understanding supply chains in order to effectively integrate circular economy goals with land use planning and economic development.
With lockdowns imposed across the globe, Covid-19 put a magnifying glass over local infrastructure – in many cases exposing gaps and inequality. The result has been renewed enthusiasm for 20-minute cities, which prioritise local access to services. In this bundle, we dive into the urban planning ideal to provide a local government perspective.
While the concept of the 20-minute neighbourhood has gained traction in recent years, where in the world has taken steps to achieve a practical application? This blog looks at global progress on achieving the model, looking at Melbourne, Paris, Seoul and more.
This briefing looks at how the provision of green infrastructure, including urban waterways and wetlands, can both stimulate the economy through ‘building back greener’ at the same time as helping to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss.