The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-2012 have trigged a reappraisal of building policy and regulation – both for new buildings and existing buildings. This reappraisal is influenced by the recommendations of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission and currently being implemented by the earthquake-prone policy review of the Building Act 2004.

The profession of landscape architecture in Australia started to take shape from 1966 under the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA). Its emergence during a period of heightened environmental concern saw a range of disciplines unite with a mood of euphoria that was coupled with utopian visions. The profession’s battle for territory invariably hinged on...

Temporary urban spaces are gaining even more footing and acceptance on the political agenda as a result of their potential for creating eventful, cultural and creative urban environments. This political focus on temporary urban space is an indication of general urban regulations and development tendencies characterized by cultural planning, leisure, economy, collaborative planning and an...

This paper explores the complexity of suburbs, with a particular focus on the environmental benefits that they offer, to show that in some respects suburbs have been miscast as unsustainable. Suburban infill development in a provincial New Zealand city is then used to quantify the changes in a suburban environment as a result of infill...

The 1970s was a time of significant urban activism in Sydney. Most famously, Jack Mundey coined the term “green ban” to describe a movement bringing together property owners, public tenants, workers and ‘ordinary’ citizens to demand a say in planning. There is a well-worn historical narrative that provides us with the concrete achievements of the...