Illustrating the trend to increasing vulnerability, this paper examines two case studies, South Eastern Australia and California USA, examines the potential effectiveness of land use planning as a means of reducing bushfire risk and argues the need for anticipatory planning to prevent an expansion of...

The design of environmentally-friendly buildings relies on the work of interdisciplinary teams who have to look at problems in a holistic way. Teams need to communicate, collaborate, and make decisions not solely based on first cost considerations. For this purpose, Target Value Design (TVD) related...

Traditionally, project controls translate to 'monitoring results'. In a true lean project, it is redefined as 'making things happen�, with a measured and improved planning process to assure reliable workflow and predictable project outcomes (Lean Construction Institute). By monitoring productivity, a Project Team can more...

This paper describes an approach for takt time planning (TTP) that was developed and tested on a pilot project in California. A companion paper by other authors describes their approach for TTP that they applied in a different project type-, commercial-, and geographical context. The...

The “gig economy” is one place where organizing outside of traditional trade unions is undoubtedly happening in surprising and perhaps unexpected ways. For example, on May 8, 2019, a group of independent app-based drivers in Los Angeles called the LA Rideshare Drivers United organized and...

The last two decades have seen a tremendous increase in the stringency of California’s building energy efficiency code, Title 24 Part 6. Along with these changes, the complexity of the code has increased dramatically, as different design options for building envelope, heating, ventilating and air...

In 1978, California adopted building codes designed to reduce the energy used for heating, cooling, and water heating in buildings. Using a rich dataset of hourly electricity consumption for 158,112 California houses during 2012-13, this paper estimates that single-family homes built from 1980 through 1982...

This background paper was prepared by the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute for the Eleventh Regional EST Forum in Asia. It discusses sustainable urban design and development for Asian cities, the co-benefits of sustainable urban design, and good practices and case studies from around the...

Recent reports on the “gig economy” create an impression that a dizzying mix of technological and competitive forces is fundamentally reworking the landscape of employment in the United States. A central aspect of this change is the perceived rise of independent contracting as an alternative...

Over the past two years, Uber has taken center stage in public debates about the future of work, driven by our collective anxiety about technology and growing economic insecurity. The concern is that workers increasingly do not have employers anymore and are facing lower wages...