“Australian households spend twice as much of income on mortgages than five years ago, report shows”. The only answer towards flattening the cost of dwellings ownership - highlighted by the graph below - is increased housing diversity; alternatives to houses. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Economics 101 from a cartoonist! A brilliant one nonetheless. And yet…. we repeatedly apply these strategies to making housing more affordable! 🤯 NOT REAL SOLUTIONS!

Interesting analogy to our current housing predicament. So what should be the new (more sustainable) rules of the game?

I stand with the em dash! Can’t live (or write) without it! Too valuable for connecting and elucidating ideas.

Must admit, that I didn’t think this building would eventuate. Promising to see greater use of timber structure as a meaningful strategy towards mitigating carbon emissions. But we’ve got a long way to go towards broad application and anything close to zero in construction.

An outline of a more democratic web from the person that gifted it to the world:

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the effectiveness of the NSW Low to Mid-rise (LMR) planning reforms and NSW Housing Pattern Book. These reforms have been touted as the ‘the most ambitious planning reform in decades’, but does the potential add up to the hype? You be the judge!

Shock. Developers will build where they can maximise profits. The Minns plan will not, repeat not, deliver affordable housing. www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Developers cant get their feasibility to stack up in parts if Sydney - if only there was a large entity who could exploit economies of scale, build innovative construction industries and deliver public housing to fill the gap…🤔

Quick audit of public land & public housing in Sydney - some wins, but so many more possible, too many opportunities lost www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

This does not mean there are not still bad housing policy ideas out there that should be challenged. But getting better housing policy is not as simple as overturning a particular ‘dominant view’ - if anything, it’s more about educating and compromising.

unit diversity of the kalkbreite initiative cooperative in zuerich sure is wildly different than anything in the US 97 homes - and vast majority are not studios or 1-bedrooms. family-sized homes... cluster apartments. abundant flex space. even a hotel

I think basically if the federal government doesn’t fund analyses of it the answer is “yeah nobody does their job.”

It was great chatting to @ginarush.bsky.social for today’s ABC Long Read. Our little ragtag crew at @greaterbrisbane.org have been trying to spin a new story about how our city could work. More than Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane’s been fixated on a suburban lifestyle that’s not sustainable anymore.

Planners here in Australia also fail to understand (or implement) this fundamental principle. Height and smaller side setbacks gives you consolidated landscape. Conversely; Restrict height (for the same FSR) and you get fat dark buildings on lots where there is little or no space for landscape.

With interest rates easing it seems we (or at least Brisbane) are reverting to our usual ways; ‘Sprawl or nothing’ (except TOD). And (in the case of Brisbane) the state government has eased its control over local council (Nimbyism). When will we learn?

This is bonkers. I moved to Vienna from the UK in January to a district that is entirely new-build. Within a 5 minute walk of my front door there are 4 supermarkets, a chemist, a doctor, 6 playgrounds, a park, a tram stop and at least 3 schools. Why is it so outlandish to expect the same in Britain?

@thenewcity.bsky.social you made it over! Just need to start posting!

Ok… it’s seemingly official. At 55 years of age, I am old! 🤯

An interesting overview of the issues surrounding permissibility of the NSW Pattern Book solutions. Suggests that Torrens Title is permissible as complying development. 1/2

The prominent economist Ken Henry spelling out the need to work within our environmental and biological constraints, and how that it the productive choice.

This seems unlikely to end well; Replacing (demolishing and rebuilding) social housing already pitifully at small proportions <3% with a mix of community and social housing is a step in the wrong direction. But regrettably governments in Australia have lost the nerve, will and skill to deliver.

Developers can choose whether to pay a $12k levy (that already applies) or build ‘roads, parks & schools’ as ‘in-kind’ payment. What could go wrong?!

Tightening up policy surrounding of the influence of lobbyists to curtail the big and currently undisclosed business interests would certainly help make policy more equitable and sustainable.

Eat your vege’s people! Well, not quite that simple, but disappointing how tenuous the connections to diet are stated given broader evidence.

Welcome @michaellewarne.bsky.social ! Just noticed the follow!

The previous generation (pre AI) were taught to assess and think critically about the information they source. The one before that rote taught from predetermined text books. The current one wants the work done for us without filters for accuracy. We’re training a generation of laggards and idiots.

Add it up! In NSW apartment areas are measured net within bounding walls …whereas Most other States use, even for planning, the Property Cl method that includes external walls & 1/2 party walls in calculations. See plans; 98.7m2 vs 107.8m2 It’s a ripoff! You can’t live in a wall! So why count it?

The plan is often under-appreciated in the fetish of features that accompanies contemporary explanations of Architecture. And, as pointed out, so often absent from the explanation of good projects.

The complexities and contradictions of [anticipated] lower interest rates exacerbating problems of housing affordability. Only silver lining is that it might induce greater supply by enabling developers to profit from higher prices. And so goes the merry go round!

There’s been discussion about whether a US-influenced ‘abundance’ agenda on infrastructure + housing applies to Australia, where our cities seem much less sclerotic. But in part, this is a sign of how often we exempt projects from ‘normal’ legal review and planning processes. 🧵

I was hoping that there would be greater (or at least as many) Greens in the new parliament to fight this misconception that the private sector can address the housing shortage. This post from last year seems ever more pertinent. But alas, little traction to address supply or affordability.

Interesting insights about the press its influence and purpose. Summary to all involved: Less, not more culture wars please! Then, the people and good governance will follow.

In the week following the weekend of the election, I’m so very glad that the US political playbook has failed here in Aus. The population has seemingly gravitated towards the centre but what is less clear in spite of this is why the Greens have lost out given their party’s policy platform?

Cultural differences in the share of young adults living at home are huuuuuge!

Great article and insights about the challenges of our time and the late run on neoliberalism. I’d like to think this may be it last gasping breath, but perhaps that is too optimistic a view. This would be a good time to pivot and test other models.

I’ve always been a bit conflicted about use of Meta’s platforms. This might help explain it. Meta “had become part of what reads like a diabolical cult run by emotionally stunted men babies, institutionally enabled sexual harassers and hypocritical virtue-signalling narcissists”

Bizarre how ‘free speech’, so heavily advocated by the right, is so readily dismantled by it when it challenges its interests; and authoritarianism and censorship creep in. I don’t get it! Complete lack of self awareness?

Necessity is often the driver of invention. An unusual but explicable connection between two seemingly unrelated things. History is full of them!

One of these is not like the others

Good overview of the ongoing challenges to Prefab as part of the broader solution to housing.

Another article by @grogsgamut.bsky.social demonstrating the unattainablity of a home in Australia - most acute it Sydney. As demonstrated, It is the escalating deposit that is the biggest barrier to home ownership. www.theguardian.com/business/gro...

A good look at how public transport has fared in Aussie cities over the decades. Would be interested to see these recut per capita! hotrails.net/2025/03/aust...

Good summary of the Stage 2 Low and Mid-rise housing policy by Enviro/Planning lawyers. More details required to understand full impact, but Low-Rise housing typologies other than landscape destroying ‘villa home’ development are unlikely to take in Councils where they have been reenabled. 1/3

One for the Housing geeks! NSW in particular. Not that there’s many of you here, but here goes anyway. About willful single discipline initiatives, ‘Pattern Books’, ineffective planning policy, and political abstinence. Honestly not sure how this one will land, but needs to be said.

‘Dutton urges RBA to resist pressure to cut rates’ 🤨 Now, why would he do that? Dutton literally wants to sacrifice people struggling with mortgages so that he has a political advantage He doesn’t care abt the plebs. He only cares abt himself. This is not the kind of man who should b in politics

“The Australian housing construction sector is only building half as many homes relative to the number of hours worked compared to 30 years ago” Or to put it differently, we need twice as much time/effort to build the same home as 30 years ago.

It seems these problems are universal. Low-rise housing in Sydney too does not stack up except perhaps as Torrens title terraces - if/where they could be enabled. Manor house (NSW version of a triplex/fourplex) simply does not stack up - except perhaps in greenfield locations if demand were there!

"when you confront people with real-world choices between an established home in an outer suburb, a townhouse in a middle suburb, or an apartment close to the city, many more people choose the apartment and townhouse option over the free-standing home, given what it offers them for the same price."

Great, discussion between @emfarrelly.bsky.social and independent MP @allegraspender.bsky.social re: the contributing factors to our housing crisis; and range of solutions needed [no silver bullets] that might start to redress the situation. Including: planning, process, costs, taxes, public housing