Against my better judgement I'll be watching @QandA tonight. Strap yourself in, I have no doubt we're going to see some absolutely incredible takes, and I'll be documenting my witnessing of those takes here. 🧵

https://twitter.com/PatsKarvelas/status/1833053885013123123

@QandA We're off, and PJ has established the contrast as being about superannuation dipping vs tax concessions after declaring that supply side measures "aren't going to get there", so we're off to a flying start before the credits.

I have a theory about why the Sydney Metro has been creating such a moment in the Discourse. Australia has always been in a state of transition, between where we are, and where we're going. Sydney Metro is a glimpse into that future - and how it could be could be very good. Australia woke up one morning and realised that we had actually built something world class. Not just good, but world leading, one of the most advanced urban transit systems globally, something far surpassing anything built in the US this century.

https://x.com/JosephPolitano/status/1825609977379303572

With both Victoria and NSW exploring pattern book designs with streamlined planning approval processes, it's time to discuss why this approach is good, and why @MissingMidCBR recommended the same for Canberra.

https://twitter.com/SydneyYIMBY/status/1707160079097860322

To begin with, imagine if we built cars the same way we built homes. Every car manufacturer would be an artisan craftsperson, making each car either custom just for you, or in small batches.

Alright, after some chat about decentralisation last night, How Canberra Became The Worst City for Transport in Australia Due to Urban Planner Driven Decentralisation, a thread.

To begin with, this is Canberra - a city ~40kms long and ~25kms wide, pop ~474,000 or so. Canberra is (as most people know) an incredible example of intentional urban sprawl. This happened chiefly because Peter Harrison, the NCDC chief planner in the 60s, really hated cities, apartment and terraces.

https://twitter.com/HowardFMaclean/status/1534098980334088192

This article is a work of art. It’s like someone distilled all of the left-coded NIMBY talking points in a single tract. Unfortunately, it’s not satire but it does give us an excellent opportunity to examine each of these points.

crikey.com.au/2023/06/13/hou… The YIMBY thesis is simple. We have planning rules that place either ban or restrict new housing in much of our cities. If we relaxed these rules, more housing would be built. This would lower rents compared to what they would otherwise be. Rundle says this is wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a thread about how heritage listing this building would be catastrophic to the sustainability, walkability, and prosperity of our city. Well, the Heritage Council has provisionally registered it, and folks its really bad. #Canberra #CBR #Urbanism 🧵

https://twitter.com/HowardFMaclean/status/1529006264558456832

Here’s a link to the Heritage Council’s reasons. There are 8 grounds for Heritage listing places in Canberra, and the Heritage Council found that this building only satisfied 1- ‘Importance to the course or pattern of the ACT’s cultural or natural history’
yoursayconversations.act.gov.au/former-commonw…

So there’s a nomination to heritage list 187 London Circuit - a vacant 3 story building built in 1967.If successful this will damage Canberra’s livability, sustainability, walkability, affordability, and prosperity. A🧵 to explain why. #CBR This site is zoned for CZ1 (core zone), with a known redevelopment intention to RL617 (the tallest buildings in civic can go) - it’s the highest density of use zone permissible in the inner north or south. Here it is on the left.

The @TheAtlantic has been doing some excellent work on NIMBYISM and it's costs over the past few months, and the latest piece from @AnnieLowrey is an absolute banger. #CBR #Urbanism

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… I can tell you that everything in this article is equally applicable to Canberra as it is to San Fran. In both, our planning debate skews very old, very wealthy and very white. And in both they have a large degree of power over what gets built.

Alright, I'm at the @InnerSouthACT public forum on the new planning bill. If you're a sane person that doesn't spend their evenings attending community forums about urban planning, feel free to follow along. #CBR @GreaterCanberra First up is Richard Johnston, the head of the Kingston Barton Resident group talking about his impression of the planning bill. The first substantive theme is about the concentration of powers in the Chief Planner.