The Age

If jobs and services are reoriented and public transport rethought, sprawling cities like Melbourne can mitigate the consequences of dwindling energy supplies, argues a recent column.

Melbourne, Australia, has its own brand of suburban sprawl: suburbia without the space. A new comprehensive plan aims to address the woes of suburban Melbourne, but some say it doesn't go far enough.

Officials in Melbourne, Australia, are so frustrated with the city's lackluster planning process that they are pushing for the creation of a new planning authority -- one they hope will look at the "big picture".

Urban projects have resulted in the paving over of significant chunks of parkland in Melbourne, Australia -- land set aside more than 150 years ago to act as the city's lungs.

With government plans to increase the amount of land used for affordable housing in Melbourne, Australia, some say it's time for a regional planning entity.

The city of Melbourne, Australia, is on track to surpass Sydney as the country's most populated. But the expected population growth may push the city into a sprawling and unsustainable future.

An Australian planner has confessed to having a series of affairs with prominent developers and subsequently approving their plans for major developments.

Officials hope the new trial program will help increase the number of residents who join car sharing schemes.

Plans to extend Melbourne, Australia's already-extensive freeway system are short-sighted and illustrate the lack of true planning vision in the city, according to this column from The Age.

Planning and land use regulations are being blamed for Australia's high home prices, and also for the fact that four of its major cities are in a list of the 25 most unaffordable cities. Some feel planners are not planning with the people in mind.

As the population of western industrialized nations stabilizes, the world's largest and fastest growing cities will increasingly be located in poor, developing countries.

As a record-breaking drought leaves Melbourne dry, the government is considering imposing broad restrictions on water use. Water storage levels are now less than 43% and are expected to drop below 30% by March.

An editorial from a building industry leader criticizes the Australian government's simplistic thinking on increasing the production of affordable housing.

Artists in Melbourne, Australia, have been evicted as the city seeks to turn their studios into condos. The city likes the artist culture, but the artists cannot provide the higher rents the gentrifying city requires.

Architects, artists, urban planners, developers, designers and historians comment on the world's formerly most livable city, why it's lost the title and how to can reclaim it.

Elements of a new city council plan include an overall reduction in speed limit, a more streamlined tram system, and general opposition to increased road access for cars in the central business district.

The country is dominated by an unhealthy and chaotic system dominated by the car, argues a local planning professor.

Residents in a suburb north of Melbourne are still waiting for a promised transit extension.