<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-5" data-turn="user" data-turn-id="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" data-turn-id-container="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" dir="auto">Time &amp; Place’s plans to transform the former David Jones factory building in Surry Hills into a mixed-use residential precinct have gone on exhibition through the NSW Government’s In-fill Affordable Housing pathway.</section>

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" dir="auto">
The Marlborough House proposal, lodged for the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marlborough-house-47-97-marlborough-street-surry-hills-nsw-2010">47-97 Marlborough Street</a> site, would see the adaptive reuse of the heritage-listed warehouse building alongside the construction of new residential additions and a separate apartment building on the northern portion of the site.

The proposal seeks approval for 172 apartments across three buildings, including 15 per cent affordable housing managed by a community housing provider for at least 15 years from occupation.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5d1d3c2a-bf13-47d6-a335-7c01102cdee1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=cjMYrbR.BLUlWH4dar0RVDDo0bG.u2YT" />

Interior view from the Northern Building Penthouse overlooking the park

&nbsp;

The redevelopment is planned for the prominent 3,413 sqm site bounded by Marlborough Street, Goodlet Street and Lansdowne Street, directly opposite Eddie Ward Park and around 200 metres from the Surry Hills light rail stop.

Time &amp; Place acquired the former David Jones building in 2024, marking the first time the property had changed hands in around 50 years.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal centres around the adaptive reuse of the former David Jones factory, originally constructed between 1913 and 1935 in the Inter-War Chicagoesque architectural style.

Wardle noted in its Architectural Design Report that the building “occupies a significant place in the industrial and cultural history of Surry Hills” and at its peak was “the largest department store manufacturing facility in Australia, employing over 800 people and fuelling the growth of Sydney’s fashion and retail industries.”

The practice said the project positions itself “not as an isolated intervention, but as a contributor to the civic, social, and architectural grain of the precinct.”

The proposal would deliver 75 apartments within the retained southern heritage building, 59 apartments within the central addition, and a further 38 apartments within the new northern building fronting Lansdowne Street.

Planning documents show the scheme would comprise a mix of heritage apartments, new-build apartments, townhouses and penthouses.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="57758518-40a3-4b83-958c-d06e96a2cffa" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.42%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=VerlX9ST5xgBi8.1_YRsqdWTJeT6ygjs" />Interior View of the Heritage Building Apartment

The development would also include a ground-floor retail tenancy on the corner of Marlborough and Lansdowne streets, rooftop communal open space, a landscaped pedestrian link along the western edge of the site, and basement parking accessed from Lansdowne Street via a car stacker system.

&nbsp;

The scheme emerged from a competitive design process run by Urbis, with Wardle ultimately selected as the winning architect ahead of FJC Studio, TZG, Architectus and Wilkinson Eyre.

The Design Integrity Panel later described several aspects of the Wardle scheme as fundamental to the project, including “the stepped character of the new addition to the north of the site”, the landscaped western pedestrian link, and the “garden arrival” experience separating the original Marlborough House from the heritage addition.

Wardle’s design heavily references the site’s industrial and heritage history, while also responding to the surrounding Surry Hills streetscape.

The Architectural Design Report describes Surry Hills as “a finely grained neighbourhood with beautiful and expressive brickworks throughout the suburb,” with the proposal introducing a material palette intended to sit comfortably alongside the existing warehouse fabric and neighbouring terraces.

The report also outlines the project’s relationship with Eddie Ward Park and the broader landscape context of the area.

“Marlborough House occupies a site of deep cultural memory and the neighbouring Eddie Ward Park is of local ecological significance, where natural systems, topography, and stories have long shaped human experience,” Wardle noted in the report.

The architects said the proposal sought to “rebind built form to Country” through landscape, materiality and the adaptive reuse of the heritage structure.

<img alt="Marlborough House" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ae3f2f9-c85f-477a-a6f8-b43f6cb97c41" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.53%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=B.qUCLqRvJOR.n9CvYcTpaknIX9LuqKZ" />

The project is also being progressed under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions, allowing developments that include affordable housing to access additional height and floor space incentives.

Under the plans, 2,593 sqm of the project’s floor space would be dedicated to affordable housing, slightly exceeding the required 15 per cent threshold.

In its Design Excellence Strategy, Urbis said the project aimed to “sensitively adapt and enhance the heritage-listed building on site through alterations and additions that preserve its historical significance” while delivering “high-quality market and infill affordable housing development in Surry Hills.”

Time &amp; Place has been one of the most active developers nationally in the last 12 to 24 months. Late last year they completed&nbsp;The Queensbridge in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>, a mixed-use tower with 353 apartments and a hotel. They are currently selling Park Modern, 246 apartments near the famous Botanic Gardens in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/south-melbourne-vic-3205">South Melbourne</a>, and have future projects, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-wilmot-173-burke-road-28-hope-street-glen-iris-vic-3146">The Wilmot</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/glen-iris-vic-3146">Glen Iris</a>, the redevelopment of the Northcote Plaza, and another tower in South Melbourne.

The developer broke into Sydney just a few years ago with Two Tides in Manly. They have another project nearby, which is at the ultra-luxury end of the market on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/shoreline-manly-beach-89-90-north-steyne-manly">North Steyne</a>, fronting the beach.

It is also continuing to work through the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-time-place-settles-on-design-for-the-chimes-potts-point-redevelopment">redevelopment of The Chimes building</a> on Macleay Street in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/potts-point-nsw-2011">Potts Point</a>, as well as a project on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/time-place-to-take-on-mosman-apartment-market">Mosman's Redan Street</a>.
</section>

Joel Robinson

First look: Time & Place unveils Marlborough House redevelopment designs for former David Jones warehouse in Surry Hills

The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.

The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.

The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.

Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.

The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.

The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.

Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.

Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.

The transformation of the St Kilda Rd boulevard is already beginning to materialise, with a number of high-profile projects recently completed, launched, or approaching launch as developers continue to back the long-term appeal of the precinct.

Among the most notable recent completions is Louise by Samuel Property Group, just off the strip on Queens Lane, the same pocket Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched The Queensbury. Mirvac is too on the same street with The Albertine, which is approaching completion.

Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.

Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

Environment

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Greening our cities has become one of the great <a href="https://newclimateeconomy.report/2018/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/09/NCE_2018_FULL-REPORT.pdf" target="_blank">global imperatives</a> of the 21st century including to tackle climate change. And Australia’s sprawling car-based cities are gradually changing to embrace green or living infrastructure.
Green cities bring together elements of architectural design and urban planning, often combining plants and built infrastructure to meet the needs of humans, such as our <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis" target="_blank">love of nature</a>.
Trees, plants, waterways and wetlands can deliver climate conditioning, cooling cities by reducing the urban heat island effect. They also absorb carbon dioxide, filter wastewater and create habitats.
Living elements can be incorporated with built infrastructure at a range of scales, from individual buildings with green walls and roofs, through to citywide strategies. And there are a <a href="http://www.curf.com.au/files/view/?id=633" target="_blank">suite of strategies</a> to guide more widespread integration of biological elements and ecological processes in cities.
In recent months, we <a href="https://mainstreaminggreeninfrastructure.com/reports/Barbara%20Norman%20mainstreaming%20GI%20in%20Australia.pdf" target="_blank">profiled Australian examples of living infrastructure</a> that show some of Australia’s approaches to developing green infrastructure, from greening Melbourne’s laneways to Canberra’s urban forest. These cities are already redesigning their water systems and implementing urban forest strategies to create green belts and protect and restore waterways.
Melbourne and Canberra provide some useful examples of the green cities movement, but to make it mainstream, these techniques need to be adopted widely through policies supporting more holistic and better integrated urban planning.
Why we need urban forests
Percival Alfred Yeoman was one of the first Australian pioneers of urban forestry. In 1971, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8870297?q&amp;versionId=12235056" target="_blank">he articulated</a> a clear vision for enhancing cities with trees.
Local governments in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, are implementing his ideas, committing to <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/about-the-vision/" target="_blank">ambitious increases in urban canopy cover</a>. Their targets range from 25% to 40%.
This <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/the-network/" target="_blank">revived interest in urban forestry</a> comes from its well documented potential for accelerating the transition to more climate adaptive cities.
The social, environmental and economic benefits of urban trees, or “ecosystem services”, are becoming better recognised, including for their recreational and cultural values.
<h2>Melbourne and Canberra are leading Australia’s green cities movement</h2>
<h3>Melbourne</h3>
Melbourne has a rich legacy of urban parks and green belts thanks to planning decisions made in the city’s early years.
These parks underpin a new wave of urban greening, with projects that aim to deliver action on climate change, biodiversity and the health and well-being of communities.
The Melbourne green infrastructure <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/greening-the-city/green-infrastructure/Pages/green-infrastructure.aspx" target="_blank">plan</a> includes: 
<ul>
<li>a “<a href="http://www.growinggreenguide.org/" target="_blank">growing green guide</a>” that provides practical advice to community and business groups on planning, design and maintenance of green infrastructure </li>
<li>the <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/%20greening-the-city/green-infrastructure/Pages/greeninglaneways.%20aspx">greening laneways strategy</a>, which builds on the commercial revitalisation of Melbourne’s laneways over three decades. Laneways with greening potential were mapped and demonstration project developed to display techniques for making them more vibrant green spaces for business, tourists and locals to enjoy</li>
<li>an <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/parks-openspaces/%20urban-forest/Pages/urban-forest-strategy.aspx" target="_blank">urban forest strategy</a>, with an overall target of 40% canopy cover by 2040. And 5 to 8 million trees will be planted over coming decades for the greater Melbourne metropolis.</li>
</ul>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RBtAUUzH7Uo?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" width="440" height="260"></iframe>
<h3>Canberra</h3>
Canberra is often described as “a city within a landscape” and the “bush capital”. But its higher altitude, hot dry summers and cold winters bring a set of challenges for green infrastructure.
With more than 800,000 planted trees, Canberra is an urban forest. But these trees require special care and attention given they are ageing and suffering from a hotter, drier climate.
Wildfire also represents a significant risk where urban and rural areas connect. This means Canberra needs urban forests that will cool the city in warmer months without also escalating wildfire risks.
The <a href="/news">ACT Government</a> has committed to action on climate change, legislating targets for 100% renewable electricity by 2020 and carbon neutrality (no net carbon emissions) by 2045.
Integrated approach needed to expand green cities
Greening cities requires a holistic approach – for instance, not leaving the health of waterways entirely to water engineers.
Greening cities is more than just a <a href="https://www.academia.edu/38053856/The_city_as_nature_and_the_nature_of_the_city_-_climate_adaptation_using_living_infrastructure_governance_and_integration_challenges" target="_blank">technical challenge</a>. Transforming the form and functions of urban systems, through urban forests and other living infrastructure, <a href="http://www.curf.com.au/files/view/?id=633" target="_blank">requires</a> greater leadership and political commitment, integrated planning and community participation, and long-term thinking.
An integrated approach to greening cities involves mapping diverse opportunities and mobilising support for change in the community. As an example, urban storm water can be a productive resource when used in constructed wetlands or to irrigate urban forests.
And often urban drainage lines and wastelands can be transformed into green spaces, but it’s worth recognising there is intense competition for space for housing.
But for more widespread adoption of integration, institutional support within local governments and metropolitan water and planning agencies is needed.
So to scale up living infrastructure in our urban landscapes, we must learn from local success stories, conduct more research, and better understand how to deal with climate adaptation and mitigation challenges.
Jason Alexandra, PhD candidate, RMIT University.
Jason Alexandra would like to gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Barbara Norman to this article.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119933/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-green-cities-to-become-mainstream-we-need-to-learn-from-local-success-stories-and-scale-up-119933" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

For green cities to become mainstream, we need to learn from local success stories and scale up

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Victoria has some of the most <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.pnas.org/content/106/28/11635" target="_blank">carbon-dense native forests</a> in the world. Advocates for logging these forests <a href="http://www.naturallybetter.com.au/carbon-and-environment" target="_blank">often argue</a> that wood products in buildings and furniture become long-term storage for carbon.
However, these claims are misleading. Most native trees cut down in Victoria become woodchips, pulp and pallets, which have short lifespans before going to landfill. In landfill, the wood breaks down and releases carbon back into the atmosphere.
On the other hand, our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/28/common-sense-littleproud-backs-victoria-plan-to-exit-logging-to-earn-carbon-credits" target="_blank">evolving carbon market</a> means Australia’s native forests are extremely valuable as long-term carbon stores. It’s time to recognise logging for short-lived wood products is a poor use of native forests.
The problem with logging native forests
Victoria has about 7.6 million hectares of <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/forests/forest-data#australian-forest-and-wood-products-statistics" target="_blank">native forests</a>. The most <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.pnas.org/content/106/28/11635" target="_blank">carbon-dense</a> areas are in ash forests, consisting of mountain ash, alpine ash and shining gum trees.
These forests can store up to 1,140 tonnes of carbon per hectare <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112704001343" target="_blank">for centuries</a>.
But around 1.82 million hectares of <a href="http://www.gazette.vic.gov.au/gazette/Gazettes2014/GG2014S405.pdf" target="_blank">Victorian native forests</a> are allocated to the government’s logging business, VicForests.
VicForests <a href="http://www.vicforests.com.au/static/uploads/files/report-vicforests-annual-report-2018-wfccxhsjgpfj.pdf" target="_blank">claims</a> logging is the only market for the large area of native forest allocated to it. In other words, its forests are exclusively valued as timber asset, in the same way a wheat crop would be exclusively valued for wheat grain production.
In Victorian native forests, industrial scale clearfell logging removes around <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/ES14-00051.1" target="_blank">40% of the forest biomass</a> for logs fit for sale.
The remaining 60% is debris, which is either burned off or decomposes – becoming a <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/ES14-00051.1" target="_blank">major source</a> of greenhouse gas emission.
Myth one: storing carbon in wood products
The first myth we want to address is logging native forests is beneficial because the carbon is stored in wood products. This argument depends on the proportion of forest biomass ending up in wood products, and how long they last before ending up in landfill.
On average, logs suitable to be sawn into timber make up only an average <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/forests/forest-data#australian-forest-and-wood-products-statistics" target="_blank">35% of total logs</a> cut from Victorian native forests.
Of this 35%, sawmills convert <a href="http://www.vafi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/vafi_investment_innovation_report2012.pdf" target="_blank">less than 40%</a> into sawn timber for building and furniture. Offcuts are woodchipped and pulped for paper manufacturing, along with sawdust sold to <a href="https://www.timberbiz.com.au/chickens-in-a-flap-over-heyfield/" target="_blank">chicken broiler sheds</a> for bedding.
Sawn timber equates to 14% of log volume cut from the forest. The remaining 84% of logs cut are used in short-lived and often disposable products like copy paper and pallets.
The lifespan of paper products is assumed to be <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061019205713/http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/ncas/reports/tech08" target="_blank">three years</a>. Although around <a href="https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Government/Victorian-Waste-data-portal/Interactive-waste-data-mapping/Waste-projection-model" target="_blank">75% of paper and cardboard </a>is recovered, recycling is growing more <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/state-government-must-act-to-fix-recycling-crisis-councils-urge-20190222-p50zos" target="_blank">uncertain</a> with recovered paper being sent to landfill.
The maximum lifespan of a timber pallet is <a href="http://vta.com.au/wp-content/files_mf/1505108242PalletSurveyReport2017.pdf" target="_blank">seven years</a>. At the end of their service, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827115000852" target="_blank">timber pallets</a> are sent to landfill, chipped for particleboard, reused for landscape mulch or burnt for energy generation.
Longer-lived wood products, such as the small proportion of native timber used in building and furniture, have a lifespan of around <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061019205713/http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/ncas/reports/tech08" target="_blank">90 years</a>. These wood products are used to justify logging native forests.
But at the end of their service life, the majority of these wood products also end up in landfill.
In fact, for the 500,000 tonnes of wood waste generated annually from building, demolition and other related commercial processes in Victoria, over two thirds end up in landfill, according to a Sustainability Victoria <a href="http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/-/media/resources/documents/publications-and-research/research/market-analysis/market-analysis-timber-sept-2014-pdf.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>.
Myth two: the need to log South East Asian rainforests
A second myth is using logs from Victorian native forests will prevent logging and degradation of rainforests across South East Asia, particularly for <a href="https://www.fwpa.com.au/images/resources/Amended_Final_report_C_native_forests_PNC285-1112.pdf" target="_blank">paper production</a>.
This is patently absurd. The wood from the Victorian plantation sector – essentially timber farms, rather than trees growing “wild” in native forests – could replace native forest logs used for paper manufacturing in Victoria several times over.
In fact, in 2016-17 89% of logs used to make wood pulp (pulplogs) for paper production in Victoria <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/forests/forest-data#australian-forest-and-wood-products-statistics" target="_blank">came from plantation trees</a>, with the majority of hardwood logs exported.
And Australia is a <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/abares/afwps-overview-mar-jun-2018.pdf" target="_blank">net exporter</a> by volume of lower-value unprocessed logs and woodchips.
Processing pulplogs from <a href="https://au.fsc.org/en-au" target="_blank">well managed</a> plantations in Victoria instead of exporting them would give a much needed jobs boost for local economies.
With most of these plantations established on previously cleared farmland, they offer one of the most robust ways for the land use sector to <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=csiro:EP113280&amp;dsid=DS6" target="_blank">off-set greenhouse gas emissions</a>.
Next steps
The time is right for Australian governments to develop a long-term carbon storage plan that includes intact native forests.
Logging results in at least 94% of a forest’s stored carbon ending up in the atmosphere. A maximum of 6% of its carbon remains in sawn timber, for up to 90 years (but typically much shorter). This is patently counterproductive from a carbon-storage point of view.
State-owned forest management companies, such as VicForests, can transition away from the timber business and begin managing forests for carbon storage. Such a concept is not new – the federal government has <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017L01038/Explanatory%20Statement/Text" target="_blank">already approved</a> a way to value the carbon storage of plantations.
The same must now be developed to better protect native forests and the large amounts of carbon they can store.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115054/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Chris Taylor, Research Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
David Lindenmayer, Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University<a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877"></a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/logged-native-forests-mostly-end-up-in-landfill-not-in-buildings-and-furniture-115054">original article</a>.
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Logged native forests mostly end up in landfill, not in buildings and furniture

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GUEST OBSERVATION 
Suburban affluence is the defining image of the good life under capitalism, commonly held up as a model to which all humanity should aspire.
More than half of the world’s population now lives in <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-2014" target="_blank">cities</a>. Yet with the global economy already in gross <a href="https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint/" target="_blank">ecological overshoot</a>, and a world population heading for more than <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017" target="_blank">11 billion</a>, this way of living is neither <a href="https://www.jasonhickel.org/the-divide/">fair</a> nor sustainable.
To live within our environmental means, the richest nations will need to embrace a planned process of economic “<a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-degrowth-economy-and-why-you-might-actually-enjoy-it-32224" target="_blank">degrowth</a>”. This is not an unplanned recession, but a deliberate downscaling of economic activity and the closely correlated consumption of <a href="https://beyondthisbriefanomaly.org/2018/10/18/carbon-civlisation-and-the-energy-descent-future-life-beyond-this-brief-anomaly/" target="_blank">fossil energy</a>. We don’t argue this is likely, only that it is necessary.
You might naturally assume this will involve pain and sacrifice, but we argue that a “<a href="https://griffithreview.com/wp-content/uploads/GR52_Alexander_Adcock-Ebook.FINAL_.pdf" target="_blank">prosperous descent</a>” is possible. Our new book, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9789811321306" target="_blank">Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary</a>, envisions how this might unfold in the suburban landscapes that are currently emblematic of overconsumption.
The well-known documentary <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446320/" target="_blank">The End of Suburbia</a> presented a coherent narrative of a post-petroleum future, but got at least one thing wrong. There is not a single end to suburbia; there are many ends of suburbia (as we know it).
Reimagining the suburbs beyond fossil fuels
Suburban catastrophists such as James Kunstler argue that fossil fuel depletion will turn our suburbs into urban wastelands. But we see the suburbs as an ideal place to begin retrofitting our cities.
This won’t involve tearing them down and starting again. Typically, Australia’s built environment is turned over at less than 5% per year. The challenge is to reinhabit, not rebuild, the suburban landscape. Here are some of the key features of this reinvigorated landscape:
<ul>
<li>
Suburbanites can and should <a href="https://retrosuburbia.com/" target="_blank">retrofit their homes and develop new energy practices</a> to prepare for an <a href="https://beyondthisbriefanomaly.org/2018/10/18/carbon-civlisation-and-the-energy-descent-future-life-beyond-this-brief-anomaly/" target="_blank">energy descent future</a>.
</li>
<li>
Households must be encouraged to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469540512444019?journalCode=joca" target="_blank">downshift consumerism</a>, swapping superfluous “stuff” for more free time and other sources of meaning and well-being. An <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com/Sufficiency-Economy-Enough-Everyone-Forever/dp/0994160615">economics of sufficiency</a> involves borrowing and sharing rather than always buying and upscaling.
</li>
<li>
We should reclaim and reimagine areas of the built environment that are misused or underused. The vast areas dedicated to <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/dead-space-in-the-city-the-true-scale-of-vacant-car-parking-revealed-20180626-p4znu3" target="_blank">car parking</a> are but one example.
</li>
<li>
Finally, and most importantly, we should realise that change must come via <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com/City-Grassroots-Cross-Cultural-California-Development/dp/0520047567" target="_blank">grassroots political organisation</a>, rather than waiting for growth-fixated governments to lead the way. This is not to deny the need for “<a href="/news">top-down</a>” structural change. Our argument is simply that the necessary action from governments will not arrive until there is an active culture of sufficiency that demands it.
</li>
</ul>
What social forces might produce this necessary but elusive urban transformation? We think it can be driven by two broad social groups: the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com/Loss-Happiness-Market-Democracies/dp/0300091060" target="_blank">disillusioned middle class</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-precariat-is-recruiting-youth-please-apply-10550" target="_blank">exploited working class</a>. These two groups, which already blur together along a spectrum, can potentially become a cohesive urban social movement of transformative economic and political significance.
The disillusioned middle class: radical downshifters
Our first groups consists of employed professionals, bureaucrats, and tradespeople who have secure housing, earn decent wages, and can direct significant portions of their income to discretionary spending. This sector of society participates, consciously or unconsciously, in what is often called “<a href="http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756384/obo-9780199756384-0135.xml" target="_blank">consumer culture</a>”.
This consumerism often <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/high-price-materialism" target="_blank">fails to fulfil its promise</a> of a rich and meaningful life. The consumer class has been sold a lie, and many affluent consumers are now developing what social scientist Ronald Inglehart calls “<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/materialism-and-post-materialism" target="_blank">post-materialist</a>” goals and values. This emerging way of life involves seeking purpose and satisfaction in life through things other than material riches, including deeper community engagement, more time to pursue private passions, or even increased political action.
This is significant, for three reasons. First, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-30427-8" target="_blank">history</a> shows that social movements tend to be sparked by dissatisfaction with the status quo – otherwise, why would people resist or seek alternatives? The <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/sociology/Affluenza-Clive-Hamilton-and-Richard-Denniss-9781741146714" target="_blank">deep disillusionment</a> with materialistic lifestyles provides an incentive to explore alternative, more satisfying ways to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28461433" target="_blank">live</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652611005142" target="_blank">self-provide</a>.
Second, by withdrawing their spending from the market economy, this emerging <a href="http://www.whpress.co.uk/EV/EV2214" target="_blank">social movement</a> can undermine that economy and fast-track its <a href="http://simplicityinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CrashOnDemandSimplicityInstitute.pdf" target="_blank">transformation</a>.
Finally, a “radical downshifting” in consumption could allow people to free up their time by working less. This will provide people with more <a href="http://samuelalexander.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/EthicalPerspectives.pdf" target="_blank">time to participate</a> in building <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Creative-Class-Transforming-Community/dp/1469281422" target="_blank">new forms</a> of economy and engaging in collective action for change. The “voluntary simplicity movement” already numbers as many as <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469540512444019?journalCode=joca" target="_blank">200 million people</a>, although its potential depends on more organised and radical expressions.
The exploited working class: economic builders
Radical downshifters will never transform the economy on their own, and this is where our second group comes in. Working-class urbanites, while also drifting into superfluous consumption, are typically characterised as individuals and households who are “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-precariat-is-recruiting-youth-please-apply-10550" target="_blank">battling</a>” to make ends meet.
Again, a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo provides the incentive to seek and participate in <a href="https://theconversation.com/karl-marx-wouldnt-agree-that-worker-power-has-been-killed-by-the-21st-century-95982" target="_blank">fundamental change</a>. We are often told that Australia’s economy has grown uninterrupted for a quarter-century, yet many people feel their personal circumstances have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/02/who-is-to-blame-for-australias-stalled-wages" target="_blank">stagnated</a>.
There has indeed been growth, yet almost all the benefits have been siphoned away by the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/8/16112368/piketty-saez-zucman-income-growth-inequality-stagnation-chart" target="_blank">wealthy</a>. Why would the working class owe any allegiance to a system that only benefits the rich? As the battlers realise they are being oppressed and duped by an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/richest-men-in-the-world-2274065153" target="_blank">unjust system</a>, they threaten to become a dynamite class of explosive <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com.au/Precariat-New-Dangerous-Class/dp/1472536169" target="_blank">potential</a>.
As economic crises threaten to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com.au/Can-Avoid-Another-Financial-Crisis/dp/1509513736" target="_blank">intensify</a> in coming years – including the challenge of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/automation-4443" target="_blank">automation</a> – we maintain that the exploited working class may be driven to explore alternative ways to self-provide. As incomes become more meagre and jobs less secure, more people will need to seek alternative ways of meeting economic needs “beyond the market”.
Whether through necessity or choice, we foresee a growing number of people beginning to participate in informal, non-monetary, and <a href="https://www.localfutures.org/wp-content/uploads/Post-growth-Localisation.pdf" target="_blank">local</a> economies, including the <a href="https://www.sharing.org/information-centre/articles/sharing-economy-short-introduction-its-political-evolution" target="_blank">sharing economy</a>. Just as radical middle-class downshifters will help stifle economic growth by withdrawing their discretionary spending, those who are less affluent could begin to lay alternative economic foundations, and provide a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Take-Back-Economy-Transforming-Communities/dp/0816676070/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1531972992&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=take+back+the+economy" target="_blank">post-capitalist social safety net</a>.
Working together
We contend that these two social groups – the disillusioned middle class and the exploited working class – can conceivably form a cohesive movement with similar goals. The capitalist system isn’t working for many people, even those who are “winning” the rat race. Furthermore, historic growth trajectories seem to be coming to an end, due to both <a href="http://limits2growth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/AETW-Policy-Briefing-No-1-digital.pdf" target="_blank">financial</a> and <a href="/news">ecological</a> constraints.
Already, a diverse range of movements are working towards a new urbanity. These include <a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-reap-the-economic-benefits-of-local-food-over-big-farming-24478" target="_blank">local farmers’ markets</a> and community and home <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-time-to-resurrect-the-wartime-grow-your-own-campaign-66337" target="_blank">gardens</a>, <a href="https://3000acres.org/" target="_blank">urban agriculture projects</a>, freecycling groups, <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745334226/small-is-necessary/" target="_blank">sharing communities</a>, and repair cafes. It also includes the growing pool of climate activists, <a href="https://350.org/" target="_blank">divestment</a> organisers, <a href="https://www.retrosuburbia.com/" target="_blank">permaculture</a> groups, <a href="http://samuelalexander.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Transition-Movement-Samuel-Alexander.pdf" target="_blank">transitions towns</a>, and progressive <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/green-bans-red-union-meredith-burgmann/prod9781742235400" target="_blank">unions</a>.
There is the small but vocal “<a href="https://www.saveoursuburbs.org.au/" target="_blank">save our suburbs</a>” network, in which we see the seeds of something more progressive. And it includes the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeNaMlibiak" target="_blank">energy frugal households</a> quietly moving towards solar, batteries and increased energy self-suffiency. One by one, these households are <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/rooftop-solar-may-overtake-coal-by-2040-and-save-billions-20657/" target="_blank">undermining</a> the fossil fuel industry and subtly disrupting the status quo.
As financial and ecological crises deepen in coming years, the social consciousness needed to develop new systems of production and cultures of consumption will become compelling. Together these social groups (and others not yet imagined) could form an urban social movement that withdraws support for the existing system and begins building <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Take-Back-Economy-Transforming-Communities/dp/0816676070/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1531972992&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=take+back+the+economy" target="_blank">new economies</a> on our suburban streets.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108496/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/samuel-alexander-102353" target="_blank">Samuel Alexander</a>, Research fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722" target="_blank">University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-gleeson-9823" target="_blank">Brendan Gleeson</a>, Director, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722" target="_blank">University of Melbourne</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-suburbs-are-the-spiritual-home-of-overconsumption-but-they-also-hold-the-key-to-a-better-future-108496" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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The suburbs hold the key to a better future: Samuel Alexander & Brendan Gleeson

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Soil is a non-renewable part of the environment. Can it sustain food production for our growing population?
It takes a lot to make a room of soil scientists gasp.
Last month, I presented at the <a href="http://soilscienceconference.org.au/" target="_blank">National Soils Conference</a> in Canberra, and asked 400 colleagues a simple question: do you think soil will play as significant a role in food production in 100 years as it does today?
A sea of hands went up: the consensus was clearly “yes”. I demurred, saying I’m not so sure.
Gasps rippled across the room. Why say that? You’re a soil scientist! Are you crazy?
A century is a long time. Most of our scientific horizons seem no more than a decade or two away. But how we manage food and our environments needs very long-term, inspired thinking.
Within my concern about whether the future of food production is on terra firma, there is also a hope.
That hope rests in the desire that there will be adequate, quality food for all of the 10 billion, 15 billion or 20 billion people in the future. To achieve that, perhaps we don’t need to rely on the our planet’s thin skin of soil after all.
Future farming
We already see the advance of vertical and hydroponic farming, and the potential for growing meat-like protein in the lab. Synthetic biology is one way forward.
We have seen the advances of hydroponic farming.<a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hydroponic-farm-153790559?src=LJEAtFK80lQ9mtfEm-Fw-Q-1-9"> </a>
So will we have the technological know-how, and will we be able to afford the infrastructural investment to produce all our food away from natural soil within a century?
Technologically we would like to think this is possible. But will we have the need? Do we have the will?
There are two predominant modern movements in relation to food. The first is the ethical and environmental movement, which holds that food should be produced without harm to the environment or perhaps even to animals. Soil is an important – and non-renewable – part of the environment. This raises the crucial question of whether it can continue to sustain the world’s growing population.
Alongside this is the slow food movement, with its concern for the production of high-quality food of known provenance. It’s sometimes called “paddock to plate” or “field to fork”.
Already, modern food production techniques to manage energy and water use can potentially give 10 times the yield per unit area that normal field conditions provide. This could be transferred to vertical growing spaces, 100 units high.
That alone means we would need just 0.1% of the land area we use now for food production. This could free up huge tracts of land to allow soil to recover from degradation, restoring ecosystems across the planet. It would represent a high-tech answer to the question of environmental ethics.
Returning areas of soil currently used for food production back to native vegetation could help us conserve wildlife, defend against floods, and provide natural buffer areas that can filter water and cycle nutrients. Locations may include soils in rainforests with copious biodiversity and voluminous water-cycling capability, or wetlands upstream of cities prone to flooding.
In Australia, the decline of carbon in cropping lands, soil erosion and nutrient imbalances continue largely unchecked and unabated.
This approach is not necessarily incompatible with the slow food movement. Indeed, it could actually help the movement achieve its goals, because it would take the pressure off the world’s soils, thus ensuring there is enough high-quality soil left to pursue high-quality ethical production.
More food for more people
The United Nations Food &amp; Agricultural Organisation predicts a need to double agricultural production by 2050 to meet the demand of an estimated population of 9.5 billion. This must be done while simultaneously maintaining functioning ecosystems; therefore securing soils and their life-supporting functions have never been more crucial.
In Australia, while soil care has improved, it is not yet sustainable. Widespread soil acidification and the decline of carbon in cropping lands, soil erosion and nutrient imbalances continue largely unchecked and unabated. With the new approach the appropriate soil and terroir could be dedicated to high-quality sustainable bespoke food and wine production.
The great loessial soils of North America, Russia and Ukraine are often regarded as the best in the world – they could be managed sustainably for the production of cereals for centuries to come. Even some of these most food-productive soils could be returned to their former pre-agricultural state. In Australia our famous red-brown earths might be more useful for forestry than being pressed into service for cereal production.
That said, the infrastructural costs of producing food entirely without soil will be enormous. It’s more likely we will land on a blended solution that combines highly engineered growing spaces and “under the sky” soil-based agriculture.
Over the coming century, our challenge will be to move away from our almost total reliance on soil – that mutable and vital thin skin of the earth – to allow large tracts of our most vulnerable soils to repair. Healing our wounded soils will be an important step on the road to global sustainability.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108049/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alex-mcbratney-129" target="_blank">Alex McBratney</a>, Professor of Digital Agriculture &amp; Soil Science; Director, Sydney Institute of Agriculture, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841" target="_blank">University of Sydney</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-100-years-time-maybe-our-food-wont-be-grown-in-soil-108049" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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In 100 years' time, maybe our food won't be grown in soil:  USYD's Alex McBratney

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EXPERT OBSERVER
Urgent and radical change in urban transport policies and practices will benefit the planet and future generations.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently warned that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/how-the-un-climate-panel-ipcc-got-to-15c-threshold-timeline" target="_blank">global warming could reach 1.5℃ as early as 2030</a>. The landmark <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/">report</a> by leading scientists urged nations to do more to avert an impending crisis.
<a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/8/17948832/climate-change-global-warming-un-ipcc-report" target="_blank">We have 12 years</a>, the report said, to contain greenhouse gas emissions. This includes serious efforts to reduce transport emissions. 
In Australia, transport is the <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/transport-fact-sheet/" target="_blank">third-largest source of greenhouse gases</a>, accounting for around <a href="/news">17% of emissions</a>. Passenger cars account for <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/transport-fact-sheet/" target="_blank">around half of our transport emissions</a>.
The transport sector is also one of the strongest factors in emissions growth in Australia. Emissions from transport have <a href="/news">increased nearly 60% since 1990</a> – <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/transport-fact-sheet/" target="_blank">more than any other sector</a>. Australia is ranked <a href="https://aceee.org/research-report/i1801" target="_blank">20th out of 25 of the largest energy-using countries for transport energy efficiency</a>.
Cities around the world have many opportunities to reduce emissions. But this requires renewed thinking and real commitment to change.
Our planet can’t survive our old transport habits
Past (and still current) practices in <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-infrastructure-plan-has-some-way-to-go-to-give-our-cities-what-they-need-54954" target="_blank">urban and transport planning</a> are fundamental causes of the transport problems we face today.
Over the past half-century, cities worldwide have <a href="https://theconversation.com/density-sprawl-growth-how-australian-cities-have-changed-in-the-last-30-years-65870" target="_blank">grown rapidly, leading to urban sprawl</a>. The result was high demand for motorised transport and, in turn, increased emissions.
The traffic gridlock on roads and motorways was the catalyst for most transport policy responses during that period. The solution prescribed for most cities was to <a href="https://theconversation.com/stuck-in-traffic-we-need-a-smarter-approach-to-congestion-than-building-more-roads-84774" target="_blank">build out of congestion by providing more infrastructure for private vehicles</a>. Limited attention was given to <a href="https://theconversation.com/on-the-road-research-can-improve-transport-across-australia-43643" target="_blank">managing travel demand</a> or improving other modes of transport.
Equating mobility with building more roads nurtured a tendency towards increased motorisation, reinforcing an ever-increasing inclination to expand the road network. The result was a range of unintended adverse <a href="http://www.oecd.org/economy/rethinking-urban-sprawl-9789264189881-en.htm" target="_blank">environmental, social and economic consequences</a>. Most of these are rooted in the high priority given to private vehicles.
What are the opportunities to change?
The various strategies to move our cities in the right direction can be grouped into four broad categories: avoid, shift, share, and improve. Major policy, behaviour and technology changes are required to make these strategies work.
Avoid strategies aim to slow the growth of travel. They include initiatives to reduce trip lengths, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-and-diversity-apartments-are-australia-at-its-most-multicultural-97176" target="_blank">high-density</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-place-to-live-work-and-play-why-mixed-use-developments-are-making-a-comeback-73142" target="_blank">mixed land use developments</a>. Other options decrease private vehicle travel – for example, through car/ride sharing and <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/12/how-to-fix-traffic-congestion-in-australia/" target="_blank">congestion pricing</a>. And <a href="https://theconversation.com/go-forth-and-telework-but-will-it-work-for-you-10682" target="_blank">teleworking</a> and e-commerce help people avoid private car trips altogether.
Shanghai’s Hongqiao transport hub is a unique example of an <a href="https://uic.org/cdrom/2013/nextstation/doc/proceedings/3Ajianping.pdf" target="_blank">integrated air, rail and mixed land use development</a>. It combines Hongqiao’s airport, metro subway lines, and regional high-speed rail. A low-carbon residential and commercial <a href="https://www.usgbc.org/articles/building-shanghai-tomorrow-hongqiao-cbds-low-carbon-transportation-hub">precinct</a> surrounds the hub.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246775/original/file-20181122-161609-x8oxhj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246775/original/file-20181122-161609-x8oxhj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Layout of Shanghai Hongqiao integrated transport hub.<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Layout-of-Shanghai-hongqiao-integrated-transport-hub-SHITH_fig1_309453749"> </a>
Shift strategies encourage travellers to switch from private vehicles to public transport, walking and cycling. This includes improving bus routes and service frequency.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stuck-in-traffic-we-need-a-smarter-approach-to-congestion-than-building-more-roads-84774" target="_blank">Pricing strategies</a> that discourage private vehicles and encourage other modes of transport <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/jonas_eliasson_how_to_solve_traffic_jams" target="_blank">can also be effective</a>. Policies that include <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/02/norway-electric-cars-subsidies-fossil-fuel" target="_blank">incentives</a> that make electric vehicles more affordable have been shown to encourage the shift.
Norway is an undisputed world leader in electric vehicle uptake. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/25/norway-leads-way-electric-cars-green-taxation-shift" target="_blank">Nearly a third of all new cars sold in 2017 were a plug-in model</a>. The electric vehicle market share was expected to be as much as 40% within a year.
An electric vehicle charging station in the Norwegian capital Oslo. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/electric-car-charging-station-oslo-eco-670494520?irgwc=1&amp;utm_medium=Affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=TinEye&amp;utm_source=77643&amp;utm_term="> </a>
Share strategies affect car ownership. New sharing economy businesses are already moving people, goods and services. Shared mobility, rather than car ownership, is providing city dwellers with a real alternative.
This trend is likely to continue and will pose significant challenges to car ownership models.
Uber claims that its <a href="https://www.uber.com/en-IN/blog/mumbai/onestepforward-with-uberpool/" target="_blank">carpooling service in Mumbai</a> saved 936,000 litres of fuel and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2,662 metric tonnes within one year. It also reports that <a href="http://www.cityam.com/242760/uber-reveals-london-ride-sharing-figures-for-uberpool" target="_blank">UberPool in London</a> achieved a reduction of more than 1.1 million driving kilometres in just six months.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244778/original/file-20181109-35554-ym7dj5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
UberPool is available in inner Melbourne suburbs. Trip must begin and end in this area.
Improve strategies promote the use of technologies to optimise performance of transport modes and <a href="https://theconversation.com/intelligent-infrastructure-when-roads-and-vehicles-talk-to-each-other-7865" target="_blank">intelligent infrastructure</a>. These include <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/03/why-our-cities-need-smart-transport/" target="_blank">intelligent transport systems</a>, urban information technologies and emerging solutions such as <a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/files/urban-mobility-system-upgrade" target="_blank">autonomous mobility</a>.
Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23249935.2018.1528485?journalCode=ttra21" target="_blank">research</a> shows that sharing 80% of autonomous vehicles will reduce net emissions by up to 20%. The benefits increase with wider adoption of autonomous shared electric vehicles.
Autonomous vehicles can offer first- and last-kilometre solutions, especially in outer suburbs with limited public transport services. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/iot-smart-automotive-driverless-car-artificial-794528215?irgwc=1&amp;utm_medium=Affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=TinEye&amp;utm_source=77643&amp;utm_term="> </a>
The urgency and benefits of steering our cities towards a path of low-carbon mobility are unmistakable. This was recognised in the past but progress has been slow. Today, the changing context for how we build future cities – smart, healthy and low-carbon – presents new opportunities.
If well planned and implemented, these four interventions will collectively achieve transport emission reduction targets. They will also improve access to the jobs and opportunities that are preconditions for sound economic development in cities around the world.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106076/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hussein-dia-110689" target="_blank">Hussein Dia</a>, Chair, Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767" target="_blank">Swinburne University of Technology</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-our-cities-can-cut-transport-emissions-in-a-hurry-avoid-shift-share-and-improve-106076" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Four ways our cities can cut transport emissions in a hurry

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Just 20 countries are home to 94% of the world’s remaining wilderness, excluding the high seas and Antarctica, according to our new global wilderness map, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07183-6" target="_blank">published today in Nature</a>.
A century ago, wilderness extended over most of the planet. Today, only 23% of land – excluding Antarctica – and 13% of the ocean remains free from the harmful impacts of human activities.
More than 70% of remaining wilderness is in just five countries: Australia, Russia, Canada, the United States (Alaska), and Brazil.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243402/original/file-20181101-173902-1xqqmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243402/original/file-20181101-173902-1xqqmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The last of the wild. Remaining marine wilderness is shown in blue; terrestrial wilderness in green. Watson et al. 2018
We argue that wilderness can still be saved. But success will depend on the steps these “mega-wilderness nations” take, or fail to take, to secure the future of Earth’s last remaining wild places.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243401/original/file-20181101-173884-1ai76gk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243401/original/file-20181101-173884-1ai76gk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Mega-wilderness countries. James Allan, Author provided
Wilderness areas are vast tracts of untamed and unmodified land and sea. Regardless of where they are – from the lowland rainforests of Papua New Guinea, to the high taiga forests of Russia’s Arctic, to the vast deserts of inland Australia, to the great mixing zones of the Pacific, Antarctic and Indian Oceans – these areas are the last strongholds for endangered species, and perform vital functions such as storing carbon, and buffering us against the effects of climate change. In many wilderness areas, indigenous peoples, who are often the most politically and economically marginalised of all peoples, depend on them for their livelihoods and cultures.
Yet despite being important and highly threatened, wilderness areas and their values are completely overlooked in international environmental policy. In most countries, wilderness is not formally defined, mapped or protected. This means there is nothing to hold nations, industry, society and community to account for wilderness conservation.
Beyond boundaries
Almost two-thirds of marine wilderness is in the high seas, beyond nations’ immediate control. This effectively makes it a marine wild west, where fishing fleets have a free-for-all. There are some laws to manage high-seas fishing, but there is no legally binding agreement governing high-seas conservation, although the United Nations is currently negotiating such a treaty. Ensuring marine wilderness is off-limits to exploitation will be crucial.
And we cannot forget Antarctica, arguably Earth’s greatest remaining wilderness and one of the last places on the planet where vast regions have never experienced a human footfall.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243408/original/file-20181101-173887-31cpf9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243408/original/file-20181101-173887-31cpf9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Antarctica, the (almost) untouched continent. Author provided
While Antarctica’s isolation and extreme climate have helped protect it from the degradation experienced elsewhere, climate change, human activity, pollution, and invasive species increasingly threaten the continent’s wildlife and wilderness.
Parties to the <a href="https://ats.aq/e/ats_keydocs.htm" target="_blank">Antarctic Treaty</a> must act on their commitments to help reduce human impacts, and we need to urgently curb global carbon emissions before it is too late to save Antarctica.
Our maps show how little wilderness is left, and how much has been lost in the past few decades. It is hard to believe, but between 1993 and 2009 a staggering 3.3 million square kilometres of terrestrial wilderness – an area larger than India – was lost to human settlement, farming, mining and other pressures. In the ocean, the only regions free of industrial fishing, pollution and shipping are confined to the poles or remote Pacific island nations.
Saving wilderness
Almost every nation has signed international environmental agreements that aim to end the biodiversity crisis, halt dangerous climate change, and achieve global sustainable development goals. We believe Earth’s remaining wilderness can only be secured if its importance is immediately recognised within these agreements.
At a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.cbd.int/conferences/2018" target="_blank">summit in Egypt</a> later this month, the 196 signatory nations to the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/" target="_blank">Convention on Biological Diversity</a> will work alongside scientists on developing a strategic plan for conservation beyond 2020. This is a unique opportunity for all nations to recognise that Earth’s wilderness are dwindling, and to mandate a global target for wilderness conservation.
A global target of retaining 100% of all remaining wilderness is achievable, although it would require stopping industrial activities like mining, logging, and fishing from expanding to new places. But committing explicitly to such a target would make it easier for governments and non-governmental organisations to leverage funding and mobilise action on the ground in nations that are still developing economically.
Similarly, the role of wilderness in guarding against climate change – such as by storing huge amounts of carbon – could also be formally documented in the <a href="https://unfccc.int/" target="_blank">UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)</a>, which holds its <a href="https://unfccc.int/katowice" target="_blank">annual conference</a> in Poland next month. This would incentivise nations to make wilderness protection central to their climate strategies.
Mechanisms such as <a href="https://redd.unfccc.int/" target="_blank">REDD+</a>, which allows developing nations to claim compensation for conserving tropical forests they had planned to clear, could be extended to other carbon-rich wilderness areas such as intact seagrasses, and even to wildernesses in rich countries that do not receive climate aid, such as the Canadian tundra.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243394/original/file-20181101-173890-ksm1n1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243394/original/file-20181101-173890-ksm1n1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The Boreal/Taiga Forest holds one third of the world’s terrestrial carbon. Keith Williams, Author provided
Nations have ample opportunities, through legislation and rewarding good behaviour, to prevent road and shipping lane expansion, and enforcing limits on large-scale developments and industrial fishing in their wilderness areas. They can also establish protected areas to slow the spread of industrial activity into wilderness.
A diverse set of approaches must be embraced, and the private sector must work with governments so that industry protects, rather than harms, wilderness areas. Key to this will be lenders’ investment and performance standards, particularly for organisations such as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the regional development banks.
Our planet faces not just a species extinction crisis, but also a wilderness extinction crisis. Once lost, our wild places are gone forever. This may be our last opportunity to save the last of the wild, we cannot afford to miss it.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106072/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
James Allan, Postdoctoral research fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
James Watson, Professor, The University of Queensland; Jasmine Lee, PhD candidate, biodiversity conservation and climate change, The University of Queensland,\
Kendall Jones, PhD candidate, Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/earths-wilderness-is-vanishing-and-just-a-handful-of-nations-can-save-it-106072" target="_blank">original article</a>.
Main photo: Brazil, home to the Amazon, is one of just five ‘mega-wilderness’ countries. CIFOR, Author provided
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Earth’s wilderness is vanishing, and just a handful of nations can save it

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack last week suggested the government would look at changing the law to allow water to be taken from the environment and given to farmers struggling with the drought.
This is a bad idea for several reasons. First, the environment needs water in dry years as well as wet ones. Second, unilaterally intervening in the way water is distributed between users undermines the water market, which is now worth billions of dollars. And, third, in dry years the environment gets a smaller allocation too, so there simply isn’t enough water to make this worthwhile.
In fact, the growing political pressure being put on environmental water holders to sell their water to farmers is exactly the kind of interference that bodies such as the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder were established to avoid.
The environment always needs water
The ongoing sustainable use of rivers is based on key ecosystem functions being maintained, and this means that environmental water is needed in both wet and dry years. The objectives of environmental watering change from providing larger wetland inundation events in wet years, to maintaining critical refuges and basic ecosystem functions in dry years.
Prolonged dry periods cause severe stress to ecosystems, such as during the Millennium Drought when many Murray River red gums were sickened by salinity and lack of water. Environmental water is essential for ecosystem survival during these periods.
Under existing rules, environmental water holders can sell and buy water so as to deliver maximum benefits at the places and times it is most needed.
But during dry years the environmental water holders receive the same water allocations as other users. So it’s very unlikely there will be any “spare” water during drought. During a dry period, the environment is in urgent need of water to protect endangered species and maintain basic ecosystem functions.
We should be cautious when environmental water is sold during drought, as this compromises the ability of environmental water holders to meet their objectives of safeguarding river health. When the funds from the sale are not used to mitigate the loss of the available water to the environment, this is even more risky.
Secure water rights support all water users
In response to McCormack’s suggestion, the National Irrigators’ Council argued that compulsorily acquiring water from the environment can actually hurt farmers who depend on the water market as a source of income or water during drought.
Water markets are underpinned by clear legal rights to water. In other words, the entitlements the environment holds are the same as those held by irrigators. If the government starts treating environmental water rights as barely worth the paper they’re printed on, farmers would have every reason to fear that their own water rights might similarly be stripped away in the future.
Maintaining the integrity of the water market is important for all participants who have chosen to sell water, based on reasonable expectations of how prices will hold up.
Can taking environmental water actually help farmers?
As federal Water Resources Minister David Littleproud noted this week, environmental water is only about 8% of total water allocations in storage throughout the Murray Darling Basin. In the southern basin, it is still only about 14%. This means that between 86% and 92% of water currently sitting in storage is already allocated to human use, including farming.
There are calls for the Commonwealth government to treat the drought as an emergency and to take (or “borrow”) water from environmental water holders. But the Murray-Darling Basin Plan already has specific arrangements in place for emergencies in which critical human water needs are threatened.
The current situation in New South Wales is not an emergency under the plan. Water resources across the northern Murray-Darling Basin are indeed low, but storages in the southern basin are still 50-75% full. Although many licence holders in NSW received zero water in July’s round of allocations, high-security water licences are at 95-100%. In northern Victoria, most high-reliability water shares on the Murray are at 71% allocation.
The situation can therefore be managed using existing tools, such as providing direct financial support to farming communities and buying water on the water market.
Environmental water is an investment, not a luxury
As Australia’s First Nations have known for millennia, a healthy environment is not an optional extra. It underpins the sustainability and security of the water we depend on. When river flows decline, the water becomes too toxic to use.
Water has been allocated to the environment throughout the Murray-Darling Basin to prevent the catastrophic blue-green algal blooms and salinity problems we have experienced in the past. If we want safe, secure water supplies for people, livestock and crops, we need to keep these key river ecosystems alive and well during the drought.
In the past decade alone, Australia has spent A$13 billion of taxpayers’ money to bring water use in the Murray-Darling Basin back to sustainable levels. If we let our governments treat the environment like a “water bank” to spend when times get tough, this huge investment will have been wasted.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103238/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Erin O'Donnell, Senior Fellow, Centre for Resources, Energy and Environment Law, University of Melbourne
Avril Horne, Research fellow, Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/giving-environmental-water-to-drought-stricken-farmers-sounds-straightforward-but-its-a-bad-idea-103238" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Giving environmental water to drought-stricken farmers sounds straightforward, but it’s a bad idea

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The Great Barrier Reef has experienced extensive coral bleaching over the past two years. Faced with this reality, scientists are proposing a range of options to save the reef.
A recent conference showcased new possibilities for enhancing Reef resilience, including boosting coral abundance and geoengineering techniques that would manipulate local conditions to reduce ocean temperatures.
These geoengineering approaches carry their own risks, and require careful management, even at the research and field testing stages.
Technology is needed to buy the reef time
Climate change is affecting the reef through bleaching events, species redistribution, and ocean acidification. Stabilising environmental conditions “to protect current reef biodiversity” requires that global temperatures stay below 1.2℃. Yet modelling of the global community’s current commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement suggests that global warming between 2.6-3.2℃ will occur by 2100. This would destroy the Great Barrier Reef as we know it.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229736/original/file-20180730-106514-c759g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Artificial marine clouds already occur as a result of shipping exhaust. Scientists propose simulating this to cool the Reef. Liam Gumley, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
It is not surprising, then, that scientists are looking to buy the reef some time, while the international community works to stabilise and then reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The Commonwealth and Queensland governments have announced funding for feasibility projects aimed at manipulating surface water temperatures using three different techniques:
<ul>
<li>
Creating a reflective surface film that would float on the surface of the water. Made from calcium carbonate (the same mineral as coral), the film would reflect sunlight, thereby lowering water temperatures and ultraviolet radiation exposure.
</li>
<li>
Marine cloud brightening to also reflect more sunlight away from the reef. The plan is to spray microscopic salt particles into clouds using customised vessels or modified snow machines. This increases the concentration of droplets in clouds and encourages smaller, more reflective droplets to form.
</li>
<li>
Water-mixing units with large, slow moving fans that will draw cool water from 10-30 metres deep and deliver it to surface areas to limit coral heat stress. In 2017 this proposal received A$2.2 million in Commonwealth funding, to test eight water-mixing units over a 1 kilometre square area of Moore Reef, off the coast of Cairns.
</li>
</ul>
Engineering the climate of Australia’s most iconic natural system carries obvious risks. Indeed, Australia has a history of well-intended attempts to manage nature that have backfired because the risks were not fully understood.
We must be confident that such technological interventions will protect the reef, not contribute to its destruction. This is a problem because scientific trials are supposed to identify and assess risks, so we won’t fully understand what impacts they have until such trials are undertaken.
Governance necessary for public confidence
Building public confidence that potential risks have been identified and addressed is essential to the long-term success of reef geoengineering proposals. Even feasibility studies can be derailed if they lack public support.
The legitimacy and ultimate acceptability of reef geoengineering technologies therefore demands robust and transparent processes for funding, research, field testing and eventual deployment. Drawing on the Oxford Principles for Geoengineering Governance, the minimum governance standards should include:
<ul>
<li>criteria and clear processes for research funding decisions</li>
<li>public access to information about planned field testing</li>
<li>demonstrated compliance with Australia’s environmental laws.</li>
</ul>
Current environmental laws do not make special exemptions for scientific research or testing in areas of national environmental significance, such as the Great Barrier Reef. Any geoengineering trial that might have a “significant impact” on those areas is illegal without a permit from the Commonwealth Environment Minister. The Minister is guided by the precautionary principle and World Heritage obligations in issuing such permits.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act imposes separate approval requirements and makes protection of the reef the highest priority. This would suggest that the standard for environmental assessment for any proposal to run geoengineering trials on the Reef should be high.
It is unclear how the federal environment minister and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority will evaluate whether the risks of field testing are small enough to justify granting their approval. The position is made more uncertain by the fact that the authority is directly involved in at least one of the projects. This uncertainty risks poor environmental outcomes and erosion of public confidence.
We need a strong framework for assessing and managing the risks of geoengineering, to address legitimate public concerns.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100674/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">As the stewards of the reef, the Marine Park Authority is ideally placed to take the lead on developing this framework, to ensure we have the best possible chance of saving our most important natural wonder.
Kerryn Brent, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Tasmania
Brendan Gogarty, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Tasmania
Jan McDonald, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Tasmania
Jeff McGee, Senior Lecturer in Climate Change, Marine and Antarctic Law Faculty of Law and Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/geoengineering-the-great-barrier-reef-needs-strong-rules-100674" target="_blank">original article</a>.
Main photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/24577819729/" target="_blank">Oregon State University/Flickr</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA</a>
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Geoengineering the Great Barrier Reef needs strong rules

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts on June 15. It’s a fine achievement, which shows, among other things, growing efficiency in water and energy use. That’s good for both the economy and the environment. Less good is that waste generation is increasing, broadly in line with GDP growth, as shown below.
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Equally notable, though, is the reaction to the environmental accounts compared to the response to the traditional national accounts, which give us the indicator GDP.
These national accounts are released to much market speculation and commentary. For example, reports of an expectation of a rising GDP preceded the release of the latest national accounts on June 6. Straight afterwards there was commentary by Treasurer Scott Morrison and many media commentators.
Four reasons we neglect environmental accounts
So why no reaction to the environmental accounts? There are at least four reasons for this.
Firstly, few people in government or business are aware of the environmental accounts. While this was the fifth time the ABS has released the environmental accounts, and individual accounts for water and energy have a longer history, they remain little known.
The second reason is that it is not clear to government or business how the accounts should be interpreted. The ABS commentary is baldly descriptive:
"More recently, between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the economy grew by 3%. At the same time, the population increased 2%; greenhouse gas emissions were up just under 1%; and Australian energy consumption increased less than 1%. Water consumption decreased 7% between these years. If the economy is growing at a faster rate than the consumption of our resources (or generation of waste and emissions), it is an indication that we are using our resources more efficiently, as measured by the Gross Value Added (GVA) of economic production per unit of resource use (or waste generated)."
This is all true, but what does the information mean for the management of the economy and the environment? Of course, it is good that efficiency in resource use is improving. But we also need to understand what the limits are so that we can answer the key question: how much can we extract without risking the performance of the economy or the functioning of the environment?
For this we need other information. For example, to determine how much water we can use without damaging the environment we need information on the amount of water and the condition of ecosystems that depend on water in different places and times. With this information managers could compare the environment stress against the economic benefits or risks. All this can be done in an accounting framework, but is yet to occur.
It is also interesting that the ABS commentary neglects to mention waste. The amount of waste we produce is growing at about the same rate as GDP. Full waste accounts would improve our understanding of the reasons for this and the options for policy intervention. Sadly, while full waste accounts were prepared for 2010-11, they have not continued.
This gets to the third reason – the environmental accounts cover only part of the picture. A summary of the greenhouse gas accounts produced by the Department of Environment and Energy is included. The water accounts from the Bureau of Meteorology are not. The environmental accounts also do not cover air pollution, biodiversity, spending on environmental protection, and more.
The partial picture means the interactions between the different parts of the environmental and the economy cannot be fully understood or explored. A key feature of the national accounts is that these are comprehensive. All industries and sectors of the economy are covered, with data on income, expenditure and assets.
The fourth reason is no one is quite sure how to use the environmental accounts. The greenhouse gas accounts fulfil an international reporting obligation and the water accounts come under the Water Act 2007. But the ABS environmental accounts are not specifically linked to any government process, although they have been used in modelling and economic analysis.
In contrast, the national accounts are used, for example, by the Department of Finance for forecasting revenue, by Treasury for preparing the budget and economic policy, and by the Reserve Bank of Australia when setting interest rates.
Such use is partly due to the length of time that the national accounts have been produced. The first Australian national accounts were published in 1963. A measure of national income was produced in 1938.
The interest in the national accounts is also due to the understanding by business and the public that the health of the economy is directly linked to their own interests – i.e. profits for business and employment and income for people.
It’s also widely recognised that national accounts, and GDP in particular, are a good indicator of economic health. There is no similar indicator for the environment.
What can be done about this?
At present there is little understanding of how the environment contributes to the economy. Government agencies do not have regular information to assess the health of the environment, the adequacy of policies to stop environmental decline, or the economic impacts of environmental degradation.
To fill this information gap, interest in environmental accounting is growing. The recently released National Strategy for Environmental-Economic Accounting is a product of this.
How the strategy is implemented, however, will depend heavily on resourcing. This resourcing will need to consider not just the technical aspects of the accounts and related data sources but also the more challenging issue of how information from the accounts can be used in policy. Natural Capital Accounting for the Sustainable Development Goals recently summarised emerging examples from around the world.
One promising example is the United Kingdom’s Natural Capital Committee, an independent body that advises the government. The committee made recommendations on the development of the UK’s 25-Year Environment Plan. These included recommendations on the type and level of investments needed to achieve the goals of the plan and on the use of pilot demonstration projects.
Australia could establish a similar body to help develop a comprehensive set of environment accounts that meet policy needs. This would put us on the path to better policy, planning and management of both the economy and environment.
We would also get greater public discussion of the environmental accounts. Over time this might even rival the interest in the national accounts and GDP.
Michael Vardon, Associate Professor at the Fenner School, Australian National University
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-probably-missed-the-latest-national-environmental-economic-accounts-but-why-98620" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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You probably missed the latest national environmental-economic accounts – but why?

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EcoWorld is making its environmental footprint on the Australian property market with the announcement that Yarra One residents will have access to Tesla vehicles.
It will be part of what is billed as a Victorian first, sustainable car-sharing model.
Located in South Yarra, a suburb that boasts a walk score of 92, Yarra One will be a 4-star green building.
The introduction of Tesla vehicles adds another layer of sustainability and future-proofing the building.
EcoWorld's Cliff Tan said car-sharing service is growing rapidly in popularity and the decision to purchase electric cars was one that is inline with the brands core values.
“EcoWorld adopts an environmentally-responsible approach in all of its project so it was important that we future-proofed Yarra One, particularly as more and more individuals turn towards electric vehicles and opt for car-sharing,” he said.
According to a UBS global autos survey, one in six new cars in the world will be electric by 2025, with predictions that by the middle of the next decade, global sales of electric vehicles should hit 16.5 million.
As well as Tesla cars being available for residents to use, residents will also have the option to include a charging point within their designated car space, as a means of future proofing the building.
Residents will be able to book the Teslas through the body corporate.
Melbourne’s inner suburbs have the lowest car ownership levels in the state with  7,470 Stonnington dwellings  reporting no vehicle ownership, with over 51% of Stonnington residents living in a flat or apartment.
“South Yarra is the sixth most walkable city in the state, with residents having access to everything they need right on their doorstep, so a car isn’t needed for daily errands.
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