Construction is now underway at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/cumulus-grand-villas-carrara-17-baltimore-court-carrara-qld-4211">Cumulus Grand Villas</a> in Carrara, with all stages fully funded as <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/venturecrowd-property-projects">VentureCrowd</a> progresses its 59-residence gated community on an elevated ridgeline overlooking 100 hectares of natural savanna.

The commencement marks a key milestone for the Gold Coast project, designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/bda-architecture">BDA Architecture</a> and being delivered by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/devcon">Devcon Property Group</a>, at a time when buyers are placing greater emphasis on delivery certainty and builder track record.

With Devcon active in South East Queensland since 1993 and having delivered more than 1,000 homes, the team is positioning Cumulus as a fully financed, under-construction offering in a market where risk mitigation has become a central consideration for off-the-plan purchasers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135663 project_image_fid=360496]

Located at 17 Baltimore Court, Cumulus Grand Villas comprises 59 three- and four-bedroom villas across four collections, Skyline, Canopy, Savanna and Broadview. Pricing starts from $1,455,000, with completion of the first stage targeted for Q4 2026.

Across the four collections, each design represents an expansive and thoughtfully considered offering. The Broadview provides additional flexibility within its floorplan, incorporating a multipurpose room or optional additional bedroom, and is priced from $1,895,000.&nbsp;

Configured across two levels, the four-bedroom villas feature two master bedrooms with private ensuites, as well as a multipurpose room (MPR), supporting intergenerational living, guest accommodation, or the creation of a dedicated retreat space.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135663 project_image_fid=360497]

The main living areas are positioned on the ground floor, while the bedrooms are located upstairs, a configuration that promotes both family separation and connected living. All villas include a second master suite on the ground floor, reinforcing the project’s focus on flexibility and long-term adaptability.

That adaptability was central to BDA Architecture’s design approach. The team sought to create a sophisticated, low-maintenance product that makes the most of the site’s elevation and outlook while responding to evolving household needs. Expansive glazing, open-plan interiors and private outdoor areas draw in natural light and frame views towards the savanna, hinterland and Broadbeach skyline.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135663 project_image_fid=360470]

VentureCrowd Director of Property David Whitting said the project responds to a growing group of buyers reassessing what premium living on the Gold Coast looks like.

Flexible floorplans have proven particularly relevant for purchasers aged between 40 and 65, including next home buyers, downsizers and investors. The inclusion of dual master suites in the Broadview design, along with options for a downstairs MPR or guest bedroom, allows homes to adapt as family dynamics shift, whether accommodating older parents, adult children, or extended stays.

Across the community, villas are specified with European appliances and premium fixtures and fittings, alongside double garages and landscaped private areas. The gated enclave includes number plate recognition entry, reinforcing a focus on security and exclusivity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135663 project_image_fid=360474]

Lifestyle amenity is anchored by the Infinity Terrace, an elevated communal space incorporating a 20m heated pool, alfresco zones and barbecue facilities, designed as a shared retreat within the neighbourhood. A two-acre private nature reserve with walking trails and rehabilitated bushland further integrates the development with its savanna-edge setting, reflecting a broader masterplan initiative to restore native vegetation and habitat corridors.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/carrara-qld-4211">Carrara</a>’s positioning continues to attract attention from prestige buyers seeking proximity to the coast without beachfront pricing. The suburb offers access to major retail centres including Pacific Fair and Robina Town Centre, is around 15 minutes from Broadbeach, and benefits from connectivity via the M1 to Brisbane and the Gold Coast Airport.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=135663]

Joel Robinson

VentureCrowd’s Cumulus Grand Villas in Carrara advances with construction underway

Joint venture partners <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/abadeen">Abadeen</a> and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/perifa">PERIFA</a> are officially launching the third and final residential stage at their landmark $350 million harbourfront precinct, Putney Wharf, with The Residences representing the final opportunity to secure a new home within this rare waterfront destination.

Strong demand has already been established across the earlier stages of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-residences-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a>, with more than 50 per cent sold ahead of this final release. The Residences will introduce a selection of the precinct’s most premium apartments, many of which were deliberately reserved for this concluding stage.

Located at 20 Waterview Street, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/putney-nsw-2112">Putney</a> NSW, the completed precinct will comprise 67 residences, including 18 terraces and 49 apartments, alongside five retail tenancies and a 36-berth marina.

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Developed alongside partners Phoenix Property Investors and Mitsubishi Estate Asia, Putney Wharf occupies a prized 300-metre stretch of absolute waterfront and incorporates the historic former Halvorsen’s Boatshed. The precinct connects directly to surrounding parklands via a landscaped foreshore walkway and a large, landscaped podium linking both sides of the development to the adjoining foreshore parklands.

The Residences comprise two newly built, three-storey apartment buildings delivering a boutique collection of 30 generously proportioned waterfront apartments. Designed to capture harbour outlooks, natural light and cooling breezes, The Residences balance architectural refinement with relaxed, low-maintenance living.

Architecturally designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the apartments continue the cohesive design language seen across the broader precinct. A refined palette of light and dark materials, softer-toned stone and neutral, earthy finishes reflect the surrounding landscape and harbour setting. Interiors feature painted timber veneers, tactile joinery, timber flooring to living spaces and 100 per cent natural wool carpets in bedrooms, creating warm and sophisticated homes.

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Justin Brown, Executive Chairman and Founder of Abadeen, said the release of the final residential stage marks an important milestone for the project.

“Putney Wharf brings together everything we’ve learned over more than 25 years of development,” Mr Brown said. “It respects the site’s extraordinary maritime history while delivering contemporary homes that connect people directly to the harbour.

The Residences offer the rare combination of low-maintenance apartment living, waterfront outlooks with beautiful sunset views, and the convenience of retail and amenity at your doorstep. For boating enthusiasts, the opportunity to secure a private marina berth completes a truly unique Sydney harbourfront lifestyle.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=291197]

PERIFA Managing Director and Co-Founder Fabrizio Perilli added that the diversity of housing across the precinct has been central to the project’s success.

“Whether it’s the heritage Halvorsen’s apartments, the Waterview Terraces or now The Residences, Putney Wharf offers a range of homes that respond to different lifestyles, all united by an unrivalled harbourfront setting,” Perilli said. “This is a precinct that will add lasting value to the Putney community.”

Managing project marketing and sales, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/srm-residential">SRM Residential</a> Partner Tim Rees said the final release has already attracted strong demand reflecting the project’s unique harbourfront position and the success of earlier stages.

“Following the strong response to both the Halvorsen’s Boatshed residences and the Waterview Terraces, The Residences represent the final chance to secure a new home within this tightly held waterfront precinct,” Rees said. “Buyers are drawn to the rare combination of absolute harbour frontage, parkside living and genuine architectural quality.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=362240]

Putney Wharf is a one-of-a-kind mixed-use destination, delivering an exclusive residential offering alongside waterfront dining, retail and a 36-berth marina designed to the latest Australian Standards, accommodating vessels up to 18 metres and helping address Sydney Harbour’s ongoing marina shortage.

The precinct will include five retail tenancies and a prominent waterfront jetty area fronting the retail village, creating an activated harbourfront destination for residents and visitors alike.

Residents will enjoy direct access to lush harbourfront parklands, a public foreshore walkway and landscaped podium gardens connecting the development to the surrounding waterfront reserve. Construction across the Putney Wharf precinct is expected to be completed by Q2 2027.

Sales of The Residences officially launch this weekend, with the display suite open Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 12pm at Putney Wharf. Visitors are invited to enjoy a complimentary coffee while touring The Residences and experiencing the Putney Wharf lifestyle firsthand.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=13962]

Final Harbourfront release in Putney Wharf launches this weekend

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/draycon">Draycon Building</a> is nearing completion of Boutique Chevron Island, a 42-apartment development on the northern end of Chevron Island at 17–19 Parneno Street, with a limited-time offer of fully furnished apartments available.

Now more than 90 per cent complete, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/boutique-chevron-island-17-19-parneno-chevron-island-qld-4217">Boutique</a> has been shaped by one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held island addresses, where riverfront outlooks and walkable access to Surfers Paradise converge.

For Draycon Building Managing Director Howard Dabit, the appeal of the site was immediate.

“I knew it was a good site as soon as I saw it,” Dabit said.

“The position and location on the north end of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/chevron-island-qld-4217">Chevron Island</a>, the way the river swirls around the site basically from the north to the east, it feels like the site is surrounded by the water. The height that we’ve got and the aspect looking north is beautiful. Eighty per cent of the apartments are looking north so they get that drenching sunlight coming in.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=89709 project_image_fid=360922]

That northern orientation places the development within a stretch of Chevron Island defined by open river aspects and skyline views, while remaining embedded in the suburb’s established village setting.

Chevron Island has increasingly drawn owner-occupiers seeking centrality without the intensity of high-rise beachfront living. Positioned at the geographical centre of the Gold Coast, the island offers direct access to both the beach and key cultural infrastructure while retaining a neighbourhood-scale character.

Connected by bridge to Surfers Paradise, Chevron Island offers walkable access to beaches, riverfront parklands and a revitalised foreshore boulevard animated by walkers and cyclists throughout the day. The Pacific Ocean is only minutes away, reinforcing the suburb’s dual river-and-surf identity.

At the same time, Thomas Drive forms the spine of the island’s village life, delivering cafés, wine bars, casual dining and everyday services within easy reach. Independent grocers, wellness operators and neighbourhood retailers contribute to a community atmosphere that remains distinct from the vertical scale of the beachfront.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=89709 project_image_fid=360915]

In the opposite direction, the Green Bridge links directly to HOTA – Home of the Arts – placing galleries, performance venues and parklands within walking distance. Weekly markets and major exhibitions draw visitors from across the region, while residents return to a quieter residential pocket at day’s end.

Public transport, including nearby bus routes and the G:link light rail corridor along the coastal spine, strengthens connectivity north and south. Griffith University, the Gold Coast University Hospital precinct and established private schools such as The Southport School are all within a short drive.

Ongoing investment across Surfers Paradise, HOTA and the broader Southport corridor has elevated amenity while preserving Chevron Island’s comparatively low-rise residential character. It is this balance, walkable village atmosphere paired with metropolitan-scale infrastructure, that continues to differentiate the suburb from higher-density beachfront precincts.

Boutique comprises just 42 residences, designed to maximise river and skyline outlooks within this tightly held island setting.

Boutique Chevron Island is slated for completion in April 2026, with prices starting from $1,220,000.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=89709]

Draycon Building’s Boutique Chevron Island places 42 residences at the heart of the Gold Coast

Sydney developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/deicorp">Deicorp</a> has secured planning approval for a $300 million residential development in Lindfield, marking the company’s second project on Sydney’s North Shore and its first on the Upper North Shore.

Located on Beaconsfield Parade and designed by DKO Architecture, the state significant development comprises three buildings of up to 10 storeys and will include 399 residences, including 59 affordable homes and 40 adaptable homes.

Residences will range in size from one, two and three bedrooms, with two-bedroom apartments accounting for over 60 per cent of the product make-up. Residents will have access to a broad suite of amenities, including a wellness area, indoor and outdoor recreational spaces, a pool, a gym, a community room and a golf simulator.

In line with Deicorp’s long-standing focus on creating transit-oriented communities, the project is located just 260 metres from the Lindfield Train Station, reinforcing its role in delivering well-connected housing close to established infrastructure, retail and local services.

The inclusion of affordable and adaptable housing supports greater diversity within the local market, while the mix of apartment types responds to demand from downsizers, young professionals and families seeking access to the Upper North Shore.

Deicorp Founder Fouad Deiri OAM said the approval represents an important milestone for both the company and the suburb

“This approval allows us to deliver well-designed homes in a location that is already supported by strong transport and community infrastructure," Deiri said.

"Our focus is on creating places that integrate into their surroundings and provide long-term value for residents, and the broader Lindfield community. Being within walking distance of the station ensures this project supports sustainable growth in the right locations."

Across its portfolio, Deicorp currently has 4,703 apartments under construction, playing a leading role in shaping connected, liveable communities across Sydney.

Its expanding portfolio of Metro-linked developments includes Tallawong Village, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kings-bay-village-five-dock-53-75-queens-road-five-dock-nsw-2046">Kings Bay Village</a> in Five Dock, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/hyde-metropolitan-sydney-133-141-liverpool-street-sydney-nsw-2000">Hyde Metropolitan</a> in Sydney CBD, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/falcon-alexander-crows-nest-8-alexander-street-crows-nest-nsw-2065">Falcon &amp; Alexander</a> in Crows Nest and Showground Village, Castle Hill.

Deicorp purchased the Beaconsfield Paradise site last year. Construction is scheduled to commence in Q2 of 2026 and will be completed in 2029.

Deicorp expands portfolio to nearly 5,000 apartments with Lindfield project

In a joint venture with The Trump Organization, Australia developer Altus Property Group has announced plans to bring a Trump International Hotel &amp; Tower to the Gold Coast, marking the first Trump-branded project in Australia.

"Trump International Hotel &amp; Tower, Gold Coast is our first official project in Australia and reflects our unwavering commitment to delivering world-class luxury experiences in iconic locations around the world," Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization, said.

"This development exemplifies the Trump brand’s dedication to quality, sophistication, and unmatched service, and we are thrilled to bring this vision to the vibrant Gold Coast community."

The 91-storey building, which will become the tallest in Australia at 335 metres, will feature a&nbsp;285-room luxury hotel bearing the trademark Trump logo. It will also include 272 luxury residential apartments, a three-level podium with an exclusive Beach Club, and over 3,400 sqm of premium commercial, retail, and dining space, revitalizing the central Surfers Paradise precinct.

“Trump International Hotel &amp; Tower, Gold Coast will be a truly unique offering in the Australian market, bringing the prestige and allure of a world-class luxury brand,"&nbsp;Altus founder and chief executive David Young said.

"Altus Property Group is proud of its track record in delivering landmark developments across Australia, and our expertise ensures this project will be an outstanding success."

Trump Hotel heads for the Gold Coast to become Australia's tallest building

Smart City

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EXPERT OBSERVATION
Reducing the emphasis on cars and making more room for people to walk and cycle are just some of the ways streets could change for the better in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 
According to UNSW Built Environment lecturer Dr Mike Harris, the coronavirus is exposing problems with our vehicle-dominated street designs that existed long before the pandemic. 
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“It’s showing the disproportionate amount of street space dedicated to cars, because all that space set aside for cars is now sitting idle, while our footpaths aren’t wide enough for people walking, especially under social distancing guidelines,” the landscape architect and urban designer says.
“People are also using their local streets more because they’re working from home. So we’re living more locally, and recognising more the need for better quality streets for our quality of life.”
The need for wider footpaths
The pandemic is highlighting the importance of immediately accessible open space and walking and cycling facilities that many parts of Sydney lack. 
One of the arguments behind widening footpaths is so you can have space to pass people more easily, and with social distancing, it's really shown just how narrow common footpath widths are. Even in our densest areas, many are about one and half metres wide, next to an expanse of asphalt for cars. 
Footpaths should arguably be at least double that width, and that's before we add planting, trees, seating and bike lanes. 
There is so much that streets can do but are often so limited from all the space excised to move and store cars. It's remarkably short-sighted when you think about it. 
In addition to widening footpaths, separated bicycle lanes and closing streets to cars are some of the other short-term streetscape measures cities around the world have taken to adjust to increased street activity. 
Most cities were already installing separated bicycle lanes, better pedestrian amenity. Like many trends, COVID-19 is increasing the speed of how these things get implemented. 
Everyone is getting a forced test run to trial these pop-up things, so it means that all of a sudden, everyone's getting exposed to what our streets could be like. 
Cities around the world are readily adopting temporary measures, with local councils in Sydney like to follow suit. 
I'm surprised though that we haven't been as quick, there is such a clear demand, although Centennial Park has closed to cars on the weekend because it is much busier than usual. 
This 'forced experiment' could be the catalyst for transitioning towards pedestrian-friendly streets on a more permanent basis. 
I think people are showing that they're super keen to get out there and experience the public space in a much stronger way than what they did previously, so the public is ready to go. 
More cycleways, fewer cars 
Bike sales have also increased dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic. While overall transport usage in the City of Sydney is down to 13 per cent cycling is only down to 60 to 90 per cent of prior rates. 
Surveys are showing that the majority of people think things are better with fewer cars; less pollution, quieter and safer streets, for example. 
In the travel behaviour shifts too during the pandemic, most car commuters do not miss commuting at all, but the vast amount of walking and cycling commuters miss their commuting time. 
There will likely be a trend of more people using private forms of transportation in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. But whether that leans towards the car or the bike is up to policymakers. 
A message that has explicitly come from governments in bigger cities overseas is that if you can do anything right now, ride a bike. If all those people who would usually take the New York or London subway decide to drive when they go back to work, the city will be gridlocked, similarly with Sydney. 
It’s an opportunity for a lot of people to consider riding a bike, at least for some trips or part of their trip, and a portion of them will want to keep doing it ... but as is the case now most of those people will claim they want to, but can’t because there are not enough facilities.
We should invest in a greater number of smaller, easily delivered projects like cycleways, which have more local job creation and less financial and environmental costs. 
It’s definitely time, as the Committee for Sydney is now urging. Less than $10 per person, per year, is spent on cycling infrastructure in Sydney, compared to $41 in London and $50 for Vancouver.
Investing for the next crisis
While reverting back to the vehicle-dominated streets would be easy, the rare opportunity to make our streets more liveable shouldn't be squandered. 
Just a few weeks ago, Beijing and Shenzhen reported heavier peak-hour congestion than the same period last year, and the images of blue skies without air pollution may become a memory. 
What will need to happen is for the government to take the opportunity, while it's there, to make some real changes. If nothing much happens, with the passing of time, and if structural changes haven't occurred in our streets, then slowly things will probably just go back to normal. 
In doing so will have lasting impacts that could better prepare the built environment to endure a future crisis. 
There's a long history of open space being used and transformed in response to public health crises. Planning for New York's Central Park began in the immediate aftermath of New York's second Cholera outbreak in the mid-1800s, along with wider urban boulevards. 
One of the reasons cities in the Netherlands or Denmark are so pedestrian-friendly, cycling-friendly cities today is because the government made concerted decisions to rely less on cars after the 1970s oil crisis. They recognised it was a vulnerable and costly transport mode and made a series of policy decisions and planning changes, that a couple of decades later, you see these profound results of very health, engaging, prosperous, people-friendly cities. 
What smart cities will do is make use of this opportunity and enact intelligent decisions that in 20 years will make their cities better-quality places to live and work. 
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

How streets could become more liveable post-coronavirus: UNSW

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Developer Mulpha Norwest has unveiled its plans for the transformation of Norwest Business Park in Sydney’s Hills Shire area into a ‘smart city’ which will be home to innovation and economic growth.
Mulpha said it will use its $3 billion plus investment pipeline to develop Norwest into “one of Sydney’s most vibrant communities using innovative design, technology and collaboration”.
The masterplanned Norwest Business Park will benefit from the state and local government’s growth plans.
The 377 hectare Norwest is the size of Sydney’s CBD, with 180 hectares of business land, 151 hectares of residential land and 46 hectares of waterways, walking trails and parks, including the historic Bella Vista Farm Park.
Infrastructure committed and currently under implementation includes the $8 billion Sydney Metro North West Rail project, a further $3.6 billion of infrastructure upgrades to western Sydney roads and the $20 billion new Western Sydney Airport. This will help continue the focus on further major road works such as Norwest Boulevard.
Mulpha Norwest executive general manager, Tim Spencer said Mulpha was committed to delivering a liveable Smart City at Norwest, with “new age jobs”, modern education and innovation.
“To achieve this, Mulpha is working creatively with a broad team of outstanding Australian and international experts in health and education, architecture, planning and engineering to re-envision how people will live, work and play in the future. From this start, we are seeking to further engage with both state and local governments to refine and ensure holistic implementation,” Spencer said.
Mulpha’s plans include the redevelopment of Norwest Marketown; the development of The Greens residential precinct; the redevelopment of the Circa commercial, retail and retirement precinct; the revitalisation of Norwest’s network of walkways and cycleways and a concept to drive daily activation of Bella Vista Farm Park.
The developer hopes to create a built form environment that will “offer seamless living, working and recreational spaces, with over 50 hectares of public open space, activated public parks and plazas, and a vibrant social, food and entertainment culture”.
Norwest will be accessible via two new Metro stations, T-Way buses and motorway upgrades. 
The stations – Norwest and Bella Vista - on the Sydney Metro North West Line will be operational from 2019, with turn-up-and-go rapid transit services running through the North West corridor onto Chatswood and the Sydney CBD.
“As Sydney’s population and economic centre moves west, our vision is to create a highly desirable work and lifestyle destination that will attract entrepreneurial workers and industries of the future, including world-leading innovation enterprises,” Spencer said.
“In response to the State Government’s Plan for Growing Sydney 2036, we are aiming to deliver a unique education and upskilling platform to be the basis of an evolution from the knowledge-based workforce into an entrepreneurial economy, opening up the future for 60,000+ new age jobs, from the current 30,000.”
Spencer said the masterplan is also delivering the diversity of housing required to meet the demands of its increasing residential population, forecast to increase from 6,000 today to more than 20,000+ residents.
“It is all about connectivity, in terms of living, working, transport and the environment. This is how people want to live and work into the future, and how businesses will thrive in the digital age, so we are providing the physical and non-physical infrastructure to enable this to happen.”
Mulpha has engaged consultants to investigate Smart City innovations including driverless shuttles, installation of healthcare technology for healthy living and ageing in place, off-grid energy options, and high speed public zone WiFi. 
He added that Mulpha is also tackling how all this ties up with the Internet of Things (IoT) in order to harness big data and the policies around disseminating this through live portals.
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Mulpha unveils $3 billion Smart City future for Norwest

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GUEST OBSERVER
By the time you’ve finished reading this article, roughly 20 people will have moved from the country into a city somewhere around the world. In any given week, millions of people head into cities.
Cities are growing well beyond anything their founders could have imagined. At the same time, the resources available within cities are not scaling up at the same rate. Many are looking for solutions to these problems; one being proposed is the “smart city”.
“Smart cities” can encompass concepts in urban design, or focus on the engineering required to support a city. But it’s very easy to use the term without really saying what it actually means in terms of improvements people will see.
Transport, aged care and parks are three areas where existing projects and available technology are making cities and suburbs better places to live. These projects are real and happening now. In Adelaide, experts from across the University of Adelaide’s five faculties are part of the newly launched Australian Smart Cities Consortium.
Adelaide’s Australian Smart Cities Consortium aims to tap into vast amounts of data to make life better for city residents.
More efficient transport
The car has dictated much of the way we live in modern cities. One way we can improve everyone’s lives is to make transport networks better.
By Australian standards, Adelaide has quite low levels of traffic, but it still suffers from traffic jams and congestion. This leads to frustration and makes everyone’s lives less pleasant.
One way we can make this better is by understanding our traffic flows better. We can use this information to adjust how cars move through busy areas.
But not everyone drives – so let’s also look at public transport and pedestrian crossings.
Putting GPS tracking on buses allows riders to know when the bus is coming, and if they have to run because one is about to come around the corner. With better traffic monitoring and control, we can build bike lanes that are safer and integrate with existing traffic, or change the way that pedestrians cross the road.
We can show pedestrians a countdown timer for the time left to cross, or give elderly citizens more time to cross on demand – as seen in Singapore with smart cards.
The computing and monitoring capability to do this has existed for some time, but the smart city focus lets us pin down problems of city living and identify where we can put our resources to help.
South Australia’s Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure uses vast amounts of sensing data and planning information to build transport networks that will support the next phase of Adelaide’s growth.
Better care
Health issues and the provision of health care are a constant issue for governments. Up to one-third of Australian state budgets goes to health care and hospitals. And with an ageing population, we are going to need to care for more and more people over time.
Current work in Adelaide on smart ageing provides ways to look after elderly and isolated citizens without robbing them of their privacy. Non-intrusive monitoring can see if someone has fallen over or hasn’t got out of bed that day. We can combine this with data privacy to let only doctors or close family know what’s going on.
Sometimes, just knowing the temperature of someone’s house and being able to notify a contact or care worker if it’s too hot or cold can make the difference in saving a life.
Being able to care for someone, giving them autonomy and dignity in their own home, will help us look after the growing number of ageing people over the next few decades.
Well-kept green spaces
Cities need a combination of spaces to make people happy. Some we work in, some we live in, some we move through, and some, like parks and green space, we linger in and enjoy as part of leisure and play.
Parks, gardens and playgrounds make cities and suburbs more liveable but have upkeep and repair costs. Non-camera-based sensors in a park can tell us how many people are using it and whether a certain piece of play equipment is being avoided because it is broken.
So, instead of having to send someone around to see whether something has happened, we can send someone out to fix something when it happens.
We have a lot of great resources in and around Australian cities. In Adelaide, and in many other cities, Smart Cities projects are taking place right now that make these growing urban centres more liveable for everyone.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-falkner-394488" target="_blank"></a>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-falkner-394488" target="_blank">Nick Falkner</a> is Associate Professor and Director of the Australian Smart Cities Consortium, University of Adelaide and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-falkner-394488" target="_blank"> </a>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Lessons from Adelaide in how a smart city can work to benefit everyone

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GUEST OBSERVER
This May, urbanists around the world have been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jane Jacobs.
The American-Canadian author and activist’s spirited defence of inner-city neighbourhoods inspired a generation of urban activists and place-makers. So what might Jacobs have to teach a new generation of urbanists and planners?
Much of Jacobs' legacy stems from the successful “David and Goliath” campaigns she led in the late 1950s and 1960s against the development plans of Manhattan’s “master builder” Robert Moses.
Her first battle, to prevent an extension of Fifth Avenue that would have torn apart her beloved Washington Square Park, was followed by a series of protracted community campaigns. These ultimately saved some of Manhattan’s most iconic neighbourhoods – Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy – from “slum clearance” and demolition. 
At this time, many Americans were retreating to the suburbs, and city planners – epitomised by Moses, then head of the powerful Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which managed vast tracts of land in New York City – imposed their “comprehensive city plans” on neighbourhoods, with scant input from local communities.
Working under the spell of Le Corbusier’s vision of the “Radiant City” (Ville Radieuse), planners like Moses saw themselves playing the heroic role of a city’s surgeon. They justified their radical urban plans through appeals to natural or scientific principle. For Le Corbusier, automobiles were machines of circulation, the “lifeblood of the 20th century”; cities needed them to avoid stagnation.
<h2>In love with the ‘sidewalk ballet’</h2>
Jacobs resisted this vision. In her first and most influential book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jacobs attacked planners for ruining the cultures of cities. She saw the modernist vision of cities as:
"the dishonest mask of pretended order, achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served."
Jacobs wrote:
When city designers try to find a design device that will express, in a clear and easy fashion, the ‘skeleton’ of city structure (expressways and promenades are current favourites for this purposes) they are on fundamentally the wrong track. A city’s very structure consists of a mixture of uses … We get close to its structural secrets when we deal with the conditions that generate diversity.
Instead of city spines and clean lines, she asked her readers to look more closely at what makes a street really work. She loved the “intricate sidewalk ballet”, a complex order that helped to maintain public safety and wellbeing through a “constant succession of eyes”.
The complexity of a place made it impossible to replicate.
The ballet of the good city never repeats itself from place to place, and in any one place it is always replete with new observations.
Jacobs’ polemic against urban planning would become its orthodoxy. Death and Life has been required reading for students of urban planning for decades. Today they learn of the failed spaces created by modernist planners and the geographies of single-use enclaves and far-flung highways they spawned.
Jacobs' campaigning inspired urban activists around the world to stage protests in their own cities. This helped usher in a new era of citizen-centric planning frameworks.
As Saskia Sassen wrote recently, it was Jacobs who first urged the need to recognise the value of “place” when considering the implementation of urban policies.
<h2>Is Jane Jacobs still relevant or useful?</h2>
Although Jacobs is a profoundly influential figure in 20th-century urbanism, in many respects her radicalism can feel like it belongs to another era.
The Manhattan districts she fought to preserve represent some of the most expensive real estate in the world, so it’s hard to disagree that a city’s dense, historic core might be worth preserving. Economist Edward Glaeser talks about “Jacobs Spillovers” – the transfers of knowledge and activity that help to explain the generation of wealth in cities like New York and London.
Some might even ask: was Jacobs simply one of the first to fly the NIMBY flag against any developments taking place within the prized neighbourhoods they helped to gentrify?
But if we take a closer look at what Jacobs had to say – and how she said it– it becomes clear her ideas remain as radical and important as they were in the 1960s.
This is perhaps no more so than in relation to rise of the “smart city”.
<h2>Smart cities and the rise of a new urban science</h2>
Today’s smart cities are big business, powered by the potential for big data and the internet of things to improve the efficiencies of urban systems. Smart cities offer solutions to improve transport management, make better investment decisions, improve accountability and promote transparent decision-making.
The premise is that with so much data (big data) being produced, planners, governments and researchers can better understand cities as complex systems, and make better decisions about how they are planned and managed. 
This explosion of data in cities – from traffic data, through mobile communications data to sensor data capturing the behaviour of natural systems and the everyday uses of infrastructure assets – is giving rise to a new “urban science”.
This incorporates machine learning, predictive analytics and complexity science. Its champions – such as Mike Batty and Luis Bettencourt – argue that we are starting to see the emergence of Jacobs' “sidewalk ballet” in data-driven form.
But while the rise of big data and smart cities opens up possibilities for cities that were previously unthinkable, we should also be wary of the limitations.
<h2>The fine arts of urban observation</h2>
Jacobs wasn’t simply claiming that cities should be understood as complex systems.
At a perhaps deeper level, Jacobs was arguing against visions of the city over-determined by the technologies that produce them: for LeCorbusier, as for Moses, the view of the city enabled by the innovation of flight helped give rise to new urban utopias like the Radiant City.
In writing Death and Life, Jacobs was also resisting the dominance of expert knowledge about a city, in favour of a democracy of lived experiences and everyday insights. She once reflected that:
"learning and thinking about city streets and the trickiness of city parks launched me into an unexpected treasure hunt."
As a new generation of planners are taught of the possibilities of a data-driven urban science, we need to remember that Jacobs' love of the sidewalk ballet also gave voice to the multiple languages, meanings, experiences and knowledge systems that underpin a vibrant urban culture.
Not all of these can be rendered by data-driven systems. Hopefully, the best insights into a city’s infinite complexity won’t only be produced by those trained with the skills to generate insights from big data.
The “data exhaust” of our daily lives will increasingly shape the way cities are understood. Much work remains to be done to ensure a cities data infrastructure is valued as a fundamental public asset.
But I can hear Jacobs issuing a word of warning: don’t forget to keep taking unexpected treasure hunts through city parks and keep your eyes on the street (not on your phones!). And keep listening out for different lived experiences and ways of knowing a place – not only those that can be rendered real-time as the data flows of complex systems. 
Sarah Barns is Urban Studies Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sarah-barns-110278" target="_blank">here</a>.
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What might Jane Jacobs say about smart cities?

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The Australian Government’s new Smart Cities Plan has been given the green light from the Green Buildings Council of Australia who believe the  priority will be placed on investments that improve environmental outcomes, with the Australian Government promises to encourage the use of rating systems such as Green Star.
Green Building Council of Australia chief executive officer Romilly Madew, said living in the century of the city – and this demands fresh thinking, smart policy and committed political leaders.
“The Smart Cities Plan acknowledges that Green Star can improve the sustainability, quality and efficiency of buildings and precincts… what we’d like to see are clear commitments to ensure sustainability is a central pillar of any City Deal project around the nation," she said
“Put simply, cities can’t be ‘smart’ if they aren’t sustainable. The Prime Minister has repeatedly said his government wants to be a ‘partner, supporter and collaborator’ in the development of cities – something the industry has been calling for over many years – and the signs so far are very promising.
“Industry called for a federal minister for cities for many years – and we got one. We have called for strong, integrated policies that deliver solutions to the social, economic and environmental challenges we face as a nation."
 The Living Future Institute of Australia (LFIA) has launched the Brickworks Living Building Challenge design competition, pressing the go button for designers, built environment professionals and students around the world to conceptualise what the world's most sustainable retail centre ought look like. For more information, <a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/tools/ebooks-and-webinars/52152-australia-aspires-to-global-green-leadership-the-living-building-challenge" target="_blank">download our eBook here</a>.
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Smart cities are sustainable cities: Green Buildings Council

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<h4> </h4>
GUEST OBSERVER
The internet has reached our cities. A smart city is optimised for efficiency, productivity and comfort.
The smart city uses intelligent transport systems. It is administered by integrated urban command centres, which analyse the omnipresent raw material of the digital era: big data. As citizens go about their everyday lives, they leave data traces everywhere, even in the sewers.
Many technology companies and city governments celebrate the new enfant terrible of smart city research: the urban scientist who finally imposes a rigorous scientific (that is, positivistic) mindset on city governance. However, Jeremy Kun confirms that:
… being quantitative doesn’t protect against bias.
Commentators such as Cat Matson, Charles Landry and Paul Masonadvocate a people-centred approach to city design. In our own work, we warn that ignoring decades of research by architects, geographers, urban planners, designers and sociologists could lead to a dystopian future where humans lose agency if we mindlessly pursue convenience and efficiency.   Big data requires analysis by algorithms, and they in turn create filter bubbles. Corporations such as Facebook and Google deploy sophisticated algorithms to help us navigate the otherwise bloated social mediascape. The content displayed on Facebook’s news feed is selected based on a user’s profile, location, interests, online habits – what they post, share, recommend and “like”.
The popularity of social media stems from its power to create personalised spaces, walled gardens, which are tailored to individual preferences and favour content relevant to each user. Proprietary algorithms determine what is deemed relevant.
Without ethics, it is these algorithms that determine the make-up of the Facebook news feed, Google’s top search results and the recommendations on whom to follow on Twitter and what to buy on Amazon. They are optimised to prioritise content that generates more business. As Gilad Lotan has observed:
We’re not seeing different viewpoints, but rather more of the same. A healthy democracy is contingent on having a healthy media ecosystem. As builders of these online networked spaces, how do we make sure we are optimising not only for traffic and engagement, but also an informed public? … The underlying algorithmics powering this recommendation engine help reinforce our values and bake more of the same voices into our information streams.
The diversity advantage of cities
As more and more social media platforms embrace urban environments as their playground, this algorithmic culture has important implications for cities. People come together in cities not just for the infrastructure and convenience they provide, but for offering choice. Cities are fundamentally about possibilities, opportunities and diversity.
Jane Jacobs notes: Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.
Ethan Zuckerman thinks of cities as serendipity engines:
By putting a diverse set of people and things together in a confined place, we increase the chances that we’re going to stumble onto the unexpected.
However, Zuckerman also asks:
… do cities actually work this way?
It’s a timely question for smart cities governed by big data and algorithmic analysis. How can a smart city become a serendipity engine? Can we design smart cities for getting lost?
Here are some examples of why that may not be such a bad idea.
Getting lost and getting to know strangers
Public transport journey planners are usually optimised for two factors: the fastest speed and shortest distance to get you from A to B. Yet there are opportunities beyond telematics.
Why don’t we offer the choice to go slow, to take the least polluted route to work, or the scenic way home?
Experimental prototypes such as Martin Traunmueller’s Likeways and Mark Shepard’s Serendipitor allow you to lose yourself and rediscover your city. The Likeways app lets users choose routes that wander past restaurants, pubs, shops, museums or art galleries. Screenshot, courtesy Martin Traunmueller   In addition to a diversity of places, cities also offer a diversity of people. However, all too often we stay within our existing social networks of friendship and convenience. Eric Paulos’s Familiar Stranger Project investigated anxiety, comfort and play in public places.
Yet our ability to unlock the advantage of a city’s social diversity is still in its infancy. Early examples include co-working spaces and meet-up groups that bring diverse people together, airlines offering social seating, and design interventions such as Jokebox that foster playfulness and curiosity. 
Saskia Sassen warns that the privatisation of public spaces in the city:
… has deep and significant implications for equity, democracy and rights.
This also stifles innovation, as people are lacking the kinds of “skunkworks” that foster creativity and diversity.
Deliberative democracy and the city
Besides the nascent opportunities vested in people and places, what may well be the final frontier of a truly smart (as in intelligent) city is content and discourse. Seeking to burst the filter bubbles, Eli Pariser created Upworthy:
… on a mission to change what the world pays attention to.
It curates news you should read rather than just “the news you want” to read.
Another illustrative example is Rebecca Ross’s project London is Changing. Large digital displays visualise local community voices and juxtapose diverse opinions about the impact of gentrification in London.
To uphold a citizen’s right to the digital city and strengthen the role of cities in a deliberative democracy, cities should empower citizens to be smart. Smart cities should allow us to get lost and find new places, to meet strangers who may become new friends, and to engage in discussions with diverse others so we may form new opinions.
Alexandros Washburn observes:
In talking about the anticipational Smart wonders of ‘our city’, we really mean ‘my city’. We confuse the collective with the personal. If collective, that is, civic intelligence is what makes cities smart, we need more serendipity engines. 
Smart cities should be open and agile and employ what Bob Dick calls “dialectical processes” and what Anna Cox calls “design friction”. That way we may change algorithmic filters for the sagacious discovery of diversity in the city. Diversity fuels innovation, and innovation is what we need to be sustainable.
Marcus Foth is professor, urban informatics, Queensland University of Technology and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marcus-foth-199317" target="_blank">here</a>.
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