Our cities are growing like topsy. And that growth is creating problems for us, environmentally, socially and economically.
Those areas are intertwined; government says it can’t do something about the environment because they think it will be economically not optimal. Social alienation and economic disadvantage and can be linked to destructive behaviour like littering.
The “cars that ate Paris” have turned their attentions to Melbourne. The urban sprawl means that cars are being used excessively.
We need to get smarter.
Expansion horizontally into areas with no public transport and with large distances to anywhere is a recipe for disaster and it is being followed in Melbourne and Sydney even as I write.
Travelling 3 to 4 hours a day to get to work sitting in your car is bad for you, family suffers (because you are away from spouse and children), health suffers (being inactive in a stressful situation surrounded by fumes), wealth suffers (you and your spouse, and maybe kids, need more than just the “family” car) and it is bad for the rest of us as well – pollution, increased costs of production and costs of trauma via collisions.
If we could conveniently walk or take public transport to work, so many resources would be freed up.
Higher density housing closer to the CBD is a solution. Time to start thinking about having houses that more sustainable, not having a mansion miles from civilisation.
And using what is now productive farm land to grow bricks seems such a waste!
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