Arron Packard – Masters Thesis
Download Thesis
Masters Thesis of Danya Rumore
Thesis Document
Helen Viggers
New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities (NZCSC)
The spatial distribution of mortgagee sales across New Zealand cities, between 2000 and mid 2009 was examined. The changes in location over time period, corresponding to both a real-estate boom and rising transport costs may reflect future patterns of value.
PDF of Summer School Presentation
Pengjun Zhao
New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities (NZCSC), Post Doctoral Fellow
Urban intensification is one of key issues for local carbon management as it has influences on community energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions. This presentation will report the results of urban density analysis for major New Zealand cities. The density of these cities will also be compared with the density of corresponding Australian cities. In the final part of this presentation, the applications of the density results for the next step research will be discussed.
PDF of Sunner School Presentation
Also posted in news & events and urban design
When it comes to causing health inequalities, environmental considerations play a significant role. Food, transport, green space and the built environment are all factors which can narrow or widen the health gap between rich and poor communities. But the Sustainable Development Commission believes that the environmental causes of health inequalities are still being under-appreciated. And that means policy makers are missing the co-benefits available from a holistic approach that can create a better environment and healthier people at the same time.
Sustainability Report (PDF, 2.1MB)
Also posted in housing & building
Apartment Dwellers: 2006 Census reports on the people who live in apartments in the three main cities of New Zealand. It compares and contrasts the characteristics of inner city and non-inner city apartment dwellers within each city and analyses particular aspects of the apartments themselves. Read More »
24 February 2010 – 12:33 pm
Also posted in housing & building and media and news & events and transport and urban design and urban governance
Nick Preval, Ralph Chapman & Philippa Howden-Chapman
‘Sizing up the City’ covers a range of issues. This chapter reports on a survey which found that most people (54%) think that urban limits are necessary so that cities develop more sustainably (15% disagree). By 2 to 1, New Zealanders thought councils (rather than market forces) should have the key role in defining the limits of the city. Read More »
22 February 2010 – 7:50 am
Also posted in climate change and news & events
This paper briefly summarises the likely impacts of climate change on health, globally, but focuses on adaptive measures that might be undertaken in New Zealand.
Climate change & human health PDF
19 February 2010 – 8:39 am
Also posted in Uncategorized and health and media and news & events and transport
On Tuesday Evening 16th February 2010 we launched “Sizing up the City; Urban Form and Transport”. The book collects and expands on papers presented at the February 2009 Summer School. It includes the latest research and thinking on sustainable transport and our built environment as well as experiences from councils trying to create more sustainable cities.
“Sizing up the City” book order form
5% More Cyclists Save $200m
just one of the messages in the book was spelt out by local cyclists at the launch linking the book to the BikeWise Challenge “On your Bike” month of February.
from left to right: Andy Foster (WCC), Celia Wade-Brown (WCC),Jude Ball (Frocks on Bikes), Annette King (MP, Labour), Kevin Hague (MP, Greens)
Photo Kevin Hague at book Launch.
Photo Cyclists group
Link to Cycling Advocates Network CAN
1 February 2010 – 10:12 am
Also posted in behaviour change and urban design
Strongly related to one of members, Landcare, on Low Impact Urban Development here’s a post by the
The Daily Score :
For years, environmentalists have touted “low-impact development” – letting soil and vegetation soak up heavy rains, rather than channeling storm runoff into gutters and sewers – as the best solution for stormwater. But as it turns out, LID has picked up a whole host of new fans: smart economists, developers, builders, and government regulators are now singing the praises of LIDs as well.
Read More »
10 December 2009 – 7:38 am
Also posted in NZ policy issues and housing & building and news & events and urban design
NEW BOOK REVEALS ONGOING HEALTH & SOCIAL COSTS OF LEAKY HOMES
The long-term social costs of leaky buildings constructed following deregulation of the building industry by the National Government in the early 1990s are not just the result of failures in construction.
This first book on the broad effects of the leaky buildings saga in New Zealand, “Do Damp and Mould Matter? Health Impacts of Leaky Homes” is edited by Professor Howden-Chapman, Dr Julie Bennett and Dr Rob Siebers from the Public Health Department at the University of Otago, Wellington.
Professor Howden-Chapman says: “This book examines not only the fundamental reasons for the failure of the building industry in the 1990s, but also the long-term health costs of living in damp and mouldy homes, which are a consequence of this industry failure”.
Flyer
Order here
30 September 2009 – 11:29 am
Also posted in climate change and news & events
The latest report from the UN Environment Program, argues that even if the international community enacts every climate policy proposed at this point – an optimistic scenario that includes “U.S. cuts that would reduce domestic emissions 73 percent from 2005 levels by 2050, along with the European Union’s pledge to reduce its emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050″ – global temperatures will rise 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century. That’s nearly twice the temperature increase that scientists predict will spell irreversible climate chaos.
11 September 2009 – 10:04 am
Also posted in news & events and transport
IBM last week published their second report measuring CPI in the US. It’s a quick but interesting 12 page read, reporting the results of a survey of 4,000 US commuters.
9 September 2009 – 2:26 pm
Also posted in Uncategorized and news & events and urban design
Here are some links to recent research and an interesting video lecture:
The National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board calculated the greenhouse gas savings if new housing was more compact and put homes close to jobs and other amenities. A report requested by Congress and published last week, determined that 57 million US homes will be needed by 2030 to accommodate population growth and replacement housing.
“Removing the Roadblocks: How to Make Sustainable Development Happen Now” out last month from the UC Berkeley School of Law and UCLA School of Law.
Yesterday the Victorian Transport Policy Institute released ” Where We Want To Be: Home Location Preferences and their Implications for Smart Growth” by Todd Litman
And finally, thanks to the Ministry for the Environment Urban Leader newsletter I found this very interesting lecture by Bill Hillier on the links between density and crime.
Also posted in behaviour change
A draft report by the American Pyschological Association’s Task Force on the Interface between Pyschology and Global Climate Change, provides useful psychological insights for addressing the drivers of climate change, as well as considering how to mobilise people for change, and identifies many areas for further research.
