Alan Davies
Crikey.com.au
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Contact Alan
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Past articles by Alan:
Why the Melbourne Bike Share scheme failed
Despite needing millions of dollars per year to operate, Melbourne Bike Share has received a decade of indifference from riders. → Read More
Sydney isn’t full. Its existing home owners just hate change.
According to many residents, Sydney has suddenly reached capacity. But the problem isn't a physical one: it's political, writes Alan Davies. → Read More
Children stay are home more, but roam in different ways
Why are children staying at home more and is this a bad thing? → Read More
Will Australians be living in '20-minute cities' by the middle of this century?
Victoria’s Andrews government's Plan Melbourne confirmed the goal of creating a 20-minute city is a centre piece of the city’s strategic plan. → Read More
Suburban sprawl isn't quite the nightmarish dystopia The Age makes out
The Age published another instalment in its series on Melbourne and immigration-fuelled population growth on Sunday, this time focused on suburban sprawl. → Read More
Do we need to stop immigration to our major cities before it's too late?
Determining the appropriate level of immigration for our cities is obviously an important public policy issue but too often the debate is derailed. → Read More
How can Australia make bollards in our cities better?
It's regrettable it seems necessary to install heavy bollards in Australian cities to protect against vehicle attacks. But it could be a way to improve public spaces. → Read More
After Grenfell: are 'towers' even the best design for public housing blocks?
There is a dystopian stereotype about public housing that is remarkably common, which involves putting the blame put on all those damn high-rise towers. → Read More
After Grenfell Tower fire, should we stop building high-rise apartments?
If no fire engine can reach up 20 storeys, should we stop building high-rise apartments? → Read More
Are Australian cities dense enough?
The extensive suburbs in the middle rings of Australia's east coast capitals explains why they so much less dense than comparable Canadian cities → Read More
Is Melbourne's all-night public transport on the weekends cost-effective policy?
Is Victorian Premier Dan Andrews' Night Network, which provides all-night public transport on weekends, good policy? Not exactly, writes Alan Davies. → Read More
How big are the public health benefits of riding to work?
Those who cycle to work have better health prospects than those who commute by car but would the public health benefits scale up if we all cycled? → Read More
Is all night public transport value for money?
Melbourne's move to all-night public transport on weekends is certainly appealing but there are many other ways such a huge sum of money could be spent → Read More
Should walking and cycling trails be like freeways?
Melbourne's new Darebin-Yarra Link is more like a freeway than a shared walking and cycling trail; it's hard for nearby residents to get access to it → Read More
How dangerous is cycling?
Statistically, cycling is much safer than prospective riders imagine, but it's what they imagine that matters; it still seems too dangerous → Read More
Victoria's housing affordability changes won't make housing more affordable
The Victorian government says "it's tackling housing affordability head on", but its new housing initiatives are mostly about keeping up appearances. → Read More
Why are small dogs becoming more fashionable in cities?
Small dogs are ousting larger dogs in the affections of Americans and, it seems likely, Australians too. One popular explanation is we're living at higher densities but it's likely there's more to it → Read More
Is driving quicker than taking the train?
Policy-makers should look at these numbers. Journeys made by car in Sydney are much faster than journeys made by train; they're a long way from being substitutes for each other → Read More
Should a station at Sth Yarra be part of Melbourne Metro?
Refusing to build a station in busy Sth Yarra as part of its promised Melbourne Metro rail line seems counter to good planning practice and looks politically risky for the Andrew's Government → Read More
Apartment standards: is this sham consultation?
The Victorian government say it wants to start a serious discussion with the community on design standards for apartments. But it's not telling the full story; it looks like it's doing a bit of "design-washing" → Read More