Elizabeth Farrelly
@emfarrelly.bsky.social
Writer, ratbag, localist, crazy believer in cities of truth, beauty, justice Host Make Me A City substack https://elizabethfarrelly.substack.com/ Presenter The Sydneyist 89.7fm https://eastsidefm.org/thesydneyist/ Ex-CEO The Better Cities Initiative
A gentle ramp spirals into the pool that lies curled in the floor of the light-filled, tepee-shaped pavilion. It’s wheelchair access but it feels symbolic and vaguely yin-yang, like some ultra-pale azure catseye catching the light.... Read on: elizabethfarrelly.substack.com/p/aged-care-...
AGED-CARE FACILITY? SPARE ME
There must be better ways to age disgracefully than the soulless dettol-flavoured institutions we offer
elizabethfarrelly.substack.com
Excited to be heading to Melbourne this Wednesday for a serious conversation in the @greendesignshow at the @mcec to discuss the Future of Cities with brilliant colleages @qutaibahalatafi, @jegagreenway and @aliceblackwood. Come! Have a listen! Heckle! It'll be serious fun! #urbanism #futurecities
When it comes to density, and doing it better - or even so that it's not wrist-slittingly dreadful - we could learn much from San Francisco. architectureau.com/articles/The...
The car didn’t ruin San Francisco – why can’t we say the same?
We're accustomed to the idea of cars as destroyers of cities. Anyone seeking a model of dense, walkable, lovable neighbourhoods that don't ban the car should look no further than San Francisco.
architectureau.com
@emfarrelly.bsky.social spot on; “Architecture is the most public of the arts, yet the least publicly discussed. That’s not a high bar: across the arts in general, the public conversation is unedifying at best. But in architecture, it is all but non-existent” architectureau.com/articles/arc...
Architecture has a talk problem
Whatever public conversation there is about architecture is dominated by celebrities and enthusiasts, who “promote” it without enhancing anyone’s understanding of the difference between the good, the ...
architectureau.com
Must read article by @emfarrelly.bsky.social on the outrageous, undemocratic recent changes to NSW Planning Act. Premier Minns in pocket of the worst urgera & profiteers, environmental vandals & developers. This analysis ignored by MSM, sucked in by press release architectureau.com/articles/pro...
Prohibiting the public interest
The new New South Wales Environmental Planning and Assessment (Planning System Reforms) Bill 2025, which slid through parliament in November with bipartisan support and little press coverage, is “trus...
architectureau.com
My review of The Brutalist, which may sweep the floor at the Oscars but remains the WORST, klunkiest, most empty-headed and over-acted rubbish for a long long time... as well as peddling a very dangerous myth. Ayn Rand, fascism. Just sayin' architectureau.com/articles/bru...
Brutalising brutalism
In her analysis of the ten-time Oscar-nominated film, The Brutalist, Elizabeth Farrelly criticises the film for its conceptual weaknesses and architectural inaccuracies.
architectureau.com
Wendy Harmer is THE best MC - fair, funny and tough! Come along, help generate a true citizen voice in planning!
Wendy Harmer@wendyharmer.bsky.social · last yr.Join us for our next event on Northern Beaches - Wednesday,26th Feb. 6pm Mona Vale. The topic at hand is how better to include citizens in planning, instead of top-down decision making. Great speakers, I'll be moderating. Q&A See you there! www.bettercities.org.au/events/whats...
After the huge success of Waverley we turn to the Northern Beaches. WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE NORTHERN BEACHES? asks how to achieve density, walkability and affordability AND amenity, heritage and biodiversity. Come! Join the convo! Mona Vale Community Hall, 26th Feb 6-8pm! #planning #democracy #sydney
On the joys of walking - rollicking article by @emfarrelly.bsky.social on the insanity of reserving streets for cars & relegating pedestrians to jaywalkers. Let’s invert our streets & prioritise pedestrians’ rights architectureau.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?...
The duty to jaywalk
Contemplating the walkability of cities and the patient obedience of pedestrians, Elizabeth Farrelly contends that viewing "walkability as a simple practical trait is such an error," and one that many...
architectureau.us1.list-manage.com
So it’s happened. Trees are now the enemy. Everyone who wants to make a quid can now copy the developer lobby and pretend trees, (green tape, height limits, window requirements etc) are impediments to affordability. Not true. We can have density and amenity… it’s a design thing.
In which the redoubtable Tim Williams and I fix the #housingcrisis eastsidefm.org/episodes/173...
The Sydneyist - 23, January 2025
Listen to The Sydneyist
eastsidefm.org
Why jaywalking is not just your right, but your solemn civic duty. #cities #walkthehood architectureau.com/articles/the...
The duty to jaywalk
Contemplating the walkability of cities and the patient obedience of pedestrians, Elizabeth Farrelly contends that viewing "walkability as a simple practical trait is such an error," and one that many...
architectureau.com
WHAT’S NEXT FOR WAVERLEY - a free public event Wed 13th. Many consider Waverley “full” – yet govt housing targets propose an extra 2,400 dwellings by 2029. How? Where? How to find consensus? @wendyharmer.bsky.social moderates, @allegraspender.bsky.social speaks & many others! Do COME! #sydney
Thanks @ournewhomecoach.bsky.social! So much nicer than Twitter ever was!
Jennifer Crawford@ournewhomecoach.bsky.social · 2y agoBluesky please welcome Ms Elizabeth Farrelly to the floor. I’m so glad that she is here and has an opportunity for a much broader audience. Follow her and you can thank me later. 😊🤞🦋
I'm part of @emfarrelly.bsky.social initiative for more community input on planning in Sydney. You can find us here... www.bettercities.org.au 1/3
The Better Cities Initiative
The Better Cities Initiative is a start-up not-for-profit organisation established to inform, empower and protect the long-term interests of the only group currently unrepresented in the planning syst...
bettercities.org.au
