28 cooperative social housing apartments in Barcelona - would not be allowed in Australia due to so many building & fire regulations; - atrium roof/courtyard enclosure - lift combined with fire stair - exposed timber structure at GF - glazed timber doors & timber cladding to courtyard facades

“We must protect political debate by stopping any protesters and media who present things that make us look bad.” chaser.com.au/national/pol...

In the room. My @smh @theage cartoon.

The growing threat of urban heat & the necessity of increasing tree canopies - everywhere but especially in the hotter new inland parts of our cities. We so need a major program of street tree planting & revised planning controls that mandate 15-25% deep soil landscape on private lots

Truth

We should call her the Ginger Whinger like we called him Scotty From Marketing

All too rare interview in the press with architect maestro #GlennMurcutt on his 90th birthday - still practicing! Murcutt rightly rails against some of the more unnecessarily restrictive building code impositions, that limit breathable buildings suited to our climate & lifestyle.

‘Burnt out architect’ on Instagram with some pithy truth telling… @studioalternativi

Bang bang click. My @smh @theage cartoon.

The Unexpected Power of OPEN STREETS! Open Streets are simple: OPEN streets to people, close to motor vehicles, and magic happens! People walk, bike, run, paint, dance, chat... enjoy each other. Register for FREE webinar. Presenter Jim Burke Tue. Aug. 11 11am EST / 5pm CET bit.ly/3PJom4b

Excellent article on the many opportunities to reorient new medium density housing to fringe our extensive green corridors & parklands - in places where you would be happy to live & enjoy. A far better initiative than tower clusters on steroids, or high density strung along noisy, dirty main roads

Isn’t it high time to bring all the craven politicians, rabid media & profiteering big environmental exploiters to account - better still to trial with punitive damages, for all the destruction they are reaping on our planet? Over time people vote for survival www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

‘No one wants to be right about this’: climate scientists’ horror and exasperation as global predictions play out

As the northern hemisphere burns, experts feel deep sadness – and resentment – while dreading what lies ahead this Australian summer

theguardian.com

We need environmental and climate policy set by 11-year-olds, instead of men in their 60s with fossil fuel shares and oil & gas company board seats on offer after they finish their political careers.

David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 3d ago

Even an 11-year-old knows that things will get worse if we keep polluting the environment.

Health regulator head is pressing on with imposing IHRA antisemitism definition on hundreds of thousands of health workers but couldn’t answer a few simple Qs about one example michaelwest.com.au/royal-commis...

Royal Commission: lawyers spar over Gaza genocide, health regulator admits Segal pressure - Michael West

AHPRA has begun monitoring social media for criticism of Israel after pressure from Jillian Segal, the Bondi Royal Commission has heard

michaelwest.com.au

Dear Australian news media, I have zero interest in your daily coverage of everything Pauline Hanson says and does. Yes, report her policies (when she releases them). But also report the policies of the Greens too. For balance. With some factual analysis of both. Do some bloody #journalism! #auspol

2 of our #sydneyapartmentbuildings; designed & documented a decade apart. Left; 8 consultants Right; 25 consultants Bloated growth in regulations (incl post planning), esp for smaller apartment buildings, is killing affordability & compact & desirable building types. Hardly improved ‘productivity’

The doldrums of politics in Victoria; #pathudson cartoons

THIS is the one thing everybody outside the UK needs to know about us right now.

Lizzie Dearden@lizziedearden.bsky.social · 3d ago

The number of terror-related arrests in Britain has risen 1,200% a year following the ban of Palestine Action The number of people arrested for holding signs - under a law originally designed for IRA uniforms - is higher than total terror arrests over the previous decade inews.co.uk/news/retired...

Cautionary article Aust; “The composition of construction is the real story. For 1st time on record, purpose-built rentals made up most new starts—about 58%..warns Canada becoming a “nation of rentals” & describes collapse in ownership-oriented construction as kind normally seen only in recessions..

Hugh Millward@hmillward.bsky.social · 3d ago

Too many rentals in the sky. thehub.ca/2026/07/29/c...

My kids treat this house like a bloody hotel. Yet ANOTHER Gideon Bible in my bedside drawer this morning.

horse shit..

Powerful article by #joanapartyka in @thesaturdaypaper.com.au about the thuggish legal bullying by big businesses - in this case Woodside, against climate activists protesting against the exploitation & environmental destruction. We so need legal reform to stop such suppression of public protest

Stanley Melbourne Bruce, PM of Australia 1923–29, so disliked his first name that his close friends called him “S.M.”, he officially requested that the press to refer to him by his initials, and his wife simply called him “Ess”

ex-Lethality Jane@lethalityjane.bsky.social · 5d ago

My favorite Ulysses Grant fact is that he was born Hiram Ulysses Grant but hated that his initials spelled "HUG" so he applied to West Point as "Ulysses Hiram Grant" but his sponsor accidentally put "Ulysses S. Grant" and then the Army said "your paperwork says Ulysses S. Grant so that's your name".

So backward - across 5 Presidential terms - zip

Wendy Harmer@wendyharmer.bsky.social · 4d ago

Still astounds me that the Federal basic wage in the U.S hasn't been raised since July 2009... 17 years go. Still $7.25 per hour. (In some states $15 or above.) Australia's latest national minimum wage is $26.44 per hour or $1,004.90 per week... as of 1 July 2026.

Fuck #AI www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘More than just objects’: Australian booksellers raise alarm over ‘horrific’ destruction of rare titles to feed AI

Secondhand booksellers believe they may have been caught up in the AI supply chain that sees old books scanned then destroyed

theguardian.com

Mistaken zoning; Look across our cities & you’ll usually see the highest densities deliberately glued along noisy, smelly main roads…while the quiet green streets, waterfronts & park fronts are reserved for houses. Why concentrate the most people in worst environments? Zoning needs to change!

Notice how he doesn't even mention parking, despite the containers being located along the curb. Other mayors would talk about the tradeoffs and say, "Look, we know New Yorkers like their parking." Not Mamdani. He keeps the focus where it belongs: on cleaner streets.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 5d ago

Now this is the kind of trash talk we can get behind. We’re containerizing neighborhoods by taking trash off our sidewalks and allowing mid-size buildings to trade in their wheelie bins for a bigger, better, cleaner alternative: Empire Bins. It’s time to put a lid on it, New York.

For Sydney folks who support more density - but want it done right ( like I do) ... this outfit may be of interest. "Density done well requires real planning — not targets imposed without infrastructure, consultation or genuine affordability." doing-density-better.netlify.app