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There are cultural issues at play there which will take quite some time to overcome. High rises in Sydney are popping up around train stations now, but the vast

There are cultural issues at play there which will take quite some time to overcome. High rises in Sydney are popping up around train stations now, but the vast majority of the metropolitan region's land area is taken up by single or double-storey family homes with yards. Pretty much every new high-rise development in these sorts of areas is met with substantial resistance. I don't blame them either - after living in medium-density places in Europe for a few years, I'm sick of it, and want my own house. The problem with Australia is that too little thought was given to making viable cities outside of the state capitals. I would love to live in a smaller town but my partner needs a major STEM research university to work at. Europe has such universities in small towns, but Australia does not. Everything is too concentrated in the capitals.

mceoin 9y ago
ANU? Small town, excellent STEM programs.
- cknight 9y ago
  ANU is likely the best compromise option for us at the moment, yeah. All my friends and family are in Sydney, so it's not too far. Though even as a Sydney-sider, I don't consider Canberra to be a small town. Not after living in German university towns for the last 5 years with pops <150k. Having said all that, Canberra is an example of how Australia has (once) planned out a charter city and had it succeed. However I am not sure we can do it again without the federal government being as deeply committed as it was in overseeing its own future seat.
closeparen 9y ago
I figured. But it's important to remember that the problems that come with sprawl (commute time, environmental issues, high prices when you run out of room to sprawl into) are problems we choose because we judge mid- and high-rise development to be even worse. It's a good idea to be critical, and to encourage others to be critical, about whether that really makes sense. This meme that you can't grow except through sprawl is pernicious. Most cities are choosing to leave options on the table.

mceoin 9y ago

ANU? Small town, excellent STEM programs.

cknight 9y ago
ANU is likely the best compromise option for us at the moment, yeah. All my friends and family are in Sydney, so it's not too far. Though even as a Sydney-sider, I don't consider Canberra to be a small town. Not after living in German university towns for the last 5 years with pops <150k. Having said all that, Canberra is an example of how Australia has (once) planned out a charter city and had it succeed. However I am not sure we can do it again without the federal government being as deeply committed as it was in overseeing its own future seat.

closeparen 9y ago

I figured. But it's important to remember that the problems that come with sprawl (commute time, environmental issues, high prices when you run out of room to sprawl into) are problems we choose because we judge mid- and high-rise development to be even worse. It's a good idea to be critical, and to encourage others to be critical, about whether that really makes sense. This meme that you can't grow except through sprawl is pernicious. Most cities are choosing to leave options on the table.