Author Archives: Alex

Independent inquiry’s report will shape Sydney’s transport debate

Posted on 16 February, 2010 by Alex

It’s finally out – the interim report of the Independent Public Inquiry into Sydney’s public transport.  The Inquiry’s report was prepared under the guidance of Mr Ron Christie, former NSW Coordinator General for Rail and former head of the RTA, … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Infrastructure, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

SMH publishes transport opinion piece

Posted on 26 January, 2010 by Alex

In late November last year, just before I left for Perth and then Paris, the Sydney Morning Herald published my opinion piece on Sydney’s current transport infrastructure saga. The title the paper chose was: Three times denied: western Sydney misses … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth, Infrastructure, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Paris and peripheral cities

Posted on 26 January, 2010 by Alex

In December I was a participant in an international roundtable on peripheral cities held in Paris. This was part of a seminar organised by FALP (an acronym from the French for “Forum of Local Authorities of the Periphery”) in conjunction … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Local Government | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

SOAC addresses cities in Perth

Posted on 18 January, 2010 by Alex

In November the 2009 State of Australian Cities Conference brought together academics, researchers, planners and many others involved in urban design and management at the University of Western Australia in Perth to discuss the current status and direction of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Infrastructure, Presentations, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Promoting good governance in China

Posted on 17 January, 2010 by Alex

In October I was fortunate to have the opportunity to address 150 local government officials in Beijing on the theme of building good governance at the local government level. The attendees were staff of the Beijing Municipal Commissions for Development … Continue reading →

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Space-time gap

Posted on 17 January, 2010 by Alex

Apologies to anyone who is following these blogs – I’ve been off interstate and overseas, lecturing and speaking at a number of conferences, as well as having some time off. I know that is a poor excuse for not posting in … Continue reading →

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“Red Ken” looks outside the building

Posted on 21 September, 2009 by Alex

The former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone’s recent City of Sydney CityTalk address contained a strong argument for greater investment in education, infrastructure and sustainable transport to tackle climate change, but he made another  important comment on city management  in the Q&A session afterwards. As a result … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Infrastructure, Local Government, Planning, Public Transport | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Christie’s Sydney public transport inquiry hearings kick off

Posted on 18 September, 2009 by Alex

Well, it’s inevitable that the next few posts will be dominated by Sydney public transport and planning issues. On Tuesday the public hearings for the Sydney Morning Herald’s independent public inquiry headed by transport expert and former Director-General Ron Christie … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Australian product provides new window on local economic performance

Posted on 1 September, 2009 by Alex

Melbourne-based firm .id (informed decisions) have just launched economy.id, an online economic profile to “describe, explore and promote” local economies. economy.id joins the .id stable of profiles and other web-based programs, including profile.id, atlas.id, forecast.id and housing.id. .id’s main client … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Growth, Infrastructure, Local Government, NGO, Planning, Statistics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Using mind mapping in strategic thinking and organisation management

Posted on 22 July, 2009 by Alex

Before I return to NSW growth, employment and infrastructure – and in case some of you are getting bored by these weighty matters – I thought I would make a brief diversion into the practical side of strategic thinking. When … Continue reading →

Posted in Local Government, Mind Mapping, NGO, Social Media, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments