Category Archives: Growth

Whatever the NSW election result, metros are the winner

Posted on 23 March, 2023 by Alex

As I write this post on the eve of the 2023 NSW state election, the major parties are neck-and-neck in the opinion polls. I’m not going to attempt to pick the result but there is already one clear winner, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Airport, Growth, Infrastructure, metro, Planning, Population, Public Transport, Rail, Sydney Metro, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Western Sydney and the City Deal: a precursor to metropolitan governance reform?

Posted on 6 June, 2022 by Alex

Recently, along with three other authors from Commonwealth countries, I was asked by the editors of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance to prepare a short “perspective” on issues and trends in metropolitan governance in response to a paper by … Continue reading →

Posted in Airport, Governance, Growth, Local Government, ROCs, Sydney metro area, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why are motorways good but fast trains bad for regional cities?

Posted on 22 September, 2019 by Alex

While I was overseas a few months ago in Tbilisi (among other things looking at the city’s transport systems) I read The Conversation article by Todd Denham and Jago Dodson – Regional cities beware – fast rail might lead to … Continue reading →

Posted in Fast Rail, Growth, Public Transport, Rail, Regions, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bradfield, 75 years on – part 1: the Science of Engineering

Posted on 31 July, 2018 by Alex

Recently I spent 10 minutes or so at Sydney’s busy suburban Strathfield Station while changing trains in the evening peak hour. As I waited I watched the synchronised dance across the station’s eight platforms as double-deck trains arrived, disgorged commuters, … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth, History, Infrastructure, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Back to the Future? – Sydney Region Plan and Transport Strategy (part 1)

Posted on 29 October, 2017 by Alex

For anyone who has been involved with metropolitan planning in Sydney for any length of time there is a whiff of familiarity surrounding the release by the Greater Sydney Commission and Transport for NSW of a suite of documents outlining … Continue reading →

Posted in Airport, Growth, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Taking the train downtown – how four Australasian cities are embracing CBD rail

Posted on 25 July, 2016 by Alex

First, an apology. A number of technical and other issues made it very difficult to post to this blog when I was travelling overseas and some of these issues have also complicated the resumption of regular The Strategic Week posts … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth, Infrastructure, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Strategic Week (no. 16, Friday 8 April 2016) – the week in governance, planning, infrastructure and transport

Posted on 11 April, 2016 by Alex

Top of the Week Grattan research claims on poor transport infrastructure investment draw support … A report from the Grattan Institute claims that when it comes to government infrastructure expenditure “too much money has been spent on the wrong projects in … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Local Government, Planning, Public Transport, Statistics, Sydney metro area, The Strategic Week, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Strategic Week (no. 15, Friday 1 April 2016) – the week in governance, planning, infrastructure and transport

Posted on 2 April, 2016 by Alex

Top of the Week NSW council mergers: mayors and councillors likely to be dismissed and made to apply for interim positions on merged councils … The NSW Minister for Local Government Paul Toole has revealed that merged councils are likely … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Planning, Population, Public Transport, Regions, Statistics, Sydney metro area, The Strategic Week, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Strategic Week (no. 12, Friday 11 March 2016) – the week in governance, planning, infrastructure and transport

Posted on 13 March, 2016 by Alex

This edition of The Strategic Week was delayed in part to incorporate some aspects of the Prime Minister’s media comments and address to a Western Sydney summit on Friday. This will be discussed in further detail in the next edition … Continue reading →

Posted in Airport, Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Local Government, Planning, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, The Strategic Week, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Strategic Week (no. 6, Friday 29 January 2016) – the week in governance, planning, infrastructure and transport

Posted on 29 January, 2016 by Alex

Governance GSC embarks on Sydney’s “great new experiment” in planning – but will it survive the roads lobby? The Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) officially started work on 27 January 2016. The Sydney Morning Herald in an editorial described the GSC as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Development, Environment, Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Local Government, Planning, Public Transport, Regions, ROCs, Sydney metro area, The Strategic Week, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments