Boarding houses and government supply side intervention: Final report

Boarding houses in cities across Australia are being demolished or replaced, leading to a decline in the stock of this form of low-cost accommodation. Governments intervene reluctantly to slow the decline because boarding houses are normally run as private for profit businesses. Yet, the on-going problems faced by governments, the community and residents from the continuing loss of boarding houses are significant

The Role of Wastewater Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance

Wastewater testing for SARS-CoV-2 is relatively new; however, it builds on existing public health surveillance infrastructure. There is a limited but growing evidence base for its use, despite notable interpretation challenges. Wastewater testing results have helped to inform public health policy and interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario and other jurisdictions. Wastewater testing for SARS-CoV-2 is useful for early detection of outbreaks and surges as well as population-wide surveillance of COVID-19 that is complementary to clinical testing. Further, it offers an efficient means of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance for specific settings such as correctional facilities, shelters, and university residences. Wastewater testing can also be used for the detection and monitoring of variants of concern (VOCs)

Model industrial settlements and their continuing governance

This paper explores the continuing governance of three important historical industrial company towns that were developed as model settlements: New Lanark and Saltaire in the UK and Pullman in the United States. It explores the changing roles of the private sector, the public sector and civil society in the on-going stewardship of the settlements. This paper concludes that urban governance arrangements are important. In all three cases, the towns were initiated by private entrepreneurs but they are no longer in the ownership of the originating companies and their original economic base has vanished. In all three, public sector action was, at some stage, necessary to retain their integrity, but this action needed strong support from civil society actors. In all three examples, government and community action were supported by additional private sector initiatives. The interactions amongst the private sector, the public sector and civil society in the establishment and continuing stewardship of these settlements demonstrate the clear need for a better understanding of the role of governance arrangements in urban history

Planning and retrofitting for recurrent floods

The State of Australian Cities (SOAC) national conferences have been held biennially since 2003 to support interdisciplinary policy-related urban research. This paper was presented at SOAC 5held in Melbourne from 29 November – 2 December 2011. SOAC 5 was hosted by the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology and Latrobe University as well as the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Grattan Institute, the Victorian State Government and the City of Melbourne. Three plenary panels brought researchers from across the country to address ‘big issues’: place-based disadvantage, the design and form of Australian cities, and metropolitan governance. Over 175 papers, in 46 themed sessions, cover topics ranging from planning and governance for environmental sustainability, to housing affordability and adequacy in the context of an aging population. Healthy communities, better public transport, high quality open space, participatory planning, and issues affecting the peri-urban fringe are also strong sub-themes within this conference. All published papers have been subject to a peer reviewing process