Carolyn Whitzman

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a visit to an apartment complex under construction in Hamilton, Ont., on July 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

Housing is a direct federal responsibility, contrary to what Trudeau said. Here’s how his government can do better.

Carolyn Whitzman, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Alexandra Flynn, University of British Columbia

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments about housing not being the primary responsibility of the federal government miss the mark.
An aerial view of houses in Oshawa, Ont. is shown in November 2017. Canada’s minority government could result in progress on affordable housing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

What a minority government could mean for affordable housing in Canada

Carolyn Whitzman, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

There are many winners in a scenario in which Canada’s minority government enacts stronger supports for non-profit housing. The biggest are those who would get secure and affordable homes.
Nearly half of female tertiary students surveyed in Melbourne say they ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ feel safe on public transport after dark. KN/Shutterstock

Students don’t feel safe on public transport but many have no choice but to use it

Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne; Jason Thompson, The University of Melbourne, and Rewa Marathe, The University of Melbourne

As they return to classes, a survey finds nearly half of female tertiary students in Melbourne don’t feel safe using public transport at night. And 79% have been sexually harassed or victimised.
Children’s travel needs are a big factor in private car use. Pablo Rogat/Shutterstock

Children in the car era: bad for them and the planet

Hulya Gilbert, University of South Australia; Andrew Allan, University of South Australia; Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne, and Johannes Pieters, University of South Australia

The private car is the default transport option for many families. This reduces physical activity and increases greenhouse gas emissions, with unhealthy results for their children and the environment.
Vancouver has scaled up delivery of affordable social housing to about 15 times as much as Melbourne over the past three years. Shutterstock

Ten lessons from cities that have risen to the affordable housing challenge

Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne; Katrina Raynor, The University of Melbourne, and Matthew Palm, The University of Melbourne

Cities overseas that have been able to overcome the affordable housing challenges facing cities like Melbourne have adopted a coordinated and systemic approach to scaling up solutions that work.
Getting more out of ‘lazy’ land, such as this community housing built over a Port Phillip City Council-owned car park, is a key strategy to reduce the shortage of affordable housing. CIty of Port Phillip

Put unused and ‘lazy’ land to work to ease the affordable housing crisis

Matthew Palm, The University of Melbourne; Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne, and Katrina Raynor, The University of Melbourne

As Melbourne’s population hits 5 million, it’s a reminder that growing cities must make much better use of vacant and underused land to meet the urgent need for affordable housing.

We can’t just leave it to the NDIS to create cities that work to include people with disability

Ilan Wiesel, The University of Melbourne; Brendan Gleeson, The University of Melbourne; Carolyn Whitzman, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Christine Bigby, La Trobe University, and Ellen van Holstein, The University of Melbourne

The NDIS is set to reshape Australian cities. But to achieve meaningful participation of people with disabilities, urban communities and services will also need to take action.
Prime inner-city land, such as the Flemington estate, is being sold to developers to build new housing, but the public lacks basic details about these deals. Artist's impression, Victorian government

Governments have no excuse for keeping public in the dark on public housing deals

Matthew Palm, The University of Melbourne; Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne, and Katrina Raynor, The University of Melbourne

The Victorian government isn’t alone in seeking private partners to renew public housing. What is notable is its lack of transparency by comparison with such arrangements elsewhere.
Melbourne’s ambitions to be a ‘20-minute city’ aren’t likely to be achieved by its recently updated planning strategy. Nils Versemann / shutterstock.com

A 20‑minute city sounds good, but becoming one is a huge challenge

Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne

While many talk about 30-minute cities, some aim for residents to be able to get to most services within 20 minutes. But cities like Melbourne have an awful lot of work to do to achieve their goal.
To meet the needs of lower-income households, housing should be both affordable and located near public transport and other services. Graeme Bartlett/Wikimedia

What a difference a month makes, but Victoria can still do more to get housing and planning right

Katrina Raynor, The University of Melbourne and Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne

Victoria has been lagging behind other states in developing an affordable housing strategy. Now that one has been released, how well does it meet the needs of households on lower incomes?
The homeless people evicted from Flinders Street in Melbourne’s CBD are only the tip of the iceberg of the housing crisis in Victoria. Joe Castro/AAP

States drag feet on affordable housing, with Victoria the worst

Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne

Weak state policies, which lack clear targets and mechanisms for providing more and better affordable housing, are part of the problem. Victoria still doesn’t have an affordable housing strategy.
What’s in the Turnbull government’s first budget for cities, defence, social services, the ABC and more? AAP/Lukas Coch

Federal budget 2016: political experts react

Natalie Mast, The University of Western Australia; Andrew Dodd, Swinburne University of Technology; Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne; Daniel Baldino, University of Notre Dame Australia; Jago Dodson, RMIT University; Janine O'Flynn, The University of Melbourne; Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University; Matthew Beck, University of Sydney; Merlin Crossley AM, UNSW ; Peter Whiteford, Australian National University; Susan Harris Rimmer, Griffith University, and Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas, The University of Melbourne

On reform, the 2016-17 budget is a holding one, with tinkering on the sides.
Good access to people, services and other essential ingredients of wellbeing is a defining feature of liveable communities. flickr/US Department of Agriculture

How do we create liveable cities? First, we must work out the key ingredients

Melanie Davern, RMIT University; Billie Giles-Corti, The University of Melbourne; Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne, and Hannah Badland, The University of Melbourne

Communities that rate highly for liveability share certain essential features. We can identify and build these key ingredients into our cities to create thriving places where people want to live.
Good urban planning and support services can make a life-and-death difference to victims of family violence. Denizo71/Shutterstock

Better urban planning can reduce the tragedies of domestic violence

Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne

Three shocking incidents, in which three children and one adult died, have dominated the news in Melbourne in the past two months. On Easter Sunday, Indiana and Savannah Mihayo were murdered in their grandparents…
People living in the suburban sprawl walk less, drive more, and spend more time in sedentary pursuits. katie chao and ben muessig/Flickr

Fat of the land: how urban design can help curb obesity

Billie Giles-Corti, The University of Melbourne and Carolyn Whitzman, The University of Melbourne

OBESE NATION: It’s time to admit it - Australia is becoming an obese nation. This series looks at how this has happened and more importantly, what we can do to stop the obesity epidemic. Here Billie Giles-Corti…

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