Nicole Cook – The Conversation

Sophie-May Kerr

November 8, 2023

Heat, cold, pollution, noise and insects: too many apartment blocks aren’t up to the challenge

Nicole Cook, University of Wollongong and Sophie-May Kerr, UNSW

Apartment residents need more sustainable, climate-adapted designs. They shouldn’t have to depend on costly, high-emissions air conditioning to remain comfortable and healthy.

Shutterstock

April 26, 2023

Wanted: family‑friendly apartments. But what do families want from apartments?

Nicole Cook, University of Wollongong; Shanaka Herath, University of Technology Sydney, and Sophie-May Kerr, UNSW

In parts of Sydney, families occupy half the apartments and many value their convenient location. Yet, despite a surge in development, most apartments are one or two bedrooms and not family-friendly.

The former state secretary of the Builders Labourers Federation, Jack Mundey, in front of the Sirius building. Dean Lewins/AAP

January 25, 2017

Speaking with: Nicole Cook on union ‘green bans’, housing affordability and the Sirius building

Dallas Rogers, Western Sydney University

Dallas Rogers speaks with Nicole Cook about how union 'green bans' in the 1970s stopped the redevelopment of working-class suburbs in Sydney.

Opponents of projects are often scorned as NIMBYs, but active citizenship and local consultation are key elements in creating a city that works well for as many people as possible. Teresa Parker/AAP

May 24, 2016

‘30‑minute city’? Not in my backyard! Smart Cities Plan must let people have their say

Crystal Legacy, RMIT University; Dallas Rogers, Western Sydney University; Kristian Ruming, Macquarie University, and Nicole Cook, The University of Melbourne

Cities are home to many different people who will not always agree. We need to learn to embrace public debate as an ongoing, constructive process for working through diverse views and values.

The cover that trees provide transforms cities into much more hospitable places, especially in hot weather. AAP/Joe Castro

February 8, 2016

In a heatwave, the leafy suburbs are even more advantaged

Rachel Hughes, The University of Melbourne; Elizabeth Taylor, Monash University; Melanie Davern, RMIT University; Nicole Cook, University of Wollongong, and Stephen Livesley, The University of Melbourne

Six years after Black Saturday, it’s worth remembering that heatwaves kill more people than bushfires do, so shade can be a life-saver. But tree cover and shade are not evenly distributed in cities.

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