Monthly Archives: May 2014

Climate Politics

books & readings,
Book Review:  as posted on Inside Story
Power Failure: The Inside Story of Climate Politics Under Rudd and Gillard
By Philip Chubb, Black Inc.

gillardruddThere’s a good book review uploaded to the online site Inside Story. The book is  The Inside Story of Climate Politics Under Rudd and Gillard.

Andrew Dodd provides a thorough overview of Philip Chubb’s insider account of the demise of Kevin Rudd’s climate scheme.

His review males the book to be essential reading. My stack of books is already too high so I have provided this review as a way of tempting others. Click here.

University Urbanity

architecture, ARTS & CULTURE, CANBERRA, cultural, URBANITY, ,
Review: Campus Design
A review of new architecture and spaces within the ANU (Australian National University) Part One

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Across Australia there are stand out examples of campus design amongst many of our universities. In more recent years I have had reason to visit campuses in all the states and back here in Canberra and have been constantly impressed with some of the architectural and landscape work.  In most cases I have been positively impressed with the work and in others I have been taken aback.

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all that green-wash

climate change, ,
How those carbon offsets can do more environmental harm than good
q3gx4hds-1401170769Beware of all that green-wash.

Yet again there’s a nice piece on The Conversation about how we need to be far more serious about carbon. It also points towards the use of Green-Wash by corporations to allow them to continue with business as usual.

I have commented on this on our other blog – The Sustainable Settlements Institute – click here

Urban Agriculture

biodiversity, cities, climate change, gardens, green infrastructure, health & well being, Landscape, plants, sustainability, SUSTAINABLE SETTLEMENTS, ,

 Urban Agriculture – one part of the solution

from The Guardian, Designing cities and factories with urban agriculture in mind. The Netherlands offers inspiration for designers looking to create environments that harvest water, energy and nutrients.

Urban farms are transforming inner city spaces – rooftops, infrastructure, streetscapes, building skin – into generative ecologies that support the lives of people, and pollinators too. They are bringing into cities, and into plain view, the natural systems that sustain urban life

click here

Canberra Visual Arts

ARTS & CULTURE, visual arts,
Review: Visual Arts
May 2014 Visual Arts Exhibitions at M16 and the CCAS (Canberra)

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Once upon time Canberra had heaps visual arts galleries to visit on weekends. Now there are but a few left.  Last weekend I visited two publicly funded visual art spaces; being the M16 Gallery in Griffith and the Canberra Contemporary Art Space (CCAS) in Braddon. I can happily report that things are looking good and suggest you get out there and see for yourself just how both of these are traveling.*

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Sue Ford Photographer at NGV

ARTS & CULTURE, visual arts, ,
Review: Visual Arts/ Photography
Sue Ford, The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, April – August 2014

This exhibition of the photography of Sue Ford (1943 – 2009) at the Victorian State Gallery (National Gallery of Victoria*) is a curious one. Click here – for their media statements.

As an opening statement I have to say that I did not find this  exhibition as satisfactory as I had anticipated. Parts of the exhibition worked reasonably well, whereas other sections look as if someone was not sure what to do with the work, or that maybe they did not understand Sue Ford’s work.

Continue reading Sue Ford Photographer at NGV →

David Hockney 2014

ARTS & CULTURE, visual arts
Comment: Visual Arts
David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring, May-July 2014,
Annely Juda Fine Art, London

dh0617__full-sizeI have been a follower of David Hockney’s work from the early 1980’s, when I first read a book on his early UK works. Since then I have followed his merry career as he has switched medium and taken on a range of subjects.

In general I like most of his work and remain intrigued by lots of the other. It was with interest that I spotted this London exhibition, all done on the iPad, listed online. Have a look and open up the images in large format. There is definitely something interesting going on here. Hope one day to get to London again to see some of these.

Click here for the exhibition notice and then click ‘full screen’ for the slide show.

Car Parking

carbon, cities, climate change, legislation, SUSTAINABLE SETTLEMENTS, transport, ,

Using Parking Meters in Climate Change

 

parkingmadridThere are all sorts of stories in circulation in Canberra as a result of the decision to introduce paid parking for all areas within the Parliamentary Triangle. This has a big impact on those who work in the area. Some public servants are devising clever tricks to continue to have free parking.

This will also mean that visitors will now have to pay to visit the national institutions and have limited time to visit. This could be a marked change in how visitors regard the national cultural institutions. I know as a local, it will mean less visits to these institutions.

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Brisbane Ugly Part Six

cultural, urban development, URBANITY, ,
Urbanity: More on comments by Alain de Botton, Part Six of Six

That parts of Brisbane are ugly and the local government has allowed this to happen

Part Six of Six  – some final words

See previous:  Part One – Part Two – Part Three – Part Four – Part Five

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Brisbane definitely would not win any ‘most attractive city award’.

Continue reading Brisbane Ugly Part Six →