Parramatta City Council has released its 10-year cultural strategy.

And aside from the usual guff ("position Parramatta as the Cultural Capital of Western Sydney, through its bold creative and cultural leadership"), there's a lot to like about this strategy.

"A New Contemporary Art Gallery: A world-class
contemporary art gallery will provide much-needed exhibition space, supporting diverse voices, attracting international audiences, and enriching the city’s cultural scene."

An excellent idea. With the Parramatta Powerhouse Museum and the revitalised Riverside Theatres, one of the huge remaining gaps in Parramatta is the lack of a major art gallery.

"Prioritise preservation, activation and promotion of Parramatta’s unique Heritage venues and precincts including advocating for the reopening of the Roxy as a live music venue."

Reopening the Roxy as a live music venue is an excellent idea. Parramatta needs a live music and comedy venue that can attract local and international acts.

"Advocate for Parramatta as the location of SBS’s new Western Sydney studio."

Parramatta is the ideal location for SBS. And frankly, the head office of SBS should be in Parra.

"Develop a Parramatta CBD Arts and Cultural Precinct Masterplan and investigate designated areas to be developed as special entertainment precincts."

With the Parramatta Powerhouse, the new Riverside Theatre, and potentially a revived Roxy as a live music venue can form the "spine" of a new arts and culture precinct.

Add a new contemporary art gallery nearby, and you have the core of an arts and entertainment precinct at the northern end of the CBD that could extend into Parramatta North.

Full document here:

https://participate.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/projects/download/20153/ProjectDocument

#Parramatta #art #arts #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #nswpol #auspol

Gyaros island of exile - new access to the new #museum - view from the sea

https://benhuser.com/2025/05/25/gyaros-island-of-exile/

#Greece #Cyclades #Gyaros

Modeling And Analyzing Urban Networks And Amenities With OSMnx
--
https://doi.org/10.1111/gean.70009 <-- shared technical article / 'how to'
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #OSMnx #OpenStreetMap #model #modeling #python #code #spatialanalysis #urban #networks #roads #transportation #infrastructure #geography #urbanplanning #planning #usage #design #software #development #openscience #opensource #analysis #tutorial #howto

#Gyaros island of exile concerns everyones way of life consciously or unconsciously. Therefore we propose that ‘The #Museum’ gets realized under the auspicies of a ‘ joint venture’, involving all ministries as the executive representents of the Greek people. Project “infrastructural” helps to balance and strengthen the ‘ psychotope’ of the entire society to render it well worth living in it.

benhuser.com

#Greece #Cyclades

10.06.2025 email to the jury members of the #Alumil #Arxellence3 competition

#architecture #landscapedesign #urbanplanning #infrastructure #museum

“The Path is The Goal”

https://benhuser.com/2025/05/25/gyaros-island-of-exile/

#Greece #Cyclades #Gyaros

“The Path is the Goal”

https://benhuser.com/2025/05/25/gyaros-island-of-exile/

#architecture #landscapedesign #urbanplanning #infrastructure #museum

Jakarta is sinking.
So Indonesia is moving its capital… into the rainforest.
But Nusantara is already turning into a disaster. Full breakdown: https://www.ryanjhite.com/2025/06/04/jakarta-is-sinking-inside-indonesias-30-billion-disaster-capital-move/
#Indonesia #Nusantara #Jakarta #UrbanPlanning #Geopolitics #SinkingCities

Archdaily : Place Pouchet Social and Cultural Center / MCBAD architecture & urban design https://www.archdaily.com/1030851/social-and-cultural-center-place-pouchet-paris-mcbad-architecture-and-urban-design #CulturalArchitecture #CulturalCenter #UrbanPlanning #Urbanism

Europeans and Barcelonans - does anyone know how an Australian-looking traffic signal ended up on the eastern side of the Plaça de Catalunya?!

It appears to be the only example in the entire city. The knowledgeable folks in the AU Rail & Road signals Discord think it’s an Aldridge model with a hexagonal LED pattern only found in South Australia (#SA) - they haven’t spotted a single other Aldridge model in the #EU.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/1fNwWq4KFtQcDg6r6

Over 1.4 million Aussie households are now facing mortgage stress—and it's getting worse.
This video breaks down the top 10 hidden causes of the housing crisis: interest rates, wage stagnation, migration pressure, policy failures, climate risks, foreign buyers, and more.
Not just a real estate story. It’s a survival story.

#housingcrisis #mortgagestress #auspol #urbanplanning #costofliving #climate #realestate #rentcrisis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_jV7F7qMyg

@rnzbot_political The Christchurch City Council fought the National Government about who gets to decide where and how the city gets denser as it develops. The City Council mostly lost.

This next bit seems important. Deciding where to concentrate high density housing before the future public transport network has been decided on seems backwards.

“The city also needed to turn its attention to improving public transport.”

"Ōtautahi Christchurch definitely needs a reevaluation of its transport system. We've been calling for the introduction of mass rapid transport across the city to support and facilitate the kind of growth and development that needs to happen, and to make sure that everyone has a choice about how they're getting around the city and aren't forced to just pick cars."

Solving the traffic problem, advertisement 1927
.
#PublicTransportation #Advertisement #Trolleys #Retro #Vintage #PublicTransport #UrbanPlanning

Spatial Integration or Isolation? Capturing the Rhythms of Daily Lives Across Neighbourhoods in Helsinki Using Mobile Phone Data
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/psp.70029

#TBT to the inspiring Lightning Talks at the Center for Geospatial Analytics during the GRASS Developer Summit in Raleigh! ️

We heard rapid-fire insights on a wide range of geospatial innovations!
https://grass.osgeo.org/news/2025_05_27_grass_dev_summit_report/

Big thanks to everyone who shared their work and ideas!

Stay tuned — videos coming soon!

As I was waiting for the bus this morning, I had an idea for a new Weird Al parody: “On the Bus Again,” based on Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again.” It can be an ode to transit in general.

(And don’t ask me why I’m going into the office. I don’t know. Such decisions, sadly, are apparently above my pay grade.)

“The place formerly known as 16th Street Mall is open and ready for visitors.

But there’s a big question mark about the $175 million revitalization effort — how will people get there?

While the street is shiny and new, the ways to reach it — bus, train, micro-transit and car — are much the same, and so are their challenges.”

#Denver #DowntownDenver #UrbanPlanning #Transportation #Mobility #UrbanMobility #16thStreetMall #Tourism #Parking #Bicycling #Transit

https://denverite.com/2025/06/02/downtown-denver-transportation-plan-mobility/

This week's Top 5:

Dark-web dealing
A cruel tradition
Revisiting Twain
Flushing in flux
An unlikely reunion

Our editors recommend excellent #longreads this week by Andy Greenberg, Michelle Orange, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Jefferson Mao, and Will Steinfeld.

https://longreads.com/2025/05/30/the-top-5-longreads-of-the-week-565?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Ray Delahanty ( @nerd4cities ) recently visited Sydney. Here's what YouTube's favourite urban planner thinks of Sydney's trains, metro, light rail, ferries, Newtown, Surry Hills, Parramatta, bush turkeys, Manly, Katoomba, Carriageworks, and much more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfWFciekZwo #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #Sydney

"We report clear associations between circadian gene expression, daily behavioral patterns, and fitness in free-living, urban-adapted individuals. The dose-dependent nature of the observed behavioral and genetic changes supports #UrbanPlanning measures, such as the reduction of #ALAN intensities to a level that preserves wildlife health."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749125009121