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Category Archives: urban technology

Architectural Design Making a Positive Impact on Sustainability in your Liveable City

If you are faced with the question; “Are you part of a liveable city”, would you know how to answer? Many would consider any city that they live in as a liveable city, but what does that really mean? The answer revolves around a few simple words that some of us are well versed with, while others are not. – sustainability, conservation, environmentally friendly, eco-friendly and carbon friendly (to name a few). Creating a more liveable city comes down to several factors, beginning with residential and commercial designs that offer sustainable features. Modern technology is now proving that there are …

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New developments in Victoria to harness photovoltaic glass, battery power

Melbourne will be home to not one but two Australia-first initiatives to make living in an apartment cheaper and more environmentally sustainable. Tenants in apartment buildings could soon have access to solar power and battery storage if a new government-funded initiative is successful. Energy company Ovida will use $980,000 from the state government to retrofit three yet-to-be-selected buildings with solar panels on their roofs and connect extra power-infrastructure like batteries. That would produce power they would sell back to residents for a cheaper rate than grid power. The service would have no upfront cost, and the body corporate could buy the …

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SMEs Cash in on 100 New Smart Cities for India

India plans to build 100 new ‘smart’ cities to support the country’s rapidly growing urban population.  When announcing its plans in 2015, the Indian government said that this type of development would be sustainable, environmentally friendly and ‘smart’. In a country, where electricity black-outs, water rationing, and inadequate waste and sewage treatment are commonplace, together with an ever-rising population of more than 1.3 billion new supporting infrastructure and utilities are greatly needed.  More importantly large-scale affordable housing in cities is the greatest necessity of urban India today.  Sustainable low-cost housing is also in high demand for rural / village areas.   Currently there’s …

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3D modelling for communicating urban revitalisation

Two years have now passed since City of Launceston finished constructing and began working with the 3D virtual model of Launceston running in Urban Engine software.  The final product has lived up to expectations as a tool for communicating urban revitalisation and more.  Since that time the model has grown in detail with the addition of Aero3DPro building model data, street scape design concepts, building proposals, future development buildings and massing models. Beyond the initial scope of supporting the Launceston City Heart project, the model has proven to be a practical tool for evaluating designs during planning meetings, allowing exploration …

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How green is our infrastructure? Helping cities assess its value for long-term liveability.

The Conversation Australian cities score high in liveability awards. Melbourne has topped The Economist’s most liveable cities ranking five years in a row, with Adelaide, Sydney and Perth not far behind and Brisbane in the top 20. Australian cities rank well in other liveability surveys, too, if not so highly. Environment is one of the key factors that these surveys measure, but the data and methods being used are not very sophisticated. Green infrastructure is a key contributor to these rankings. The networks of green and blue – taking in rivers and streams, parks, green wedges, gardens and tree-lined roads …

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