Month: July 2016

ABSOE site – call in on the cards

ABSOE site – call in on the cards

Posted by | Jul 27, 2016 | , , |

The Deputy Premier has announced she is considering a ministerial call in of the proposed West Village development at the Absoe site in West End. Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning Jackie Trad said she was using her powers under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 to issue a proposed call in notice for the mixed-use development. Ms Trad said Brisbane City Council gave a preliminary approval to vary the City Plan 2014 to allow for a mixed-use development at the site on 18 May 2016. “The proposal is of significant scale and is identified as...

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Simple ways to green the city @KurilpaFutures

Simple ways to green the city @KurilpaFutures

Posted by | Jul 20, 2016 | , , , , |

Last Sunday, fifty people of all ages and backgrounds met to map out a green space strategy for one of Brisbane’s most crowded suburbs, West End.  The popular suburb is facing proposals to quadruple its population to nearly 50,000 people, with very little provision for extra open space. Kurilpa Futures organized a workshop with a Keynote speaker, John Mongard. John’s team was the Green Space Strategy winner of the 2016 Award for Excellence in Community Design with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. In the introduction to this workshop he showed how a dozen different schemes to use small-underused...

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Councillor’s Invitation to Participatory Budgeting

Councillor’s Invitation to Participatory Budgeting

Posted by | Jul 20, 2016 | , , , |

Our current political system is failing. Power is too heavily concentrated in the hands of a privileged minority who are easily corrupted by the big end of town. In Brisbane, there are roughly 30 000 residents in each city council electorate, which means that even well-intentioned ‘local’ councillors can’t possibly get to know the needs and perspectives of every single constituent by relying on traditional communication methods. Part of the solution is a shift towards deliberative democracy and participatory design. Urban planning decisions about local neighbourhoods should be made by residents who actually live there. Everyone has a right...

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GM Dope? Just what we need

GM Dope? Just what we need

Posted by | Jul 15, 2016 | , , , |

California’s “Adult Use of Marijuana Act” (AUMA) is a voter initiative characterized as legalizing marijuana use. But critics warn that it will actually make access more difficult and expensive, squeeze home growers and small farmers out of the market, heighten criminal sanctions for violations, and open the door to patented, genetically modified (GMO) versions that must be purchased year after year. The health benefits of cannabis are now well established. It is a cheap, natural alternative effective for a broad range of conditions, and the non-psychoactive form known as hemp has thousands of industrial uses. At one time, cannabis...

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Exhibition explores art and mental health

Exhibition explores art and mental health

Posted by | Jul 15, 2016 | , , , |

, aged 22, better known by her art moniker “Lani,” is hosting an exhibition at the Mango Tree Café on Jane Street in West End. Lani has been a professional artist for the past four years, two of which were spent travelling to every state of Australia and sharing her unique art in schools and community groups. Lani uses her colourful, whimsical style of art as a vehicle to promote discussion around mental health, particularly highlighting issues such as depression and anxiety. Using her personal experiences and thoughts to drive her creative process, Lani focuses heavily on her belief...

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