Trend Watch, March 2017

7 park hacks for an aging population:

Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology have engaged with older people living in high-density Brisbane, to come up with key design considerations for more usable and comfortable public spaces. Here are seven:

1. A wide variety of places to sit, to enjoy being out in public and watching people. Usable, universal design seating – rather than having to sit on the grass – is especially important for older people as rest-stops or destinations.
2. Hand rails on stairs and steep paths for safety and confidence.
3. Drinking fountains and trees for shade and comfort.
4. Plentiful and clean public toilets. The lack of such facilities can be debilitating and an obstacle to some older people’s enjoyment of the public realm.
5. Wider paths and safer buffers between pedestrians and high-traffic roadways.
6. Safer and clearly posted pedestrian crossings on busy thoroughfares. Older people avoided walking in some urban areas because of concerns about crossing roads.
7. Clearer delineation on paths between areas for cyclists and runners and those who tend to move more slowly.

Read the article by Desley Vine and Laurie Buys from QUT on The Conversation.

First photos of the Hyperloop Test Track:

Hyperloop One have revealed images of a 500-metre test track of their high-speed transport system.

Out in the Nevada desert, the 3.3 metre wide, soon to be more than 3km long, near-vacuum tube aims to propel a pod-like vehicle at speeds faster than aeroplanes.

Australia has long toyed with proposals for a high-speed rail between Sydney and Melbourne to allow travel between the two cities in an hour: the Devloop, ready for its first trial by mid-year, may be a solution.

Read more on Architecture & Design.

Photo: Hyperloop One.

6 Sydney spots named for powerful women:

The City of Sydney celebrates International Women’s Day with a review of top city spaces named for powerful Australian women of our past, including at Barangaroo, Nielsen’s Terrace, Jessie Street Gardens, the Kirsova Playgrounds, Lilian Fowler Reserve or Bunn and Murray Streets.

Photo: City of Sydney.