It is thought the 8th century Mayan civilisation in present day Guatemala starved itself by forcing farming too far away from populated areas. The high priests and their hangers on couldn't feed themselves. Shortages meant other South American groups like the Incas and Aztecs couldn't repel invasions. Good thing it can't happen here.

We all want to be model ecological citizens. However that's not possible on ever shrinking house blocks or high rise living. Ideally we want solar panels, a battery bank, a vegie patch, rainwater tanks, undercover parking and a short commute for the EV. I'd say we've gone too far in squashing people together

A recent cartoon in a daily paper had Nemo and his mum swimming along the gold coast coastline. As they did, little Nemo pointed a fin at the high rise towers and remarked, look mum, tinned people.

We hug a densely populated coastline competing with koalas for habitat and with farmers for arable land and water. the first we cover with asphalt and concrete the second (drinking water) we flush wastefully out to sea.

Cities consume potable water and can never ever exceed a reasonable supply of the same. Bigger dams may hold more water but they evaporate more as well.

We just cannot continue to populate skyward without both water and new energy delivery infrastructure. And it's long past time we've allowed naysaying developers to decide we can't have rapid rail and the cheaper housing and new urban sprawl that that would engender. If both water and now, CARBON FREE, reliable, dispatchable 24/7 energy are paramount to and absolutely essential to development, cannot be excluded! I will expand my remarks on the absolute essentials of both water and ultracheap, CARBON FREE energy. TBC
Alan B

Highrise developments with their need for elevators pumps and air exchange, produce 2.5 times more carbon pollution than their country cousins! And done to serve the profit imperatives of both landlords and developers/property investors "COAL".

Who frequently, routinely ignore city planning and city planners. Who would assert, no highrise should throw a shadow on any other building.

This requirement of sane development ensures some green space for residents to use. Were such a paradigm to be rigidly enforced. Rapid rail would have already been rolled out!

We do our development arse up. we build the houses etc then follow that with essential infrastructure when we absolutely have too!

How close did those terrible fires come to Sydney?

And given they weren't stopped what would the toll have been?

We send drinking water out to sea as millions of annual litres. We use drinking water to flush our conveniences. Why? Perhaps because successive governments were incompetent, corrupt or stupid? Or some combination of all three?

I mean, why did we absolutely have to have an ICAC? Nothing demonstrates the foregoing than our addiction to coal and the gagging of the saner, nuclear debate!?

It's way beyond time that our alleged representatives started doing the job we so generously pay them for, rather than the spit lickle quislings for debt-laden, tax-avoiding, price gouging, profit repatriating, foreigners!?

We should be building co-op operated energy generators fuelled by other folk's nuclear waste and be paid annual billions for providing such service! And in absolute perfect safety No question!

Then use that virtually costless energy to power, far away cheaper, deionization dialysis desalination and our single-stage steel mills, aluminium smelters we'd need to make the pipelines etc.

And in our new graphene highways that charge our electric vehicles on the go.

It's called planning but with both future vision and the application of intelligence by OUR alleged representatives!
Alan B.

Here Here I say ! The biggest losers in the push for higher density
housing are the children. Where are the gangs of kids racing up and
down the street on their bikes and scooters ?
Drivers knew after school hours to expect kids in the street.
The kids are no longer coming into each others yard to play.
I suspect those kids were more healthy in both mind and body.
The planners answer to that is a little park at the bottom of a 25
floor block of units. What mother can keep an eye on that ?

That is not progress but the raising of some strange children.

Alan B said;
And in our new graphene highways that charge our electric vehicles on the go.

If that is an inductive system it looks like it is not a goer as WARC
(World Administrative Radio Conference) is looking at rule making.
I think a long system like that at those powers would be a no no.
Near perfect radiator.
The in road systems over which you park to charge are also in doubt.
Also inductive type stoves might also be for the chop.

I commend the article.

Overpopulation is our greatest disease. So long as it is not dealt with, it is bound to erupt in many different symptoms and the article discusses one of them. Attempting to treat the symptoms without addressing the underlying issue can never work.