Why do we need bigger cities, when we really need decentralisation. Decentralisation will all but eliminate congestion and return housing affordability.

Fibre to the home and networking will assist as will the long overdue roll out of rapid rail, which if adequately maintained and upgraded as and when necessary, will still be serving a useful purpose a century from now and beyond.

Properly planned new satellite cities replete with a CBD and industrial estates will enable overcrowded capital cities to stop growing like topsy. Proper planning would include reusing waste to create energy is part of the big picture and the missing future vision!

Overcrowded cities contribute positively to the pro rata crime rate and the gridlock. Whereas, smaller ones enable more effective crime and congestion reduction outcomes! And more quality family time.

As would having more folks working from home. Charging a congestion tax is just revenue raising from a captive cadre, who currently have no other choice than to commute?

First our pollies create the congestion by failing to plan, then charge the hell out of a captive market for the privilege!

We build new suburbs minus the rail links that would get cars off the road, then charge folks double after forcing them to use the congested roadways.

Thinking outside the box or just thinking might be a new and novel experience for some politicians; always providing they could tolerate the burning smell emanating from previously unused cerebral circuits; but that's what is needed!

Rather than them focusing almost exclusively on the eternal political bun fight that is the destructive and costly to the nation, partisan politics!

Think, if we weren't saddled with the albatross around the neck, sometimes euphemistically referred to as state parliaments, we'd unlock the completely unproductive 70+ annual billions they cost us P.A.

Which could then be better directed as overdue infrastructure roll outs; some of which could almost be self funded by the process of resumption, rezoning and subsequent resale!
Rhrosty.

More public transport and less roads, is what is required.

I agree that pricing road access is a good way to address congestion, especially as new technologies allow location-specific and time-of-day charging. There might be some civil liberties concerns, though (Big Brother will know your every move; but then, if you have a mobile phone, he already does).

For political and social reasons, though, this should be combined with improved public transport. Socially, so those on low incomes aren’t priced out of transport; and politically, because the public has a fierce loathing of paying for “public” infrastructure that may be placated with an alternative

Well pricing road access sure would control congestion, and lead to a gigantic dose of indigestion. Roads should not be price restritive, that is a stupid idea, and very selective.

I paid for those roads, & I am not about to have some clown planner take my access to them off me, simply because they are too dumb to see any other answer to congestion.

I am sick to death of inner city based fools telling us that what we need is more public transport. The one thing you can be sure of is that public transport will never go from where you are to where you need to be, unless you are one of those inner city based clowns, living in some crumby high rise, & have no children requiring transport.

It is totally useless to the parent who needs to; drop a child at daycare, drop another at school, & perhaps another to a different school, on the way to work. It is equally useless for the reverse, particularly if a little grocery shopping is required as well.

As Rhrosty says, decentralisation is the answer. Get all those useless bureaucrats, & particularly planners the hell out of the city, & out where people live.

What the hell is the internet for if not to avoid everyone having to be in a city office to earn a living.

God I'm sick of fool planners.

Isn't it funny how Inner city types, huddled tightly about their Watermelon (nee Green) ghettos keep pushing decentralisation? Same old, same old of the chattering class; sacrifice for thee but not for me.

I live in the bush and am anything but green!
Yet like Hasbeen my taxes, which have been as high as 68 cents in the dollar paid for all those overcrowded city roads, but bugger all out here! City centrics couldn't rip up the rail lines quick enough, so that B doubles could add to the congestion!

And resist common sense planning like long overdue decentralization, which would end the congestion and return housing affordability!

Of course there is an element for whom housing affordability would mean ruin, or a profit graph going down; or, going going gone sold to the lady from China!

And you can hear them scream no all the way to the black stump! Or accuse those who believe the next generation should also get the fair go afforded to their parents by sensible forward planning of being green? Better to be green than a feckless imbecile!?
Rhrosty.