Tony Hall – författare

A substantial backyard has long been considered an iconic feature of the Australian suburb. Nevertheless, during the 1990s, a dramatic change occurred: substantial backyards largely disappeared from new suburban houses in Australia.

Whatever the size of lot, the dwelling now covers most of its developable area. Although the planning system does not actually promote this change, it does little to prevent it. It appears to be a physical expression of the way that Australian lifestyles are changing for the worse, in particular longer working hours. This in turn raises issues about health and wellbeing, especially for children.

Vegetation surrounding the dwelling plays an important role in microclimate, storm drainage and biodiversity, irrespective of whether the residents use their backyard. Its loss has serious ecological implications, a deficit rendered permanent by the changes to the housing stock.

The Life and Death of the Australian Backyard is based on a detailed quantitative study of this increasing, but previously unstudied, problem. It discusses the nature, uses and meaning of the traditional backyard, presents an understanding of the changes that have been happening and suggests possible remedies. All professionals working in the landscape and development industries, local government, consultancies and in universities should read this unique study of an issue of increasing significance to urban sustainability.

The planning of urban and rural areas requires thinking about where people will live, work, play, study, shop and how they will get about the place, and to devise strategies for long time periods. Town Planning: The Basics provides a general introduction to the components of urban areas, including housing, transportation and infrastructure, and health and environment, showing how appropriate policies can be developed. Explaining planning activity at different scales of operation, this book distinguishes between the "big stuff", the grand strategy for providing homes, jobs and infrastructure; the "medium stuff", the design and location of development; and the "small stuff" affecting mainly small sites and individual households.

Planning as an activity is part of a complex web stretching way beyond the planning office, and this book provides an overview of the many components needed to create a successful town. It is invaluable to anyone with an interest in planning, from students learning about the subject for the first time to graduates thinking about embarking on a career in planning, to local councillors on planning committees and community boards.

The planning of urban and rural areas requires thinking about where people will live, work, play, study, shop and how they will get about the place, and to devise strategies for long time periods. Town Planning: The Basics provides a general introduction to the components of urban areas, including housing, transportation and infrastructure, and health and environment, showing how appropriate policies can be developed. Explaining planning activity at different scales of operation, this book distinguishes between the "big stuff", the grand strategy for providing homes, jobs and infrastructure; the "medium stuff", the design and location of development; and the "small stuff" affecting mainly small sites and individual households.

Planning as an activity is part of a complex web stretching way beyond the planning office, and this book provides an overview of the many components needed to create a successful town. It is invaluable to anyone with an interest in planning, from students learning about the subject for the first time to graduates thinking about embarking on a career in planning, to local councillors on planning committees and community boards.

Cities expand, upwards and outwards, and their physical structure can last a very long time, not just tens but hundreds of years. Nevertheless, they are rarely designed for expansion. Their layout does not allow for extension or for the retrofitting of infrastructure and can constrain, and often prevent, the growth and change of activities within them - cities are not ''robust'' in their design. In other words, change is not planned for but involves costly reconstruction.

The Robust City argues that a robust, expandable and sustainable urban form can be deduced from planning goals. Development should not just follow public transport corridors but should not be allowed beyond walking distance from them. This would create ''green enclaves'' that would permit not only recreational access but also the retrofitting of infrastructure and the efficient circulation of motor vehicles. The same principles could also be applied within neighbourhoods and to facilitate the rational handling of urban intensification.

Cities expand, upwards and outwards, and their physical structure can last a very long time, not just tens but hundreds of years. Nevertheless, they are rarely designed for expansion. Their layout does not allow for extension or for the retrofitting of infrastructure and can constrain, and often prevent, the growth and change of activities within them - cities are not ''robust'' in their design. In other words, change is not planned for but involves costly reconstruction.

The Robust City argues that a robust, expandable and sustainable urban form can be deduced from planning goals. Development should not just follow public transport corridors but should not be allowed beyond walking distance from them. This would create ''green enclaves'' that would permit not only recreational access but also the retrofitting of infrastructure and the efficient circulation of motor vehicles. The same principles could also be applied within neighbourhoods and to facilitate the rational handling of urban intensification.

Struggling to mask his tears, Tony Hall followed a doctor through a mass of dying Ethiopians crying out for food and medicine—help that could not possibly arrive soon enough or in sufficient quantities to keep them alive. From that painful scene of hopelessness, Hall returned home with a new focus for his faith.

Both as a U.S. Congressman and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, he has been a man with a mission. Tony used his passion, faith, and political skills to solicit the aid of those able to help. And as he worked with liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats, and people of very different faiths, he stumbled into a remarkable discovery. He found that people who regularly live at odds often are willing to join forces in helping those who are abjectly poor and hungry.

“I’ve learned not only that people can work together across differences . . . but our diversity gives us strength." Let Tony capture your heart with his dream that we may put aside differences and join hands to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and discover the importance of life.

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