Outdoor dining has become an institution in cities that pride themselves on food. Paris, Barcelona and Singapore are synonymous with people enjoying culinary delights whilst people watching and taking in stunning city views. Even Londoners and New Yorkers, despite the terrible weather, don’t shy away from eating outdoors given half a chance. Be it patios, gardens, riverfronts, rooftops, beer gardens or courtyards, cities are reclaiming public spaces as temporary venues perfect for a good meal and quality conversations. Outdoor dining is for everyone, even when on a budget. You can always grab something delicious from the Central Market or China Town and enjoy a revamped Victoria Square or ju

By 5.30pm most people leave work, head to their bus or car, and make their way home in a frustrating rush hour. By 6.30 on a week night many town centers are relatively empty. It’s a wasted opportunity to showcase lifestyle features of the local community and something most regions want to fix. Surprisingly the night time economy often accounts for 10% of employment, but growing this is good for locals and visitors alike. Australia’s nigh time economy is worth a staggering $92 billion but imagine if just a few more people stayed a couple of extra hours in your local town centre. That’s less congestion when you do head home and a city centre that has the vibe we all want. But what would they

A column Stephen wrote whilst Lord Mayor… It is easy to stereotype local government as “rates, roads and rubbish”, but in the 21st Century nothing could be further from the truth, especially when it’s a capital city in what is the century of cities. The City of Adelaide is well and truly in the business of life – if they don’t deal with your issue they should know who does and help you connect to them. As Lord Mayor my responsibility has been far beyond the council boundary defined by our historic parklands; whoever wins this election will be the Chairman of all of the Lord Mayors of Australia and be charged with furthering the national urban policy agenda. They will meet with the Prime Mini

Asia is booming. Its economy has proven resilient during economic downturn and it is overwhelming to contemplate cities bigger than Australia’s population. Tokyo and Seoul are greater than 20 million and a further 10 Asian cities have populations over 10 million. That’s big! Given Australia’s proximity to Asia, it is important we build a future with this region for cultural and economic benefit. Asian students and immigration bring valuable business opportunities to our shores whilst cultural diversity, and associated spectacular food, make our communities a more dynamic and interesting destination. All over the world local China Towns are the material expression of the growing connection be

Stephen was recognised as one of Australia’s leading social media Mayors – he wrote this column about the topic… Social media certainly isn’t for everyone, however it has pervaded the community beyond the under thirties digital natives who spend too much time in front of a computer. The growing ubiquity of smartphones and emerging infrastructure such as Adelaide’s world class free Wi-Fi network and has made social networking just a finger tap away. It is therefore no surprise that the average twitter user is around 40 years old, whilst for Facebook it is closer to 50. In fact 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind. From my experience, social media is now entrenche

Pondering how digital technologies will change how we as citizens live, work and play is both overwhelming and exciting. There are now a billion transistors for every human on the planet and, as these sensors become embedded in everything from sprinklers to parking meters and then connected to our computers and phones, city managers and users will make more efficient and effective choices. The common language of binary digits means more things around us will talk to each other as well as talk to us, our friends and families in ways that change our behavioural patterns. Cities will never be the same again. The opportunities are too long to list and I’m personally sure that many of the best id