Meso Space

24/09/2026

23/09/2026

Are our cities really designed for everyone?
Noise, traffic, constant movement and visually busy environments can make everyday city life difficult for autistic people.
But Dr. Sharon Zivkovic points out that the same design issues can also affect children, older people and parents with babies.
Her solution is not to create separate cities for different groups.

It is to create calmer, greener and more inclusive cities where everyone can participate.
What would make your city easier to navigate?

21/09/2026

A café 15 minutes away.
Work 60 minutes away.
Is that really a 15-minute city?
For decades, urban planning has separated homes, workplaces, schools, shops, industry and offices into different zones.
The result? We can build beautiful, walkable neighbourhoods while still forcing people to travel long distances for the things that matter most.
A real 15-minute city is more than cafés and nice footpaths. It means bringing housing, jobs, education, retail and services meaningfully closer together.
Because truly walkable cities don’t happen by accident they are planned that way from day one.
What’s your view on the 15-minute city idea?

21/09/2026

A café 15 minutes away.
Work 60 minutes away.
Is that really a 15-minute city?
For decades, urban planning has separated homes, workplaces, schools, shops, industry and offices into different zones.
The result? We can build beautiful, walkable neighbourhoods while still forcing people to travel long distances for the things that matter most.
A real 15-minute city is more than cafés and nice footpaths. It means bringing housing, jobs, education, retail and services meaningfully closer together.
Because truly walkable cities don’t happen by accident they are planned that way from day one.
What’s your view on the 15-minute city idea?

20/09/2026

How green is your neighbourhood?
There is a simple rule that can help answer that question:
3–30–300.
You should be able to see 3 trees from your home, have around 30% tree canopy in your neighbourhood, and be within about 300 metres walking distance of a local park.
Thami Croeser explains how this simple benchmark helps us think about something cities often make unnecessarily complicated:
How much nature should people actually have around them every day?
Would your neighbourhood pass the 3–30–300 test?

06/09/2026

We often assume people don’t want their streets to change.
But what happens when communities are actually invited into the process?
In this conversation, Thami Croeser explains how residents pushed for greener streets, less space for cars, more tree planting and even road closures.
Some of the changes that were expected to face resistance ended up receiving strong community support.
Maybe people are more ready for change than we think.
Would you support giving more street space to trees, pedestrians and public life?

02/09/2026

Great places are not designed for communities. They are designed with communities.
Sarah Patterson shares how a public space project in Melbourne’s West changed the traditional approach to design by bringing community members and traditional owners into the design process from the beginning.
Instead of showing people a finished vision and asking for approval the team started by listening:
What is important to you?�What should this place become?
This is the difference between consultation and true co-design.