I agree with you about linking Perth Arena and the existing station, the masterplan’s (single-sentence) mention about keeping the western alley for residents is a mistake. But I don’t think it’s that big a problem — even if it isn’t changed, the rest of the plan still seems pretty good to me.

Not sure what you’re saying about social housing, though that’s a rather strange thing for a project official to say … AFAIK, Northbridge Link just includes the government’s standard percentage of Homeswest housing, and being the CBD I’d expect it to be fairly high quality (like, say, the development on Queen Victoria Street in Freo).

And I happen to like the plan for 25 storeys at the Horseshoe Bridge Would you prefer the space not be a public square? because I don’t see much room there for low-rise development without sacrificing that.

The Link’s project director brushed over social housing provisions at a recent Curtin lecture. He made the remarkable claim, saying that it will be hidden so that you can’t see it from the outside,

There needs to be a stronger link from the Arena to the Train Station. Internalising this alleyway for residents only is a wasted opportunity to connect these two magnets of the Link, and

The Horseshoe Bridge proposal for a giant skyscraper could be better by having small mixed use extending westwards from the current railway platforms.

Charles Landry has made a big impact on our design discussions and most of us seem to side with Landry. Perth is really a town, not a city. Or as theorist Colin Rowe describes much like the fox and hedgehog difference. Perth is also a hedgehog!