Urban land policy in Australia
Australia is very sparsely settled, with a population of only 14 millions in an area of 7.7 million square kilometres. The main reason is the low rainfall over most of the country: nearly two-thirds of the area has a median annual rainfall of less than 400 mm. The dry inland areas and the wet tropical fringe in the north are both thinly settled. The population is concentrated in a narrow coastal crescent around the south-eastern part of the continent and a much smaller area in the south-western corner.
The Cost of Housing
Poor quality, unaffordable, or crowded housing has a negative impact on children’s physical health, development, and emotional well-being and on a family’s ability to meet a child’s basic needs. Children who live in families with cost burdens may live in low-quality and overcrowded housing and move frequently, all of which have been linked to lower educational achievement and increased risk of homelessness. In 2018, a worker would have to earn $31.17 an hour and work 40 hours a week year-round to be able to afford the average rent in Rhode Island without a cost burden. This hourly wage is more than three times the 2018 minimum wage of $10.10 per hour. In 2017, Rhode Island required the 18th highest hourly wage to afford the rent for a two-bedroom home of any state. In 2018, the Area Median Income for families in Rhode Island was $81,384. Families with this income can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in 16 of the 39 communities in the state. In 2017, the median cost of a single-family home in Rhode Island was $255,000, 25% higher than in 2012, but still 22% lower than in 2007. Federally-funded Section 8 Housing Choice rental vouchers can help lowincome individuals and families afford the cost of housing; however, there are not enough vouchers to meet the need. Long waiting periods are common and housing authorities may close waiting lists when there are more families on the list than can be helped in the near future. Rhode Island’s FY 2015 budget increased the real estate conveyance tax and created a dedicated funding stream for housing subsidies as well as homelessness prevention, housing retention, and lead abatement. Rhode Island invests $5.21 per capita in affordable homes, compared to neighboring Massachusetts which invests $100.12 per capita, 20 times as much. Rhode Island State Law establishes a goal that 10% of every community’s housing stock qualify as Lowand Moderate-Income Housing. Currently, only six of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns meet that goal. Source: Rhode Island Housing, Rhode Island Rent Surveys, 2014-2018. Rents include adjustments for the cost of heat, cooking fuel, electricity, and hot water. Adjustments for utilities for each year vary according to HUD annual utility allowances.
Lake Muzahi, Rwanda: limnological features and phytoplankton production
Lake Muhazi, a small lake of Rwanda (East Africa) was studied from 1986 to 1990. A dramatic decrease of the catch of Oreochromis niloticus (350 T y−1 in the fifties vs 30 T y−1 in 1982) suggested a loss of productivity or overfishing. In the same period, other ecological changes occurred: the submerged macrophytes regressed and there was a decrease in Secchi depth (0.65 m in 1987 vs 1.5 m in the fifties). Compared to other lakes of the same area, the plankton production seemed low. The results of the present study characterize lake Muhazi as a shallow lake with a rather unstable diurnal stratification and with slight differences in mixing regime between its eastern, deepest part and its western, shallowest part. Secchi disk depth does not vary seasonally to a large extent. The water has a rather high mineral content (conductivity of about 500 µS cm−1 at 25 °C) and low concentrations of dissolved N and P, except in the hypolimnion, where NHinf4sup+-N can be high.Two species, Microcystis aeruginosa and Ceratium hirundinella, account for most of the phytoplankton biomass, which is about 50–80 mg chlorophyll a m−2 in the euphotic zone, usually with little seasonal variation. Daily gross production estimates amount to about 6 to 9.5 g O2 m−2 d−1 with a significant difference between the two parts of the lake. Data on C:N and C:P ratio in the phytoplankton suggest that some N deficiency might occur in the eastern part. Moreover, the Zm:Zc ratio could also lead to rather low net production rates (0.21–0.25 d−1 for a mixed layer of 4 m)In conclusion, the primary production of lake Muhazi is medium for African lakes and the hypothesis that decreased planktonic production could account for a reduced fish production should be discarded. Whereas the present yield of the fishery is only 20 kg ha−1 y−1, the yield estimated from primary production ranges between 46 and 64 kg ha−1 y−1. This could be reached through proper management. Finally, some hypotheses are given to explain the ecological changes which occurred in the lake.