No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
The Challenge of Change: Australian Cities and Urban Planning in the New Millennium
Abstract
This paper reviews recent research on the changing spatial structure of Australia's major cities from the early 1990s, concentrating on (a) the location of employment and journey to work patterns, (b) the changing nature of housing, and (c) patterns of residential differentiation and disadvantage. The paper argues that the 1990s was a watershed decade during which some taken-for-granted aspects of Australian urban character experienced significant change. It then examines the latest generation of strategic planning documents for these major metropolitan areas, all published between 2002 and 2005, and argues that there is a mismatch between the strategies’ consensus view of desirable future urban structure, based on containment, consolidation and centres, and the complex realities of the evolving urban structures. In particular, the current metropolitan strategies do not come to terms with the dispersed, suburbanised nature of much economic activity and employment and the environmental and social issues that flow from that, and they are unconvincing in their approaches to the emerging issues of housing affordability and new, finer-grained patterns of suburban inequality and disadvantage. Overall, the paper contends that current metropolitan planning strategies suggest an inflexible, over-neat vision for the future that is at odds with the picture of increasing geographical complexity that emerges from recent research on the changing internal structure of our major cities.
... Common findings identified in these studies include poorer physical facilities in educational institutions in rural areas, lower socioeconomic status of students, and challenges in teacher availability (e.g. Baroutsis & Lingard, 2017;Buyruk, 2014;Cornelius & Mackey-Smith, 2022;Erdoğan et al., 2010Erdoğan et al., , 2011Forster, 2006;Guenther, 2013;Smith et al., 2019). Another group of studies that investigate educational inequalities from a spatial perspective focuses on differences between neighborhoods. ...
... Particularly, variables such as infant mortality rate and the presence of indoor toilets within housing, serving as indicators of rural areas, suggest lower educational achievement in provinces where rural life is prevalent. This finding is in line with existing research demonstrating lower educational achievement in rural areas compared to urban areas (Cornelius & Mackey-Smith, 2022;Erdoğan et al., 2010;Forster, 2006;Guenther, 2013;Han et al., 2015;Perlín, 2010). However, previous studies have linked the lower quality of education with the conditions of schools, insufficient numbers of teachers, and the socio-economic and cultural levels of students. ...
... However, in this research, it is observed that highly educated individuals are concentrated in certain provinces. This finding aligns with the results in the literature indicating migration to regions offering higher-quality education due to the demand for better education (Forster, 2006;Lu et al., 2023Lu et al., , 2023Rahman, 2010;Rutz & Balkan, 2022), but this research shows that the migration of highly educated individuals is not solely driven by the pursuit of quality education. Highly educated individuals are observed to concentrate particularly in provinces where indicators such as social and health services are also high. ...
In this study, we investigate the factors influencing educational achievement in Turkish provinces using data from the Provincial Life Index in Türkiye. This quantitative research incorporates both correlational and causal comparisons in its analysis. Our analysis reveals several significant relationships between socioeconomic and environmental indicators as a part of urbanization and the average Transition to Upper Secondary Education Examination (TSE) scores by province. The study's primary findings reveal that factors such as the number of rooms per person, the number of traffic accidents with injury or death, the proportion of faculty and college graduates, and toilet availability in dwellings are positively associated with educational success. Conversely, higher infant mortality, unemployment, and lower health satisfaction rates negatively correlate with average TSE scores. Additionally, the analysis identifies rooms per person and infant mortality rates in a province as the most significant predictors, highlighting their importance in explaining variations in educational outcomes among provinces. Our findings provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between urbanization, socioeconomic factors, and education in Türkiye, shedding light on areas that require targeted interventions to improve educational outcomes.
... In addition, the various levels of government in Australia have tried to solve the home ownership problem by also taking the other sustainable development aspects into account. Thus, to solve this housing challenge, there was a need to implement the SHA (Randplph, 2004;Forster, 2006;Nouwelant, et al., 2015;McKinlay, et al., 2019). In the following sections, some successful case studies that have implemented the SHA in Australia to enhance housing development outcomes and improve home ownership market are presented briefly. ...
... As shown before in chapter three, a high-density pattern of development is an important principle toward increasing the home ownership rate on account of its several advantages. (Randplph, 2004;Forster, 2006;Nouwelant, et al., 2015;McKinlay, et al., 2019;Davison, et al., 2012). To sum up this section, an appropriate implementation of the high-density principle leads to an increased home ownership rate. ...
... Moreover, as in the case with the high-density principle, the literature review also shows several successful international case studies that have implemented the mixed land-use principle as a way of improving the home ownership market. Examples of these case studies were from cities in Australia, Switzerland, and the United States (Randplph, 2004;Forster, 2006;Nouwelant, et al., 2015;McKinlay, et al., 2019;Davison, et al., 2012;Alexander, et al., 2019;Shultz & King, 2001;Debrunner & Hartmann, 2020). ...
... The concentrated monocentric pattern: In this subpattern, centripetal and concentrated forces have caused an intensive spatial concentration of population and activity in the main centre (Sohn, Kim, Lee, & Kim, 2010;Sarzynski et al., 2014;Cutsinger & Galster, 2006;Burger& et al., 2011;Burger & et al., 2014;Burger, Meijers, & Frank, 2014;Hattie, 2013;Trapero, Sanz, & Frances, 2015;Krehl et al., 2016;Krehl, 2015;Forester, 2006;Salahi Moghadam, Soltani, & Parolin, 2017;Hurian et al., 2015;Li & Monzur, 2017;Dong & et al., 2019;Sat, 2018a). In this subpattern, there are still no subcentres and only nodes from settlements outside the main centre are observable as isolated townships. ...
... Similar to the concentrated monocentric patterns, the main centre includes main services, and subcentres, in addition to residential facilities, to a certain extent include relatively weak welfare services. The suburbanized polycentric pattern: In this subpattern, subcentres are shaped in a suburbanized way and with one-way relationships, independent and far from the main centre, where these subcentres themselves are considered the main suburban centres (Forester, 2006;Gutierrez & Garcia-Palomares, 2007;Sigler et al., 2016;Huiran & et al., 2015;Garcia-Lopez, 2010;Charney, 2005;Fujii et al., 2006;Kim, Leeb, & Kim, 2018). This distinction relates to more independent subcentres with specific services and welfare infrastructures that are located at a greater distance from the main centre. ...
... The concentrated polycentric pattern: This pattern is generated in a polycentric major pattern from the association of two or more monocentric structures (Lowe, 1998). In this pattern, each subcentres tend to the main centre in a concentrated form (Hajrasouliha & Hamidi, 2016;Sohn et al., 2010;Sarzynski et al., 2014;Cutsinger & Galster, 2006;burger & et al., 2011;Hattie, 2013;Garcia-Lopez, 2010;Salvati, 2015;Taubenböck & et al., 2017;Forester, 2006;Xigang & et al., 2002;Lv, Zheng, Zhou, L, & Zhang, 2017;Schwanen & et al., 2002;Burger & et al., 2014;Dong & et al., 2019;Lan et al., 2019;Veneri, 2013;Mariani et al., 2018). In this pattern, the main centre is capable of attracting centripetal forces. ...
This study attempts to form a typology of metropolitan spatial structure. In order to achieve this goal, we reviewed the studies carried out in this field through a systematic review. The statistical population of this study consists of English-based scientific articles published in prestigious scientific journals from 1980 to 2019, which were obtained through a search in scientific information databases and by using keywords related to the metropolitan spatial structure. After searching for related studies and based on the relationship between the title, keywords, content, and citation, 175 articles were selected and carefully examined. The results show that the metropolitan spatial structures can be categorized into 4 main patterns of "convergent, divergent, homogenous, and heterogeneous" according to centripetal-centrifugal and concentrated-deconcentrated forces. In accordance with these patterns, 23 subpatterns were identified. This article provides a new typology for a deeper understanding of the metropolitan spatial structure and opens a new window for theorizing and presenting a useful guide for policy-makers and spatial planners in the debate of spatial patterns knowledge.
... Since the 1990s, the profound economic transformations and economic restructuring, the changes in population, technology, and political dimensions have led to dramatic changes in the spatial structure of the metropolitan areas in Oceania. Studies focused on the location of occupations and commuting trips in metropolitan areas, indicate an increase in the complexity of the formation process of spatial structure (Forster, 2006;O'Connor and Rapson, 2003). Therefore, suburbanization before the twenty-first century and the new millennium is an inherent and integral feature of metropolitan areas in the Oceania continent which is referred to as one of the most revolutionary developments (Forster, 2006;Freestone & Murphy, 1998). ...
... Studies focused on the location of occupations and commuting trips in metropolitan areas, indicate an increase in the complexity of the formation process of spatial structure (Forster, 2006;O'Connor and Rapson, 2003). Therefore, suburbanization before the twenty-first century and the new millennium is an inherent and integral feature of metropolitan areas in the Oceania continent which is referred to as one of the most revolutionary developments (Forster, 2006;Freestone & Murphy, 1998). This phenomenon has had a profound effect on the spatial structure of metropolitan areas in the Oceania continent. ...
... In addition to the African continent, the Oceania continent is also more dispersed than other continents. In Oceania, economic transition and restructuring, changing population sizes and increasing migration to the continent, and faster and more evolved communication infrastructure on the one hand, and the existence of climatic and natural contexts and spatial extent, on the other hand, have affected the spatial structure of Oceania metropolitan areas (O'Connor and Rapson, 2003;Forster, 2006;Fujiiet et al., 2006) and resulted in the formation of a suburbanized polycentric, the suburbanized dispersal and dispersed spatial structure that differs from other metropolitan areas of the world (see Curtis, 2006;Silva, 2018). The difference with the African continent goes back to the kind of suburbanization and suburban dispersion. ...
The increased population and the fast expansion of urbanization were some of the global main characteristics in the past decades. This expansion has shaped the diverse spatial structure in metropolitan areas worldwide. However, these studies have been focused on one or some metropolitan areas within countries or continents and no systematic review, to the best of our knowledge, has ever addressed the spatial structure of metropolitan areas and their contextual factors at a global scale. Thus, this paper attempts to address this gap through a deeper understanding of the evolving spatial structure of metropolitan areas at a global scale and studying the driving and contextual factors affecting them. To this end, the authors examined the empirical evidence conducted in this field using a systematic review method. The statistical society of this article consists of English-based scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 1980 and 2020, which were obtained through a search in scientific databases using the related keywords to the spatial structure of metropolitan areas. After searching for relevant articles and based on the relationship between titles, keywords, and content, 161 articles were selected and carefully examined. The results show that the spatial structure of the metropolitan areas during the last forty years can be categorized into four macro divergent, convergent, homogenous, and heterogeneous patterns. These patterns were not absolute but subject to the centripetal and centrifugal forces experienced different growth trends, leading to various spatial structures.
... The ratio used is essentially a simple jobs-housing balance, and -as argued in FACTBase Bulletin 46 (Martinus & Biermann, 2016) -has worked to exacerbate spatial inequality, rather than reduce it (cf. Forster, 2006;Martinus & Biermann, 2018;Zhou et al., 2017). Indeed, as noted by Martinus and Biermann (2016), the value of using employment selfsufficiency (ESS) and employment self-containment (ESC) as planning targets "will be enhanced by better understanding different types of jobs and, more specifically how to attract high-value high-skilled jobs … to the sub-regions" (Martinus & Biermann, 2016, p. 7). ...
... Fourth, household and work decisions are highly complex and depend on work and travel considerations, as well as individual attitudes, behaviours, education, income differentials, occupation and employment opportunities (Bill et al. 2007;Li et al., 2012;Suárez et al., 2016;Yigitcanlar et al., 2007). Other decisions that play a role may also relate to changing family sizes in a household (growing larger or smaller), double-income parents, school runs, further education, and additional or shift work (Forster, 2006;Mulder, 2007;Sang et al., 2011). Recent work and lifestyle changes also have an impact, such as the gig and sharing economies, workforce casualisation and increased flexibility (in hours and location). ...
... This places some regions, such as outer metropolitan sub-regions, at a disadvantage in competing for strategic jobs and workers against the greater amenity and infrastructure of core urban areas. Forster (2006), Martinus and Biermann (2018) and Zhou et al. (2017) all argue that the relatively easy successes gained in indiscriminately targeting overall job growth may be a risk to socioeconomic spatial equality. ...
Summary of Key Findings
• Planning to meet long-term State Government targets for job distribution within Greater Perth should differentiate between ‘strategic’ and ‘population-following’ job types.
• Of the 831,000 jobs in Greater Perth in 2016, 31% are classified as strategic and 69% as population-following.
• Population-following jobs are more likely to be evenly spread across a region due to their relationship with population growth, whereas strategic jobs are linked to key industries and may require focused planning support for development.
• Concentrating on strategic jobs ensures policy is adaptive enough to address both employment self-sufficiency and the reality of geographical concentrations of strategic industries.
• Targeting strategic job distribution across a city, as well as travel accessibility to job opportunities, means a focus on fewer, key jobs with a greater chance of success.
• Strategic jobs have complex location requirements but disruptive changes to how we work and travel are likely to alter the geography of jobs and travel in cities, making it more vital than ever to think strategically how we plan for work across a metropolitan area.
... As a complementary phenomenon, gentrification transforms economically disadvantaged neighborhoods by attracting higher-income residents, driving up housing prices, and displacing long-standing, low-income populations. This reconfiguration alters the social fabric of neighborhoods, often exacerbating inequalities and reducing diversity (Forster, 2006;Uitermark, 2003). ...
... Moreover, patterns of urban expansion and displacement appear to exacerbate educational stratification. Findings from this study-showing a decline in achievement among schools located in peripheral neighborhoods-align with research on gentrification and forced relocation (Forster, 2006;Uitermark, 2003). These processes often push low-income and immigrant families to the urban margins, where public services, including schools, are less robust. ...
Background/purpose. This study investigates how neighborhood dynamics and school characteristics intersect to influence the academic achievement of primary school students in Amsterdam. By exploring the effects of urbanization, gentrification, and segregation, the study examines the socio-spatial factors shaping disparities in educational performance at both fundamental and target levels. Materials/methods. The study analyzed data from 181 schools across 146 neighborhoods, sourced from publicly available datasets. Stepwise regression was used to identify significant predictors, and hierarchical regression was applied to examine the combined effects of neighborhood and school-level factors on academic achievement. Results. The findings reveal that disparities in academic achievement are primarily influenced by school-level factors, such as the percentage of students in higher academic tracks (HAVO/VWO) and the concentration of students in vocational education with the lowest academic level. Income levels and population density further shape the socioeconomic composition of neighborhoods and schools, amplifying existing inequalities. Conclusion. The study underscores the importance of integrated urban and educational policy approaches to mitigate the effects of segregation and promote equitable access to quality education. Recommendations include the redistribution of socioeconomic resources across neighborhoods and targeted interventions for schools in disadvantaged areas. Kaptan and Kocabaş | 2
... Spatial dispersion of human settlements is a topic of interest with important multi-disciplinary implications, due to the close interconnection between environmental issues and socioeconomic aspects (Rees and Wackernagel 1996;Simon 2008;Halleux et al. 2012;Weilenmann et al. 2017). In this perspective, urban sprawl has been extensively studied focusing on mechanisms underlying metropolitan expansion (e.g., Economou 1997;Isard 1999;Haase et al. 2013), changes in settlement morphology (e.g., Peiser 2001;Forster 2006;Zambon et al. 2018), functional transformations at the level of city networks (e.g., Turok and Mychnenko 2007;Melo et al. 2009;Salvati 2014), as well as on the environmental implications of land consumption (European Environment Agency 2006). At the same time, landscape transformations paralleled the recent socioeconomic development of metropolitan regions (e.g., Salvati et al. 2019). ...
... At the same time, these dynamics contribute to re-shape the most recent urbanization path-e.g., fueling again, as in the 1970s and the 1980s, a spatially unbalanced wave of settlement expansion (e.g., Salvati and Lamonica 2020). Altogether, these processes may open up new perspectives in the analysis and governance of metropolitan sustainability under 'shrinking' scenarios (e.g., Forster 2006). ...
Diverging rates of population growth and urban expansion have been frequently taken as a proxy of land consumption in advanced economies. As a novel contribution to diachronic analysis of compact vs dispersed urbanization, the present study introduces a logical framework that provides global and local estimates of the increasing mismatch in resident population and urban settlements. ‘Stock’ and ‘flow’ indicators quantifying the elasticity to change in population and building growth rates were calculated separately over three time intervals between 1948 and 2018, as representative of a metropolitan cycle from urbanization to counter-urbanization in a Southern European region (Athens, Greece). The relationship between elasticity indicators and the socioeconomic profile of each municipality in the study area was additionally investigated through nonparametric correlations and a multivariate statistical approach. Results indicate that spatial patterns of population growth and urban expansion diverged since the mid-1970s, reflecting an accelerated development toward discontinuous and dispersed settlements. A less intense population land mismatch was observed in municipalities with compact morphologies, prevalence of non-residential settlements, and above-average accessibility to primary urban functions. The work concludes with a discussion on the use of the proposed indicators to inform strategies of sustainable land management in sprawling metropolitan regions.
... In many ways it was the assumption of access to the private car that enabled this dispersion. It was also during this period that Australians developed and intensified their obsession with home ownership, which has become not only the dream but the expectation for the majority of the population (Forster, 2006). ...
... There are plans to provide Oran Park with a train station, however the proposed site is currently a vacant lot and the NSW State Transport Minister has previously said that construction on the station "could be decades away" (McInnes, 2017). This reflects Sydney's legacy of ongoing temporal mismatch between the provision of housing and infrastructure that has dominated planning discourse since at least the mid 20th Century (Forster, 2006;Spearitt, 1978). The cycles of the property market in Sydney generally outpace those of infrastructure provision, meaning houses are approved, constructed, sold and occupied at a faster rate than the government can both promise and provide infrastructure. ...
Ongoing advances in technologies of connectivity have strengthened our capacity to envision urban environments less dominated by private car use. Yet many cities remain attached to, and defined by, the automobile. In challenging this status quo, we must understand the complex and varied ways private car use is reinforced in different urban environments. This paper provides such an understanding in the context of a low-density, and currently car-dependent, city. It presents a detailed analysis of the system of automobility to demonstrate the way private-car use is unintentionally perpetuated through contemporary practices of planning, developing and inhabiting cities. A newly constructed suburb in Sydney, Australia, provides the case for analysis. The suburb—Oran Park—is a master-planned estate intentionally designed to encourage alternative transport modes that is rendered ostensibly car-dependent as a result of a confluence of historical and contemporary structural and practical influences. The paper combines a detailed examination of the planning, transport and land-use context of the suburb with survey data from 300 of its residents. The paper’s novel contribution is to analyze these data sources using a social practice approach. The analysis lays bare the inevitability of automobility’s reproduction in the estate—describing the litany of elements that are both infrastructural and cultural and that, in orchestration, reproduce private car use. These elements are deconstructed to inform future challenges to the hegemony of the private car.
... Bunker, 2015) or in how land-use zoning may protect the property rights of certain parts of 99 society and create zones of exclusivity (Watson, 2009 The practice of setting city job-housing growth targets illustrates how contemporary strategic land use 103 planning has co-produced spatial inequality, despite an explicit objective to alleviate it (cf. Forster, 2006;Martinus and Biermann, 2018;Zhou et al., 2017). The three most common urban planning targets -jobs-105 housing balance, self-sufficiency and self-containment, define some ratio of residents to jobs within a 106 specified region, with commuting distance assumed to decrease when number of working residents and job 107 numbers are roughly equal. ...
... For example, education, income differentials, 177 occupation and employment opportunities (Bill et al. 2007; Li et al., 2012; Suárez et al., 2016; Yigitcanlar 178 et al., 2007). These decisions are further complicated as families grow smaller, have both parents working, 179 and/or other factors come into play such as school runs, further education, second jobs or shift work 180(Forster, 2006;Mulder, 2007;Sang et al., 2011). There are also complexities with shifts towards the gig 181 and sharing economies, workforce casualisation and flexible working hours and locations. ...
Global trends of increased urbanisation have resulted in rising spatial inequality across cities, and land use challenges in providing adequate infrastructure, housing and employment for efficient, sustainable and productive urban systems. One policy response worldwide has been to use sub-regional quantity-driven job-housing targets, such as self-sufficiency, self-containment and jobs housing ratios, to redistribute jobs away from city central business districts into outer areas. To set these, city or state governments predict employment rises in often unclear and simplistic ways with no provision for job location differentials in type and residential access to opportunity. Despite the documented lack of success of such targets in addressing spatial inequality across a city, there is limited research into alternative tools. We address this gap by exploring a ratio to distinguish between strategic and population-driven jobs. Drawing on a case study of Greater Perth, Western Australia, we demonstrate rising spatial inequality despite over 60 years of land use policy measures to decentralise employment and equalise job provision across the city. Using Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, we classify and characterise 474 occupations into either strategic or population-driven jobs for the specific Greater Perth context. Our discussion highlights the importance of differentiating between job types, rather than targeting absolute growth, in order to implement more location-sensitive employment redistribution. Our findings highlight that disaggregated sub-regional job ratios may be a more appropriate land use planning tool to address spatial inequality than previous job-housing ratios.
... These results suggest that IND failed to fully capitalize on its potential for interaction with primary cities. Addressing these limitations will require rethinking the functions of IND to ensure they complement the primary cities, increasing resource investment and facilitating practical connectivity (Forster, 2006;O'Connor & Healy, 2004). These findings emphasize the variability of the impact of innovation cities, contingent upon their type and the necessity for region-specific, place-based policies in future designs. ...
Urban vitality is a defining characteristic of successful cities and a cornerstone of sustainable development. However, sustaining this vitality has become an increasingly complex challenge as cities worldwide grapple with multifaceted urban issues. This dissertation explores how urban planning strategies can foster vibrant cities through three empirical studies that evaluate approaches at multiple scales. These studies offer insights relevant to both developed countries addressing urban decline and developing nations undergoing rapid urbanization, with a focus on South Korea, which serves as a representative case highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of contemporary urban planning. The first study evaluates the Yonsei-ro Transit Mall, a pedestrian-friendly street in Seoul. It leverages location-based big data and employs a controlled interrupted time series design to assess its impacts on pedestrian activity and commercial dynamics. The second study examines the economic effects of urban revitalization projects in Seongnam by applying a spatial hedonic model to analyze variations in land prices and the spatial effects of these initiatives. The third study investigates the spillover effects of public sector relocation policies on the socioeconomic vitality of adjacent primary cities. This analysis utilizes nighttime light data to determine whether these strategies foster intra-regional synergy or exacerbate competition. Collectively, this dissertation delivers a nuanced understanding of how multi-scale planning strategies can enhance urban vitality and provides practical implications for policymakers and urban planners.
... On the other hand, policies designed to generate diverse neighbourhoods and provide a bulwark against housing unfairness are not always successful (Beer, Kearins, and Pieters 2007). Non-conforming developments such as residential parks and tiny houses raise questions about planning regulations, urban policy and land supply (Alexander et al. 2018;Butt and Stephenson 2018;de Chastel 2018;Forster 2006). Reed and Greenhalgh (2003, 513) observed that 'laws and regulations appear to have strong impact on new [residential] parks being developed or expanded'. ...
... Ownership, affordable mortgages, living cost and energy bill reduction, influence Australian attitude toward smaller footprint energy-efficient homes (Forster, 2006). Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows smaller lot size holding largely unchanged building footage demonstrates Australians unwillingness to compromise on bedroom volume, downsizing private open space. ...
Australian Local Government Areas (LGA) failure to meet their infill development targets, results in 30% urban tree canopy benchmark depletion. Under-performing green targets lead to hotter treeless suburbs dramatically triggering a need to pioneer effective long-term energy conservation approaches. This paper evaluates standard energy rated dwelling response to Optimal Residential Tree arrangement (ORTa) and 2050 policy goals. This approach compares efficiency scores from long-term zone 5 weather data with 2050 (RCP8.5) predictions. Researchers then apply ORTa to validate efficiency score improvement. ORTa comprises tree type (evergreen or deciduous), volume (1-3 trees), Tree-Building distance (3 m or 5 m) in any cardinal and inter-cardinal azimuth. Adopting ORTa combats subdivision deep soil inaccessibility, increasing tree planting freedom leading to tree canopy benchmark success. This ORTa, based upon microclimate parameters, facilitates occupancy thermal comfort, enhancing long-term building surface convection and radiation performance. ORTa presents no decremental energy effect, allowing any densified tree-canopy selection, according to provided recommendations. These optimisations extend tree benefits well beyond their target buildings, curbing neighbourhood heat, encouraging decision-makers to appreciate low-maintenance residential trees. Analysing global warming, over 30-year period, shows ORTa combats climate change impacts, retaining approximately 80% building energy conservation, decreasing tangible suburban heat.
... This phenomenon is not confined to temperature changes. Western Sydney, Australia's third-largest economy and a rapidly growing centre for population and employment, faces challenges beyond just urban heat (Forster 2006). The Australian Government's Centre for Population predicts an influx of 400,000 people into Western Parkland City's eight local government areas (LGAs) by 2030 (DPIE, 2019). ...
... (Wilson, 2001). A metropolitan life cycle is defined as a time interval included between rise and decrease of a given urban phase associated to some demographic dynamics, social trends and economic performances, (Forster, 2006;Zitti et al., 2015;Davis, 2016). The metropolitan development of a certain country has been effectively studied by means of the analysis of urban growth by size Complimentary Copy class of towns (Rogers, 1982). ...
Settlement models and urban growth are strictly interconnected issues. The present contribution scrutinizes the intimate relationship between these two dimensions of regional development, considering the implications of sustainable land management and suggesting a logical framework to understand the long-term evolution of economic systems and human settlements in Mediterranean Europe. Spatial planning combined with multifaceted policy dimensions characterizing Mediterranean regions (e.g., social, economic, demographic, cultural, financial and institutional issues) is a relevant approach to urban sustainability. Permanent assessment of these factors allows for the implementation of different development scenarios, thus contributing to systemic and multi-scale strategies of metropolitan growth. The pursuit of comprehensive urban policies achieving an integrated management of human landscapes is finally discussed in the present context of urban crisis in Southern Europe.
... Cities in advanced economies have undergone expansion in diverse economic conditions and settlement contexts, resulting in multifaceted development paths (Forster, 2006;Gennaio et al., 2009;Halleux et al., 2012). Despite marked spatial heterogeneity, two dominant models have emerged: (i) radio-centric growth (Mitoula and Papavasileiou, 2023;, fostering urban compactness , and (ii) a progressive shift toward urban dispersion , leading to spatially discontinuous settlement expansion (Couch et al., 2005;. ...
Departing from conventional narratives centered on economic stagnation and social secularism, this book offers a fresh perspective on Mediterranean urbanities. It posits their correlation with housing and welfare regimes, societal transformations, local governance structures, and deficiencies in spatial planning. The analysis within delves into the neglected potential for mitigating regional disparities, conducting a meticulous examination of environmental disparities, economic imbalances, and overarching social inequalities in Southern European regions. The outcome aims to furnish an integrated, and potentially holistic, understanding of spatial divisions between cities and their surrounding territories.
... We examine price changes for separate houses rather than attached dwelling types such as semi-detached/terrace houses and apartments/flats because Australia's capital cities are all highly suburbanised with lowdensity urban expansion. Almost 75 per cent of the housing stock consists of separate houses, with very little high-density housing except in Sydney (Forster, 2006). According to ABS data, detached houses comprise 79 per cent of housing stock in Queensland, whereas flats/apartments and semi-detached/terrace houses comprise 10.6 per cent and 10.4 per cent of housing stock, respectively. ...
We examine the causal impact of internal migration on housing prices across 82 Statistical Areas Level 3 regions in Queensland, Australia from 2014–2019. The primary findings are: (i) an annual increase in the inflow of migrants equal to 1 per cent of a region's initial population leads to a 0.6 to 0.7 per cent annual increase in Queensland's house prices across different empirical specifications; (ii) this effect differs between the Greater Brisbane metropolitan area and Rest of State areas; (iii) migration from New South Wales fails to produce a significant influence on house price growth in Queensland.
... Consequently, urban planning approaches in Australia have continued to change and develop to reflect urban progress, expansion, and economic movement (Gibson et al. 2022;Ruming and Gurran 2014). Exclusion, residential differentiation, and access to urban prospects have worsened and become increasingly harsh, despite widespread economic growth (Forster 2006). The urban society of Australia has long been moving towards heightened socio-economic disparity (Pusey and Wilson 2003), and Australia's market-focused strategy has formed splits in metropolises (Freestone and Hamnett 2017). ...
Sydney, the capital of the Australian state of New South Wales, is geographically divided by socio-economic conditions and urban opportunities. However, the division in Sydney has not been investigated from an urban planning perspective. This research hypothesises that the urban planning system and its practice-produced consequences promote inequalities in Sydney. This study conceptualises Sydney’s urban inequality in the context of critical concepts of neoliberalism, the theory of power, and the right to the city. Based on semi-structured interviews, secondary documents, and data analysis, this research claims that residents of lower socio-economic areas lag behind compared to others. The paper emphasises the significance of a just city and strong community engagement to reduce the disparate urban policy practices that influence urban divides in Sydney.
... Whilst house prices in GCCSAs increased by almost 38%, the average house price increase in RSSAs was only 20.5%. We examined price changes for separate houses only, rather than the attached dwelling types such as semi-detached/terrace houses and apartments/flats because Australia's cities are all highly suburbanized with low-density urban expansion, for example, almost 76% of the housing stock consists of detached houses, with very little high-density housing except in Sydney (Forster, 2006;Shearer & Burton, 2019). Total migration inflows in the three states are shown in Figure 2(a). ...
Australia is one of the most mobile countries in the world due to internal migration. This study provides the first evidence of the causal impact of internal migration inflow on house price changes across 237 statistical regions in Australia from 2014 to 2019. Employing a spatial correlation approach, the paper indicates that internal migration that amounts to 1% of the initial local area population is associated with a 0.52–0.71% increase in house prices in the three most populated states of Australia. Migration inflow has a significant positive effect on house price changes in metropolitan areas of Sydney and Melbourne rather than non-metropolitan regions.
... Redesigning current residential property trends, with a tree canopy focus, will lead to an efficient Australian market to better serve residents, the environment, and the city as a whole [29]. Reducing energy and bill costs influence the Australian attitude towards smaller footprint energy-efficient homes [30]. This option means better dwelling thermal response, lower energy consumption, smaller summer temperature hikes and winter plunges [31]. ...
Energy–efficient dwellings promote substantial urban energy conservation. Residential tree allocation, as an Urban Heat Island (UHI) mitigation strategy, stimulates climate responsivity, lowers Air Conditioner (AC) usage and heat distribution. This paper evaluates dwellings’ response to residential tree planting parameters to assess the building–surround relationship. These parameters include tree type (evergreen or deciduous), volume (1–3 trees), Tree–Building distance (3 m or 5 m) in each cardinal and inter–cardinal azimuth. These planting configurations highlight dominant Australian urban planning policy and green open space restrictions.
This study quantifies tree planting configuration models, utilising both typical and extreme weather data and a bi–seasonal approach, to arrive at an Optimal Residential Tree arrangement (ORTa). The simulation process tailors local weather data to assess tree impact upon the diurnal and nocturnal microclimate.
The ORTa dependence upon orientation ensures correct deep soil levels and viable private backyard volume. The result demonstrates a high probability that deciduous trees save energy bi–seasonally. Across all aspects and weather conditions, ORTa allows for an evergreen tree addition to boost energy conservation without detrimental annual or bi–seasonal effects on building thermal response. Annual weather data indicates two deciduous trees are optimal. These trees would be located east or west at 3 m Tree–Building distance (T-B distance), north at 5 m T-B distance or south at 3 m minimum with the maximum depending upon neighbour’s northerly aspect.
In typical weather conditions, two deciduous tree arrangements lead to maximum 40% heating energy conservation from any potential ORTa in east, west or north. In addition, it provides 15% east or west cooling energy saving and 7% north. In extreme weather conditions, two tree arrangements provide 25% thermal heating conservation, in any aspect. During heatwaves easterly deciduous tree planting is optimal (18% energy conservation), followed by westerly (7%) and northerly (1%).
This research recommends five ranked optimal tree arrangements depending on residential parcel deep soil availabilities. This optimisation result encourages decision–makers to appreciate residential green space and reanalyse future urban canopy cover target measurements.
... Redesigning current residential property trends, with a tree canopy focus, will lead to an efficient Australian market to better serve residents, the environment, and the city as a whole [29]. Reducing energy and bill costs influence the Australian attitude towards smaller footprint energy-efficient homes [30]. This option means better dwelling thermal response, lower energy consumption, smaller summer temperature hikes and winter plunges [31]. ...
A significant shift towards consolidating residential neighbourhoods has dramatically influenced the Australian national urban tree canopy benchmark. Recurrent tree planting, in densely settled residential suburbs, is an insufficient, emerging environmental and long-term energy conservation strategy. A global and Australian original research review, spanning the past two decades, reveals a better understanding of the link between trees and the built environment. This review defines potential tree allocation parameters, in urban energy conservation, within residential landscape constraints. This assessment focuses on regions similar to various Australian temperate to sub–tropical climate zones, defined as Mediterranean climate type by Köppen climate classification.
Based on this review, the paper then identifies the importance of residential tree requirements and energy demand credibility projections as an amendment to existing metropolitan guidelines, using Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth in Australia as an example. Currently, Australian residential planning and design codes, and landscaping software action-codes, like iTree canopy software or Tree Planting Predictor Tool, do not consider residential tree arrangement. These parameters unify the building-energy assessment scheme with an optimal residential tree arrangement concept, leading to implementable residential development plans. This optimisation, primarily optimal residential tree arrangement, provides housing designers with ideal tree allocation data to yield the greatest effect. In addition, this optimal residential tree arrangement model will transform how researchers measure future urban canopy cover performance.
... As Alexander and Gleeson (2019: 6) note: "The historical suburban model has run its course because its mother ship, capitalism, has run aground on the reefs of contradiction and overreach." New outer suburbs have inherited a monocentric spatial legacy (Forster 2006), requiring massive government infrastructure investment and a radical re-think of conventional zoning and spatiality by researchers, planners, and urbanists to 'localise' these suburbs economically and socially should a post-car, or work-from-home future become an enduring reality (Young 2021). Any reimagining of the outer suburbs will involve making work more accessible and alternative transport more welcoming, available and intuitive. ...
Australia is the most suburbanised country on earth. The ‘Australian Dream’ of a house in the suburbs has long reflected the sense of entitlement that urban Australians have to the financial security, private space and amenity that the Dream promises. Since around the turn of the century, governments at every level have been attempting to arrest suburban sprawl for its negative social, environmental and economic impacts. However, neoliberal economic and planning environments have exacerbated regulatory failure, so attempts to create compact cities have done little to provide genuine alternatives to suburban life or address low-quality sprawl in newly built outer suburbs. Unrestrained house price inflation, assisted by an investor-friendly taxation regime, has led to a situation where the housing outcome, the Dream, enjoyed by previous generations is becoming impossible. Overlaying this is an ideological environment that pits the suburbs against the inner city as a battle in the ‘culture wars’ and serves to obliterate any nuance, diversity or possibility for progressive change into the public debate.
... Most of the jobs in Latin American cities are concentrated in the inner center, while most workers of poor and nonwhite populations reside in the peripheries (Bittencourt et al., 2020). In contrast, educational facilities' locations do not always obey the same rule, which, in the case of jobs, is mainly associated with a market economy (Forster, 2006), while schools are also related to public services. As a public service, it brings a significant question regarding "whether or not, or to what degree the distribution of urban public services is equitable" (Talen and Anselin, 1998). ...
Most accessibility studies are usually related to the number of potential reachable opportunities, disregarding attributes related to quality. Schools are usually distributed in the city, but does the quality of the service in these schools provide spatial equity to access the educational system? This study investigates accessibility to education considering different modes of transport and the quality of schools. It calculates and compares potential accessibility and revealed mobility in a highly unequal context, focusing on elementary schools in São Paulo, the largest city in Latin America. The empirical research reveals disparities between public and private schools regarding the quality and transport mode, unfolding spatial inequity. We hope that these findings provide further insights into better planning our cities for young people to move, study and live.
... All governments, including the Commonwealth, therefore, are obliged to spend part of the 'tax take' in ways that protect the uniquely productive qualities of urban areas. A range of commentators (e.g., Forster 2006) and lobbyists have pointed to the recent and continuing failure of state governments to manage Australia's urban regions adequately. Arguably however, the increasingly manifest urban management problems besetting state governments reflect more than simple incompetence. ...
... Those aspiring to homeownership face multiple hurdles, including inflated housing costs that amplify mortgage debt (Morris, 2018;Urban Research Centre, 2010), and uneven geographical distributions of house prices that cause shifts away from urban centres. Households experience limited employment opportunities and public transport access, factors extending commuter distances, increasing car dependence, and altering work-life balance (Bissell, 2018;Forster, 2006;Nicholls et al., 2017). Planned estates integrate housing and amenity in a package deal, and their use has spread across the country and its urban centres since the 1960s (Cheshire et al., 2010;Johnson, 2010). ...
Planned estates may be a solution to housing demand and affordability in high growth regions. As a result, planned estate research has tended to focus on privatisation, social engineering of communities by developers, and social polarisation. Heatwave research has focused on measuring and mitigating the impact of such events on disadvantaged communities. However, these two research streams have not been combined to examine how planned estate residents may be vulnerable to heatwaves. We address that gap by considering past, current, and future heatwave impacts; identifying underlying processes governing the vulnerability of planned estates to heatwaves; and reflecting on the implications for the sustainability of planned estates in relation to future heatwave risk. We adopt a mixed‐methods approach using the case of the Jordan Springs estate in Western Sydney, Australia, and that work is underpinned by systems approaches embedded in sustainability science. We find that Jordan Springs is physically vulnerable to heatwaves due to characteristics in its built environment. Human vulnerability is complex: rooted in multiscalar socio‐economic and systemic processes both internal and external to the estate. We suggest resilience be increased to improve estate liveability and sustainability by retrofitting the built environment, improving urban greening, broadening consumer awareness, and modifying development processes. Through our study of a Western Sydney planned estate, we find the development to be vulnerable to heatwaves due to multi‐scalar socioeconomic and systemic processes occurring within and external to the estate, paired with the nature of the estate's built environment. We suggest resilience be increased to improve estate liveability and sustainability by retrofitting the built environment, improving urban greening, broadening consumer awareness, and modifying development processes.
... Consequently, the social order has become more complicated in terms of population growth pressures and increasing community responsiveness (McFarland, 2011). Moreover, Forster (2006) argues that regardless of economic growth, the levels of social polarisation, exclusion, residential differentiation and access to urban opportunities have transformed into a complex system and have certainly deteriorated. ...
Urban planning policies in New South Wales (NSW), Australia are continuously being reformed, in order to make them more economic development friendly. These reforms are concerned with making development approvals easier and faster. The implementation of these reforms and their outcomes in Greater Sydney, NSW, vary according to the local socio-economic conditions. The affluent communities in Greater Sydney are very concerned about these reforms and actively resist their application in their areas. They are successful in avoiding the application of reformed urban planning policies. However, the lower socio-economic parts of Greater Sydney in the outer areas are not able to engage with these urban policy issues. The reformed urban policies are fully applied in the poorer areas, often resulting in excessive and poor-quality urban development. Past research on urban planning policy development, application and outcomes in Sydney has not investigated selective planning policy application and its differential outcomes. This paper analyses the selective application of some recent urban planning
policy reforms as they relate to socio-economic division in Greater Sydney. The research argues that the selective application of urban planning policy in Greater Sydney is reinforcing socio-economic division there.
... Travel patterns of dual-income families are increasingly complex with work trips often combined with childcare, school drop offs and pick-ups, further education, second jobs and shift work (Infrastructure Australia, 2019). Workforce participation has become more varied with more part-time and casual work, longer hours of work and fewer secure long-term jobs (Forster, 2006;Infrastructure Australia, 2019). Growth of the gig economy, the sharing economy and workforce casualisation bring flexibility to work and residential location decisions. ...
The ever-increasing urbanisation of Australian cities makes the implementation of appropriate planning policy and strategies particularly important. The lack of clarity in how job and housing targets may be used to generate better spatial employment outcomes requires enhanced understanding of both housing, labour market and travel patterns and dynamics. After overviewing the concept and alternative forms of jobs-housing ratios used in practice, this chapter describes the strategic planning context of achieving employment self-sufficiency in Greater Perth, Western Australia (WA), specifically its outer metropolitan North-West Sub-region. We then discuss several key challenges in using job-housing related ratios to increase job quality and reduce travel needs. We conclude with policy recommendations to address these challenges and increase sustainable
transport outcomes.
... From the 1990s however, policy makers began to transfer concepts like "compact city" and "smart growth" to Australia under the label of "urban consolidation" (Dodson 2012). It was the purported sustainability benefits of urban consolidation that became a key driver for the adoption of policies that aimed to create regional and metropolitan land use patterns that concentrated housing, employment and services in a poly-nodal network of compact centres (Dodson 2012;Forster 2006). However like the previous attempts at metropolitan scale centres planning in Australia, progress towards refitting existing urban forms to this poly-nodal settlement pattern, particularly in the middle and outer rings of Australia's largest cities, has been mixed (Newton and Glackin 2014;Chhetri et al. 2013;Woodcock et al. 2011;Bunker 2014). ...
Metropolitan planning policy in Australia has focussed on creating more compact cities for the past twenty years. Yet the multi-nodal expression of Australian compact city policies has, to date, proven difficult to implement (Newton and Glackin 2014; Chhetri et al. 2013; Woodcock et al. 2011; Bunker 2014). Much of the existing research examining progress towards the compact city is based on data that is now 10 years old, thereby omitting the significant growth in infill residential development that has occurred more recently in Australian cities. In this presentation, we outline a new method to investigate longitudinal changes in population, land use, and built form in activity centres. We firstly describe the challenges involved in using common data sources and methods, before showing how the use of Google Street View, aerial imagery, and census data can be combined to overcome these challenges and provide a simple and accessible method to track changes indicative of the compact city. Preliminary findings from the application of this method to nominated activity centres in the Greater Brisbane area reveal signs of significant progress in some centres, however overall progress remains mixed. Future research that examines these results in combination with land use policy, transit accessibility, property valuations, and employment changes may highlight important implications for the planning of future compact city development.
... They demonstrate how changes to the regulatory land-use system towards a network of dense, sustainable and self-contained centres had little impact on centre development, which was instead most strongly related to property market conditions. The results are eerily similar to the situation described by (Forster 2006), where planning intent exists in a "parallel universe" to implementable reality. ...
State and local governments around Australia and the world now routinely promote the idea that dense, interconnected nodes of transit-rich, mixed-use places are indispensable for sustainable and resilient urban futures. From 20-minute neighbourhoods and 15-minute cities to compact activity centres and transit-oriented developments, the drive for urban density is now a ubiquitous feature of planning policies and is considered the antidote to the range of problems that plague our cities.
To deliver on these compact city visions, urban planners have long appealed to the market with calls for ever more flexible zoning and building codes (Steele 2009). However, with compact city policies now into their third decade, both the implementation and efficacy of market-driven density remain in doubt.
This special issue of Urban Policy and Research contributes a range of new research that explores both the problems and prospects of market-driven density. By doing so, it suggests new approaches and lines of inquiry that can reset the compact city vision and policy.
... There has been a good deal of scholarly analysis in recent years which has shown that life in the outer suburbs of Australian cities is not simply determined by urban form but by access to jobs, education, health and services (see for example , Forster, 2006;Fagan and O'Neill, 2015;Dodson, 2016). There is also some excellent Australian research on how public transport can be provided more effectively in low-density suburbs (Mees, 2010), recognising that trends in the distribution of jobs and services have led to more complex travel patterns than can be easily represented in a neat model of centre-based activities. ...
... While Sydney's footprint has continued to expand through new greenfield estates concentrated in the north-west and south-west growth centres, the dominance of this growth process has been checked by a continuation of the turn to urban consolidation first evident nationally in the 1980s (Forster, 2006). As noted earlier, shares of medium and higher density housing have grown. ...
... Multi-unit development accounted for half of all residential development nationally in 2015-16 compared to just over a quarter in 2009, and a total of 114,000 apartments were approved in Australia in 2016, a 275% increase over 2009 (Housing Industry Association 2017). This fundamental change in land use outcomes has been fostered by the pursuit of planning policies that have promoted 'compact city' mixed-use, higher density urban renewal and infill development as the principal mechanisms for accommodating expected population growth (Forster 2006;OECD 2012). Higher density residential development, often focused on urban renewal schemes around 'magnet' infrastructure, has become a dominant feature in location decisions about new housing supply in cities (Searle and Filion 2010). ...
Faced with ageing and insufficient transport infrastructure, growing inequities particularly on the urban fringe, increasing air pollution, and increasing rates of road injury and non-communicable disease, twenty-first century cities need to urgently implement strategies that lead to sustainable agglomerations if globally, we are going to limit global warming to within 1.5 °C. On a pathway to limiting global warming, we need to focus attention on the road transport system which contributes more than 20% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG); sustainable urban transport systems must, therefore, be an urgent priority for policymakers across the globe.
Urbanization is one of the crucial issues of global change and, with increasing frequency, we observe a remarkable correlation between socioeconomic changes and urban land use and landscape modifications. Urban expansion pattern is getting increasingly dispersed and fragmented. Topography and natural amenities contribute to shape the territorial development in suburban districts which, in turn, are strictly associated with preference for environmental landscape expressed by citizens characterized by uneven socioeconomic status, primarily income inequalities. Typically observed in Mediterranean cities under structural crises, the socio-spatial polarization resulting from intense recessions, may represent a risk in term of sustainability and livability of modern urban area and requires a punctual spatial planning activity to restore an image of inclusivity and equality that the "European city" once had. This chapter discusses flexible and generalized notions to evaluate urban expansion modes that are essential to envisage well informed socio-territorial policies to contrast unbalanced trajectories of regional development. Admitting that this trend of land development is getting a common feature of a growing number of cities in advanced economies, providing instruments of evaluation of the ongoing situation supports the decision-making process for improving the quality and equity of future urbanization in metropolitan areas around the world. Socially cohesive and spatially equitable cities seem to be the necessary antidote to urban crisis in Mediterranean regions, and especially in economically weaker and socially fragile realities.
The pursuit of 20-minute neighbourhoods has been recently combined with calls for “density done well”. However, this catch-phrase is not well defined in planning policy and there is little understanding of what is being meant by it. This article investigates its meanings and how it may or may not contribute towards more liveable cities. Semi-structured interviews and analysis of participants’ examples showed a multiplicity of nuanced and diverse meanings, the catch-phrase serving as an empty signifier. This reveals the pitfalls of masking divergent desires through linguistic tactics, but also the opportunities for mediating them through a less reductionist discourse.
Problem, research strategy and findings
Municipal arts and cultural plans direct significant amounts of public investment and set far-reaching policies, as arts and culture investment becomes an increasingly widespread economic development strategy. Though these plans frequently advertise the city’s diversity, they often lack specific strategies for supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In addition, the creation of these plans often does not involve urban planners, nor do the plans often connect to the city’s comprehensive plan or contain the types of fact bases and commitments to equity that comprehensive plans do. In this study of 64 U.S. municipal arts and cultural plans, we investigated what kinds of cities are producing arts and cultural plans that do a better job of integrating concepts of DEI and what factors can explain these differences. We also investigated which specific policies were present that addressed DEI in arts and cultural plans. We found that newer plans more strongly emphasized equity, and plans with more robust public processes and those in more diverse cities more strongly emphasized equity and DEI overall, whereas plans in cities with lower median household incomes more strongly emphasized equity and inclusion. Overall, plans were much more likely to talk about diversity and inclusion than the specifics of equitable distribution of arts and cultural resources.
Takeaway for practice
Planners need to get involved in arts and cultural planning to ensure that planning processes for arts and cultural plans work to achieve the same standards we expect for comprehensive plans. They must be based on inclusive processes, understand the range of diversity of people in the city, and commit to specific, targeted place-based and people-based public investment to improve equity. Planners can also expand their typical approaches through alignments with topical arts and cultural plans.
The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated a resurgence in counter-urbanisation in Australia with ex-urban populations leaving behind the perceived disamenity of city life for simpler, cheaper and lockdown-free lives. This article investigates the drivers of in-migration and net migration into non-metropolitan New South Wales from the metropolitan zone between 2011 and 2016, focusing on the potential draw of rural amenity, together with the potential ‘push’ factors of urban disamenity. The results show that non-metropolitan NSW is becoming less dependent on counter-urbanisation flows from Sydney, while simultaneously seeing stronger net migration gains from interchanges with the broad metropolitan zone. Hypothesis testing upheld the contention that rural amenity accounted for a statistically significant share of the variance in in-migration - and net migration - from Sydney. However, the hypothesis that Sydney’s perceived disamenity is leading to out-migration flows and net migration losses was not well supported, confounded by mis-specification issues. High population densities are associated with out-migration from the Sydney region to all categories of settlement within the remainder of NSW and Australia. However, changes in density are only a strong and reliable influence on net migration within the broad Sydney metropolitan area but the direction of that influence is positive rather than negative. The article reveals that the proportion of immigrants within a metropolitan local government area population is negatively associated with out-migration.
Moving toward a land-use approach that focuses on settlement structure, the present study introduces an indicator of compactness based on the evolution over time of the number of detached buildings in total stock at local scale. Assuming the modalities of settlement expansion as dependent on the interplay among socioeconomic aspects, territorial constraints and planning regulations, the spatial relationship between this indicator and a vast set of contextual variables was studied at the level of municipalities in a representative case of Mediterranean Europe (Athens, Greece) during both economic expansion (late-1990s) and recession (late-2000s). Results documented a trend toward settlement compaction along the Athens’ fringe. Processes of settlement compaction were more evident in municipalities with a town master plan enforced in law. By reconnecting a morphological analysis of urban fabric with a functional characterization of metropolitan regions, our study suggests the importance of spatial planning regulating dispersed urbanization in contexts where informal settlements had reflected the dominant pattern of urban growth for decades.
Background
Recent rapid growth in urban areas and the desire to create liveable neighbourhoods has brought about a renewed interest in planning for compact cities, with concepts like the 20-minute neighbourhood (20MN) becoming more popular. A 20MN broadly reflects a neighbourhood that allows residents to meet their daily (non-work) needs within a short, non-motorised, trip from home. The 20MN concept underpins the key planning strategy of Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, however the 20MN definition has not been operationalised. This study aimed to develop and operationalise a practical definition of the 20MN and apply this to two Australian state capital cities: Melbourne (Victoria) and Adelaide (South Australia).
Methods
Using the metropolitan boundaries for Melbourne and Adelaide, data were sourced for several layers related to five domains: 1) healthy food; 2) recreational resources; 3) community resources; 4) public open space; and 5) public transport. The number of layers and the access measures required for each domain differed. For example, the recreational resources domain only required a sport and fitness centre (gym) within a 1.5-km network path distance, whereas the public open space domain required a public open space within a 400-m distance along a pedestrian network and 8 ha of public open space area within a 1-km radius. Locations that met the access requirements for each of the five domains were defined as 20MNs.
Results
In Melbourne 5.5% and in Adelaide 7.6% of the population were considered to reside in a 20MN. Within areas classified as residential, the median number of people per square kilometre with a 20MN in Melbourne was 6429 and the median number of dwellings per square kilometre was 3211. In Adelaide’s 20MNs, both population density (3062) and dwelling density (1440) were lower than in Melbourne.
Conclusions
The challenge of operationalising a practical definition of the 20MN has been addressed by this study and applied to two Australian cities. The approach can be adapted to other contexts as a first step to assessing the presence of existing 20MNs and monitoring further implementation of this concept.
Many New World cities in New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Northwest have urban growth management policies and strategies in place to promote intensification as a way to avoid sprawl while continuing to absorb population growth. Enhancing the quality of urban life of residents has also become a fundamental component in the urban growth management strategies of many cities seeking to prioritise intensification. In spatial terms, fulfilling a directive for a compact city will require the intensification of town centres and existing neighbourhoods by increasing the availability of a variety of multi-unit, multi-use, and multi-storey attached housing typologies. It will also require social changes in terms of the lifestyle expectations and aspirations of residents. In order to understand the impetus for residents to buy into this mandate for intensification, it will be important to research the housing choices and aspirations of residents who are living in attached forms of housing and to investigate the role of the neighbourhood in their perceived quality of urban life. This thesis makes a contribution to housing and urban intensification research. The findings provide insights into two critical areas: firstly, higher density housing choices and the trade-offs residents make when deciding where to live; secondly, the significance of neighbourhood amenities in relation to neighbourhood satisfaction. In order to address the aims of this research, fifty-seven-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with residents who currently live in attached typologies across four established neighbourhoods in the case study city of Auckland, New Zealand. The interviewees were asked to define their neighbourhood, express what ‘quality of life’ and ‘quality of urban life’ meant to them, and to discuss their housing experiences, housing choices, and housing aspirations. Data was also gathered about their perceptions of density and intensification. They were asked to identify which neighbourhood amenities they used, how often, how they accessed them, and the role these amenities played in their neighbourhood satisfaction. Following a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach, the data was evaluated using Substantive Coding methods, conducted both manually and through NVivo, the qualitative data analysis software. The research concludes that if higher density living is to be embraced in established neighbourhoods, what must be understood is the role of urban amenities both within the neighbourhood, and within the wider city, in meeting the quality of urban life expectations of residents. The apparent risk of not considering urban amenities in this way is to misunderstand the nature of contemporary urban life and the effects of changing demographics and household structures on housing choices.
This article contributes to literature on housing affordability and the ways in which neoliberalism has inflected debates related to the issue through a textual analysis of the property market advice manual, Smashed Avocado: How I Cracked the Property Market and You Can Too by Australian author, [Haddow, Nicole. 2019. Smashed Avocado: How I Bought Into the Property Market and You Can Too. Carlton: Nero]. The text is significant in demonstrating the mediation of neoliberal constraints via self-help/how-to property guides which orient millennials’ inwards, presenting a reading of ‘the self’ as problem and solution, while leaving market orthodoxies undisturbed. In highlighting discourses of individualism, self-responsibility, internalised governmentality, and the classed subjectivities offered in the text, this paper extends existing knowledge by mapping the convergence of neoliberal sensibilities with housing-related self-help literature targeting millennial women. While Smashed Avocado elides classed inequalities between women, and operates within the logics of capitalism, it nonetheless an important site of analysis for thinking through mediated geographies of millennial’s evolving relationship to housing unaffordability in the Australian market.
The old public rental housing estates in Eastlands, Nairobi are residential neighbourhoods in the city that seem secluded from the urban developmental life cycle. They have turned into the focus of problems and inefficiencies. The evaluation of renewal actions claim to promote residents’ satisfaction in some cases while at the same time improve objective attributes of their residential neighbourhoods and their economic quality of life. However, there are claims regarding the lack of any improvements in their subjective quality of life. This study consequently, explores how renewal actions in deteriorated public rental estates could consider the issue of enhancing residents’ quality of life and also seek to provide and promote residential satisfaction with an emphasis of both the objective and subjective aspects.
In recent years, local government infrastructure management practices have evolved from conventional land use planning to more wide ranging and integrated urban growth and infrastructure management approaches. The roles and responsibilities of local government are no longer simply to manage daily operational functions of a city and provide basic infrastructure. Local governments are now required to undertake economic planning, manage urban growth; be involved in major infrastructure planning; and even engage in achieving sustainable development objectives. The Brisbane Urban Growth model has proven initially successful to ensure timely and coordinated delivery of urban infrastructure. This model may be the first step for many local governments to move toward an integrated, sustainable and effective infrastructure management.
Australia's metropolitan cities have undergone significant social, economic and demographic change over the past several decades. In terms of socio-economic advantage and disadvantage these changes, which are often associated with globalisation, wider economic and technological restructuring, the changing demographics of the population and shifts in public policy are not evenly dispersed across cities, but represent a range of often contrasting outcomes. The current paper develops a typology of socio-economic advantage and disadvantage for locations across Australian metropolitan cities. More specifically, the paper takes a range of Australian Bureau of Statistics data and uses a model-based approach with clustering of data represented by a parameterised Gaussian mixture model and discriminant analysis utilised to consider the differences between the clusters. These clusters form the basis of a typology representing the range of socio-economic and demographic outcomes at the local community level. Yes Yes
This paper explores some fundamental assumptions being linked by State Housing Authorities to 'social mix' strategies in contemporary Australian public housing estate regeneration policy. Six case-study estates, two each in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland form the basis for the empirical analysis. The two major ideas emerging from South Australian and Queensland projects are: first that lowering concentrations of public housing and developing more mixed income communities offers a means to reconnect socially excluded public housing tenants to mainstream society; second that a balanced social mix is a prerequisite for the development of 'inclusive', 'sustainable' and 'cohesive' communities. However, in light of the empirical findings that strong cohesive communities already exist on some estates prior to regeneration commencing, there is no evidence that a balanced social mix is a necessary condition for building inclusive communities. Coupled with findings in the projects of inadvertent negative consequences of implementing social mix policies, the paper questions whether policy makers are over-emphasising the extent to which social mix assists regeneration.
The extent of social disadvantage in local neighbourhoods has come to the fore in recent years, partly as a result of the problems that State Housing Authorities have faced in managing the concentrations of socially marginalised populations on larger public housing estates. However, a wider understanding of the processes at play in these neighbourhoods is needed to inform policy development. We consider the evolution of local renewal policy in New South Wales at the present time and suggest potential policy options for the future.
Since their post-war inception, Sydney's metropolitan plans have tended to be overtaken by the social, economic and environmental conditions they have had to confront. The depth and scope of Sydney's recent urban transformation threatens again to overtake metropolitan planning capacity creating, in the context of competitive globalisation, a potentially significant market disadvantage for the city, not to mention poor urban development outcomes. This paper reviews Sydney's post-war metropolitan planning strategies, examining the social and economic contexts and the policy paradigms in which they have been framed, in order to draw out the lessons to be learned from their successes and failures. We argue that future success in planning urban development will rely on richly informed and fine-grained understanding of the complex spatial outcomes of Sydney's ever-deeper global integration. Only such fine-grained understanding can empower metropolitan planning to be responsive to the evolving challenges of managing development in the contemporary urban context.
The recent metropolitan strategies for Sydney (1994 and 1999) are analysed. A discourse analysis is used to help identify underlying ideology and assumptions in the strategies. ESD, economic competitiveness and compact cities are central discourses in both strategies. The 1994 strategy uses an integrated urban management approach implemented by a comprehensive action plan and new institutional arrangements, and in which a neo‐liberalist ideology is dominant. The 1999 strategy is less prescriptive, with greater emphasis on justifying existing government policies. Differences between the discourses identified and actual strategic planning actions suggest the limitations of purely textual discourse analysis for understanding strategic planning.
Identifies the central issue in present day Australian housing as the contrast between the well and cheaply housed and the less-well and expensively housed minorities. Reviews the evolution of post war housing policies at various governmental levels. -after Author
This commentary challenges the argument put by Peter Newman in favour of urban consolidation, or 'smart growth' policies, in the previous issue of People and Place. It draws on evidence from the United States and elsewhere which shows reductions in road market share have been rare, even where new urban rail has been built. Moreover, housing prices have escalated inordinately in locations where smart growth policies have been adopted.
In three recent papers, Bourne has suggested that the rate of gentrification in Canadian cities will decline, for both demand and supply reasons, notwithstanding economic recovery in the mid- 1990s. This prognosis for Canadian cities is so much at odds with the activity currently being generated in the upper-income housing markets at the center of the five largest Australian cities that it invites further investigation. Evidence is presented of recovery in the inner-suburban terrace housing submarket, and what began as countercyclical investment in the Australian equivalent of the loft-conversion and condominium submarkets. This latest phase of residential revitalization in the inner city heralds a trend to higher-value, high-rise living at the center of Australian cities. By the early 1990s enough Australians had become conditioned to inner-area living to provide optimism about the underlying demand, while the projected yields brought condominium development into the realm of financial feasibility. But concerted government action also was necessary to prime the core-area market for residential project development at the time (1991–1993). This raises a series of interesting questions about the advisability of state governments pursuing a property-led development strategy in recovery when the Anglo-American experience suggests that it might be short-lived at best. Lastly, some consideration is given to the implications for gentrification research and theory of possible divergence through the 1990s in the experience of North American and Australian cities.
Much recent literature in urban studies, geography, and planning portrays an inexorable evolution toward polycentricity as a new “postmodern” metropolitan form. However, detailed and comparable empirical investigations, at once both comprehensive and disaggregated, are more elusive. A study by Gordon and Richardson (1996) of employment trends in Los Angeles—the archetypal polycentric metropolis—produced the surprising conclusion that a process of generalized dispersion rather than a clustering in major suburban subcenters seemed well established for the period 1970 to 1990. This paper adapts the Gordon-Richardson methodology to an investigation of centered versus noncentered employment trends in Sydney, Australia, between 1981 and 1996. Based on a detailed statistical analysis, the study suggests some parallels to the Los Angeles experience in the 1980s but uncovers a recentralization trend in the 1990s. The findings underline the importance of locality-specific factors and the need for further systematic and comparative research.
This paper reviews trends over the last two to three decades in the socio-economic divisions in Australia, focusing on their spatial dimensions. It provides empirical evidence that our society is dividing on multiple dimensions – including shifts in industry and occupational structure, income distribution, the incidence of poverty. And it demonstrates that the differentiations across space in socio-economic phenomena also have complex multiple dimensions, which are explained inadequately by a ‘city/bush’ dichotomy popularly espoused by politicians and reported in the media. Processes of globalisation, economic restructuring and employment shifts, and changing patterns of population movement are combining to create stark differentials between places both within the major cities as well as in regional Australia. As demonstrated by the recent One Nation phenomenon, voter backlash is strong, and it too has specific spatial characteristics.
A strand of recent American planning literature has been the exploration of "edge city" style suburbanization.Similar outer city landscapes with attendant planning problems have been identified in foreign settings, but a culturally sensitive approach to the relevant comparisons of pattern, process and policy is needed. Focusing on the Sydney experience, this paper provides an Australian perspective. Its discussion of economic, demographic, historical, institutional, and policy factors is centrally concerned with explaining the more muted scale and contrasting forms of commercial suburbanization. The instructiveness of differences as much as of similarities is highlighted in the comparative analysis.
This paper provides an overview of some key aspects of the different contemporary approaches being utilised across the Australian States to redevelop public housing estates. Questions are raised about the effects of the projects on existing and future tenants, both in terms of the strategies used to address particular concentrations of disadvantage on the estates and the success in maintaining the current and future supply of public housing stock. In addition, the study points to the need for further evaluation of the approaches used in redevelopment, as currently little is known about the success or otherwise of the projects.
This article focuses on the role that housing markets play in structuring patterns of social disadvantage in Australian cities, specifically Sydney and Melbourne. It explores the relationship between housing tenure and social disadvantage at the local scale (Census collector districts) for the two cities, following a discussion of the various stands of literature on housing tenure and socio-spatial polarisation in Australian cities. It analyses the relationship between areas of high social disadvantage and housing tenure. The analysis, which uses the ABS Index of Disadvantage, distinguishes locations where comparable levels of social disadvantage are associated with very different housing markets, one where public housing is prominent and others which are primarily areas of private sector housing. The social profiles of both types of area are described, drawing out differences between the two cities, as are changes in the extent of these areas over time. The policy implications for the areas of private sector housing are then discussed.
The popularity of master planned estates with prospective settlers and planner-developers alike has burgeoned in the past 20 years. Stimulated by the settlers' desire for product assurance, and the developer's search for a marketing advantage, movements such as new urbanism and neo-communitarianism have underpinned large-scale planned suburban tract developments in both Australia and the USA. The marketing of such developments together with quality of design and physical and social infrastructure, commonly includes the promise of ‘community’. Such promises strike a chord with residents driven by security concerns. Drawing on recent qualitative research on two planned housing estates on Sydney's south-west fringe, this article examines two interrelated processes that underpin the notion of community in the contemporary master planned community. Firstly, it investigates the influence that design and development practices can have on community formation and community outcomes. It also examines the nexus between community association and economic interests in the drive to shape a secure, status-oriented residential environment. During a time when community is perceived as a scarce resource, and a goal to be achieved, ‘community’ becomes a resource deployed by both the planner-developer and residents to differentiate one residential area from another.
This article provides new evidence on the supply of private rental dwellings affordable for low income households in Australia in 1996 and 2001 and on shortages or surpluses of affordable dwellings in each period. The results indicate a decline in the supply of low rent dwellings between 1996 and 2001 and a resultant shortage of dwellings affordable for low income households in 2001. However, the size of the low rent supply is only the first affordability hurdle for low income households because much of the low rent stock was occupied by higher income households. Employed higher income young families compete with low income older single persons for access to the low rent stock. Once stock utilisation is taken into account, the shortage of dwellings affordable and available for low income households is increased. Moreover, an apparent surplus of dwellings affordable for low to moderate income households is converted to a significant shortage. The article concludes by raising concerns about the shift to policies that rely on the private rental market to provide affordable rental housing.
Australia has exhibited a remarkably stable home-ownership rate of 70 per cent for over thee decades. However, this paper questions whether this rate is sustainable. Decomposition techniques based on tenure choice models are used to provide evidence of changing homeownership patterns in Australia between 1975 and 1994. The results indicate a distinct change in home-ownership propensities which is neither uniform across age-groups, nor uniform for different household types with both the same and with different levels of income. A number of tentative explanations are proposed, each of which provides the basis for further research on the factors affecting household tenure decisions. This is essential if the potential for a significant decline in home-ownership is to be seen as a matter of concern.
This case study updates a long-running investigation into the revitalisation of inner Adelaide previously reported in Urban Studies in 1981 and 1991. Its value is two-fold: first, it provides an opportunity to review critically the fate of gentrification in Australia under economic conditions that others would claim have not always been favourable during the 1990s; and, secondly, it highlights the strategic role of a public housing authority as a lead agency in the process of urban revitalisation. The paper uses data on intercensal change together with an overview of the state government's urban investment policy to argue that the class transformation of inner Adelaide is now effectively complete. During the past decade, there has been a distinct improvement in the fortunes of the inner western suburbs which had previously suffered from long-term decline. The State's Inner Western Program has been instrumental in remediating badly degraded industrial land and rezoning an unused transport corridor through these suburbs and helping to lever private investment in the housing sector. Hence the housing reinvestment and class changeover normally associated with gentrification has proceeded apace right through the 1990s. After 30 years, the circle of regeneration has almost been completed on all four sides of the City of Adelaide.
Housing affordability has fallen in Australia over the past decade, in spite of sustained economic growth in the national economy. This paper argues that this outcome raises serious economic and social questions, especially in relation to the prospects and welfare of younger Australians. A lack of affordable housing has negative consequences for the competitiveness and efficiency of the Australian economy and for the maintenance of social cohesion in society. Existing housing policies, it is also argued, are demonstrably not working to offset or reverse the trend of declining affordability. New policies are required, especially those that would attract more private investment into the affordable end of the housing market. The main part of this paper outlines and critically compares a range of possible models or approaches that have recently been put forward to this end.
Areas of social housing have been among the primary targets of urban regeneration policy since the late 1960s. But successive regeneration initiatives appear to have made little impact on the most difficult to let estates. Indeed a growing body of research suggests that many of the indicators of deprivation on these estates are getting worse. This paper suggests that the concept of social exclusion is not only highly relevant in describing the situation in which many of the most disadvantaged estates find themselves, but can also offer a foundation for new, more comprehensive strategies to address the problems they face. However, this will require fundamental changes to professional, political and economic cultures. Drawing on a recent programme of research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the paper outlines the challenges that emerging policies such as the New Deal for Communities will need to address, if the cycle of exclusion is to be reversed.
From the post‐war period through to the 1980s, Australia's housing system was dominated by tenure‐based policies directed towards home ownership and the provision of public housing. Private tenants were virtually excluded from housing assistance of any form. The 1990s, however, have seen an apparent U‐turn in housing policies with elimination of explicit home ownership policies, the withdrawal from direct involvement in public housing funding and a rapid expansion of rental assistance for private tenants. Australia is about to follow its New Zealand neighbour in undertaking a wholesale shift away from direct intervention in the production of housing and moving towards consumer subsidies which rely on the effective operation of the private sector in meeting housing needs. This paper provides a brief overview of changes in policies towards home ownership, public rental and private rental, a framework for interpreting these and an assessment of the appropriateness of the directions currently being followed in light of current economic trends.
A comparison of auto commuting trip durations from the 1985 American Housing Survey to data from the 1980 census for the 20 largest metropolitan areas suggests that during the study period average trip times either fell by a statistically significant amount or remained the same. A paradox may exist in the widespread reports of congestion in spite of stable average trip durations. Perhaps average commute times are contained by the location adjustments that households and businesses make. Perhaps there is no paradox. Location adjustments would not be made were it not for the perception of congestion. -Authors
This paper examines the distribution of employment among subcenters in the Los Angeles metropolitan region in 1970, 1980, and 1990, defined in terms of trip generation rates rather than employment densities. The results show that the number of subcenters declined from each analysis year to the next, and that the proportion of regional jobs in all subcenters is small and fell from year to year, even when the number of subcenters is held constant (i.e., 1970 subcenters, 1980 subcenters, or 1990 subcenters). The results suggest that the Los Angeles region may be more accurately described as a dispersed than as a polycentric metropolis.
This article describes the changing nature and extent of urban consolidation in Melbourne in the context of government policy. It also compares, for two periods, 199798 and 20022003, the amount of medium density development categorised by development size, approved in four municipalities (Boroondara, Stonnington, Port Phillip and Yarra) and its location particularly in relation to public transport. The article draws conclusions from these trends for the operation of medium density codes in Melbourne, and for the new metropolitan strategy.
Throughout the last decade, the Australian economy has experienced its second longest period of uninterrupted prosperity in recorded history. The paper argues that this prosperity is sourced from an extraordinary surge in finance-based economic activity along Australia's eastern seaboard, especially in the Sydney region. Population growth in the Sydney basin has further fuelled the region's economic growth. The spatialised nature of this prosperity has produced a major shift in distributional outcomes across Australian regions and among households. Sydney-based households, especially those in inner 'global Sydney' neighbourhoods, have had access to high rates of job creation and sustained increases in income and house values. On the other hand, non-metropolitan households away from Sydneythose in regional and rural Australiahave experienced largely negative consequences as historical inter-sectoral and spatial redistribution mechanisms have been dismantled. The paper shows how divergent experiences of the new prosperity have produced an unstable political landscape in regional and rural Australia. It concludes by urging further research into the spatialised nature of economic changes in Australia, especially research that is conscious of distributional flows and outcomes.
Despite the perception that Australia's private rental market serves principally as a short-term transitional housing tenure, 40 per cent of households in this sector have rented for longer than ten years. This paper enlarges the housing career concept by proposing two types of long-term private renters: continuals (always rented since leaving the parental home) and returners (rented, purchased home, rented again). By using the multivariate statistical technique, CHAID, the analysis demonstrates that continuals and returners form ten distinct renter segments, defined largely by differences in age, marital status, source of income and household income. In the main, continual segments feature renters in the 30–44 year age group, not yet married or, if married (or formerly married), reliant on social security payments. In contrast, most returners earn private incomes, and tend to be older than the continuals (generally over 45 years). The segment most strongly associated with returning to rental housing exhibits the highest household income level, prompting speculation that some households may choose renting over ownership. The analysis further reveals that continual longterm renters encounter a disproportionate share of housing difficulties, including high rents, poor affordability and excessive residential upheaval.
In Australia, growth at the fringe has been seen as an inevitable response to a lack of affordable housing in the inner and middle zones of the major metropolitan cities. Urban consolidation was seen as one way of improving housing affordability and increasing housing choices and, at the same time, constraining outward growth. It will do so only if households forego past preferences for ownership of a detached house. This paper examines the contribution urban consolidation has made to meeting affordability and choice objectives by providing some insights into whether households are trading off tenure choices for lifestyle choices based on location and dwelling type. It also provides information on the extent of spatial polarisation of income that has contributed to the observed outcomes.