Briefs

Urban policy frameworks across Australia present an uneven treatment of environmental issues. While some metropolitan planning strategies are explicit about the role of cities policy in addressing climate change, for example through preparing for rising water levels, increasing likelihood of natural disasters and other environmental hazards, others do not account for this in detail.

The planning of transport infrastructure to meet current and future needs is a central objective of urban policies. Metropolitan planning strategies and infrastructure reports highlight the need to invest in transport infrastructure to combat congestion and improve connections between people’s homes, services, employment and social opportunities.

Evaluation of current urban policy frameworks for Australia’s cities identified the provision of infrastructure as a key feature. This Brief focuses on water and energy resources, social infrastructure and funding mechanisms; other forms of infrastructure such as transport and telecommunications are addressed in separate themes.

Urban policy frameworks in Australia feature provisions for the development and use of land. The re-zoning of land on the urban fringe and the redevelopment and subdivision of property in existing urban areas, especially for new or more intensive residential use, is essential to accommodating urbanization and the dynamic populations of Australian cities.

City policies typically focus on managing urban systems and functions, like transport networks and housing markets, or pursue outcomes, measured in social, environmental or economic terms. Cities also have a cultural dimension that is harder to quantify and integrate into policy frameworks and governance arrangements. Ultimately, cities exist as physical places that are imbued with layers of meaning, only some of which are addressed in the traditional domains of urban policy.