Post-war suburbanisation is a foundational element of the Australian urban experience but brought a balance sheet of social costs alongside material benefits. Most development authorities were slow to acknowledge the need for a more explicit social approach to urban questions until the 1970s, a decade of questioning conventional wisdom, promoting wider community participation, and greater awareness of the importance of place in planning outcomes. This paper explores this narrative in reconstructing the career and contributions of a relatively forgotten figure in the development of Australian planning. Caroline Kelly (1899-1989) pursued a remarkably varied life. Her three core careers: actress-entrepreneur, social anthropologist, and social planner were shaped throughout by her feminist outlook. Kelly's third career for a succession of major planning bodies in Sydney saw her advising on social wellbeing and placemaking activities for relocated suburban populations and receiving communities as the social aspects of urban planning were first being considered as an integral part of the wider planning mission. In an era of great social change, her skills in communication and social research enabled her to appreciate and promote consideration of human issues in the planning process. Kelly's was a resolute voice for qualitative inquiry, and for planners listening to, acknowledging, and addressing the needs of displaced communities, with particular concern for the isolation, loneliness and lack of social infrastructure suffered by women, children and teenagers in suburbia. A place-based perspective provides the interpretive structure to analyse Kelly's activities from the 1940s to the 1980s.
The participation of residents in planning and development decision making is an increasingly common objective of government in cities like Sydney. The right to 'have your say' has been extended to those who are often most negatively affected by changes in our urban environments. Yet, processes of participatory planning and community engagement struggle to reconcile the varied expectations and desires that communities bring to the consultation table, leaving many residents disillusioned by the very processes designed to include them. To better understand how Sydneysiders are responding to the post-political state in Sydney, with its commitment to the marketisation of infrastructure provision and consensus-seeking community consultations on this strategy, we asked resident groups about how they are creating new networks and arrangements of power to engage with the state on development issues. We found the most successful groups are working well beyond the limitations of the government consensus-seeking community consultation events because they understand the uneven power structure shaping their city. This study of the actions of Sydneysiders adds empirical weight to the critiques of Habermasian-esque consensus politics that seem to dominate contemporary models of community consultation. We use Chantal Mouffe, and particularly her ideas around the politics of agonistic pluralism, to think through the actions of local community action groups and broader alliances in Sydney.
This study examines the feasibility of adaptive reuse of vacant office buildings in the Adelaide Central Business District (CBD) with particular focus on secondary-grade buildings. Rising vacancies have revealed a persistent divergence between prime and secondary markets with older buildings increasingly misaligned with tenant demand. The study adopts a mixed-method approach by integrating analysis of vacancy trends from 2010 to 2025, spatial mapping of vacant office listings, and thematic analysis of stakeholder perspectives and policy initiatives.The findings highlight five key dynamics. First, secondary-grade buildings consistently recorded higher and more sustained vacancy that create a structural pool of potential candidates for reuse. Second, spatial clustering shows concentrations in both the Core and the transitional Frame zones that offer opportunities for regeneration strategies but also risks to its vitality if left unmanaged. Third, stakeholder perspectives reveal diverging priorities: developers emphasise financial feasibility, regulators focus on compliance, experts stress technical barriers, and users prioritise social and liveability outcomes. Fourth, policy support has expanded significantly since 2016 through initiatives, yet the property market remains cautious with reuse activity largely confined to smaller-scale projects. Finally, the synthesis suggests that Adelaide is approaching a tipping point where vacancy pressures, policy frameworks, and awareness align but unresolved barriers continue to constrain transformative outcomes.The research contributes to the academic literature by extending obsolescence and adaptive reuse theory through multi-scalar integration of vacancy dynamics, spatial clustering, and planning frameworks. Practically, it provides evidence-based insights for policymakers, planners, and investors for scaling adaptive reuse beyond boutique interventions .
The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games represent not only a pivotal moment to shape the future of Brisbane; they represent an unprecedented opportunity to rethink how Australian cities plan and build beyond short-term needs to achieve equitable urban futures. This viewpoint advocates that Brisbane can be at the forefront of this transformational change by pursuing resilient and climate-ready infrastructure, inclusive and connected communities, revitalised regional economies, sustainable mobility, innovative governance, and long-term urban stewardship. Drawing on lessons from previous Olympic and major mega-event host cities, the paper adopts a comparative planning perspective and advances a six-pillar legacy framework encompassing infrastructure, society, environment, economy, governance, and culture. The analysis highlights the importance of climate-ready infrastructure, inclusive and connected communities, sustainable mobility, innovative governance, and long-term urban stewardship. The viewpoint contributes a planning-led framework to guide Brisbane 2032 toward equitable, resilient, and sustainable urban futures, offering transferable insights for future Olympic legacy planning in Australia and internationally. For practitioners, the paper emphasises: (a) Prioritising legacy-first planning to align investments with long-term urban needs; (b) Embedding co-design and inclusive governance, particularly with local communities and Traditional Owners; (c) Integrating climate-responsive and nature-based solutions from the outset; (d) Aligning Games-related planning with statutory frameworks and regional strategies to enhance coordination and long-term public value.
Automated Train Operations (ATO) are increasingly central to smart city mobility strategies, yet their safety implications remain underexplored from a systems planning perspective. This study reframes ATO safety as a question of urban mobility resilience and infrastructure transition, examining how integrated modelling can support evidence-based planning for next-generation rail systems. Using Sydney Metro's Northwest corridor as an empirical case, the research develops a hybrid Fuzzy-Markov and cross-sectional systems modelling approach to evaluate safety performance across staged operational efficiency thresholds (<70%, <80%, <90%). Simulation results indicate that lower-efficiency transition scenarios converge more rapidly towards optimal safety performance, while near-optimal systems exhibit slower stabilisation dynamics. These findings reveal nonlinear safety transition patterns that are critical for infrastructure phasing, risk governance, and investment sequencing in automated rail environments. The analysis further identifies five system-level challenges embedded within the corridor's eight-station Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) architecture, highlighting the interaction between digital infrastructure, operational integration, and urban-scale risk management. Results demonstrate that the ITS-enabled ATO regime delivers measurably stronger system resilience and safety convergence compared with legacy operations. Beyond technical validation, the study provides urban planners and transport authorities with a decision-support model capable of visualising safety trajectories during major technological transitions. The paper contributes to urban mobility scholarship by integrating probabilistic modelling with cross-sectional systems analytics to support strategic planning for automated rail in smart cities.
Urban cycling has gained prominence globally as a sustainable transport mode, yet participation in Australia remains low despite strong latent interest. This paper examines strategies for engaging the 'Interested but Concerned' cohort; individuals willing to cycle if safety concerns are addressed, through a literature review of international and domestic bicycle planning documents. Drawing on 57 plans across 34 jurisdictions, the study identifies three dominant infrastructure themes: the mainstreaming of physically separated bicycle paths, the formalisation of quietways and low-traffic neighbourhoods, and the emergence of protected intersection designs. These approaches aim to reduce cyclists' level of traffic stress and improve perceived and actual safety. The paper situates these findings within the New South Wales context, evaluating the State Government's Cycleway Design Toolbox and its alignment with global best practice. Evidence from the City of Sydney demonstrates the effectiveness of interested but concerned-oriented infrastructure: since the introduction of separated cycleways in 2011, cycling trips have increased by 187%, with mode share of trips to work reaching 15-19% in some renewal precincts. However, delivery across Greater Sydney remains fragmented. Persistent barriers include political will, lengthy project timelines, high costs, and limited funding. The paper concludes that addressing the needs of the interested but concerned cohort, coordinated investment and faster delivery of separated infrastructure is critical to achieving substantial modal shift. Local and international experience underscores that designing for comfort and safety can unlock latent demand and position cycling as a mainstream urban transport mode.Practitioner pointersThe single most effective intervention for increasing cycling among those identifying as interested in cycling but concerned about safety, representing the largest sub-section of the population, is a connected network of physically separated bicycle paths. International and Sydney-specific evidence shows these facilities significantly boost both perceived and actual safety.Quietways and low - traffic neighbourhoods provide an essential complementary tool, particularly on local streets where separated paths may not be feasible. Vehicle speeds of 30 km/h and lower, and filtered permeability can create safe, low - stress conditions supporting broader network continuity.Intersections remain the highest - risk environment for cyclists, and protected intersection designs are critical to delivering an all - ages - and - abilities network.The paper identifies a persistent delivery gap in NSW: despite strong state government policy frameworks, councils outside the City of Sydney have delivered very little separated infrastructure. Slow approval processes, limited state government funding, and a lack of political leadership remain major barriers to scaling best practice.
This article examines innovation in the New South Wales (NSW) planning system. Sustained criticism of the system has driven an aggressive reform agenda over the last 20 years. Despite successive State government interventions to address these criticisms, it continues to be maligned by many commentators. Innovation is a powerful opportunity for improvement within the existing system as opposed to external interventions to the system, which have been characteristic of reform initiatives. This article reports on a survey of planners working in 79 NSW local governments and uses the five commitments of the Organisation of Economic Development Declaration (OECD) on Public Service Innovation to determine the capacity of the NSW planning system to support innovation. The major themes that have emerged from this research are the scarcity of novelty in policy, the impact of resourcing on local governments' ability to innovate, local governments' aversion to risk and experimentation and the failure of the State planning framework to support innovation. The article concludes that, despite planners' aspirations and governments' notional support for innovation, there are significant barriers to innovation in the NSW planning system and that systemic changes to local governments and the State department are required to support innovation. Therefore, innovation is unlikely to be a means to address the ongoing criticisms of the NSW planning system.
The climate emergency has brought sustainability to the forefront of urban development, reshaping political priorities and professional responsibilities. Independent Design Review Panels (DRPs), while not formalised within statutory planning systems, are gaining international recognition for their role in integrating sustainability alongside the architectural design of projects. The Cambridgeshire Quality Panel in England illustrates how DRPs can champion sustainability through a collaborative urban design approach, helping local planning authorities maintain high standards despite development pressures to expedite delivery. In contrast, the potential of DRPs to drive sustainability outcomes in Australia remains underexplored. This paper examines the challenges facing Australian DRPs, particularly the political resistance to sustainability in a market-driven development system where cost and delivery speed often overshadow environmental and social priorities. It proposes redefining DRPs to embed climate and sustainability expertise alongside planning and design professionals, shifting their remit beyond project aesthetics and fast-tracking schemes towards long-term resilience. In doing so, DRPs can help reconcile development pressures with design integrity and sustainability goals. Expanding the role of DRPs and strengthening their support for local planning authorities could enhance their credibility and effectiveness, promoting a more balanced, collaborative, and sustainable approach to urban development.
The participation rates of women in state and territory government design review panels in Australia are high. In 2023, it was over 50% in Queensland and New South Wales, and over 40% in Western Australia and Victoria. This contrasts with contemporary data on women's participation in the architecture profession, which hovers around 30%. What do the experiences of women architects involved in design governance reveal about the diversification of architectural practice? Through interviews with women trained in architecture, we sought to understand what motivates women's participation in advisory work, how it is incorporated into professional careers and how design review panels are a new context for architectural expertise that is shifting the identity of the profession. We situate our analysis in relation to broader changes in the status of professions and expertise, drawing on literature on design governance, sociological studies of the architecture profession, and concepts from expertise studies. The research reveals how women incorporate public sector design advisory roles as part of portfolio careers in which they gain experience deploying architectural skills and knowledge in diverse contexts. Participants' experience of advisory work demonstrates strong alignment between individual professional identity and purposeful careers working in the public interest. This is despite the intangible nature of design governance work and its lack of assimilation into the broader identity of the profession as 'real architecture'. The research adds useful understanding of architects' experiences of design governance work and of DRPs as an important new form of advisory practice for architecture.
As independent expert panels proliferate in the New South Wales planning system, the role of the planning panel's community representative remains oblique. This article undertakes the first empirical analysis of the professional backgrounds of community representatives on mandatory Local Planning Panels ('LPPs') in New South Wales to understand who is selected to participate on communities' behalf. It argues that the LPP community representative role neutralises public participation in the planning system. Structurally, the community representative sits as a minority on LPPs, and the role of the community representative is ill-defined in relevant statutory and policy documents. The management of community representatives' conflicts of interest is inconsistent across local governments and the State Government. This article finds preliminary evidence indicating a preference amongst some councils for appointing built environment professionals to community representative positions and, to a lesser extent, former politicians. The majority of LPPs in New South Wales appear to appoint at least one planning professional to the community representative pool. The professional makeup of community representatives indicates the prioritisation of technical expertise over non-expert public participation on LPPs.
