University Assignment: Effects of Urban Sprawl on Urban Growth

This literature review examines the effects of urban sprawl on urban growth in Australia, focusing on the expansion of cities and its consequences. It explores the historical background of urban sprawl, its characteristics, and previous studies conducted on the topic. The review highlights the impact of urban sprawl on housing affordability, environmental degradation, and the need for urban consolidation. The review discusses the urban growth in Australia, the role of government policies, and the differing viewpoints on the effects of urban sprawl. The research questions addressed include the impact of urban sprawl on homeownership and the effects of design-driven planning on urban growth. The review concludes by emphasizing the significance of understanding urban sprawl's impact on sustainable urban development and the challenges posed by population growth and resource constraints.

Running head: EFFECTS OF URBAN SPRAWL ON URBAN GROWTH IN AUSTRALIA
Effects of Urban Sprawl on Urban Growth in Australia
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1EFFECTS OF URBAN SPRAWL ON URBAN GROWTH IN AUSTRALIA
Introduction
Urban growth takes place on account of urbanization that refers to movement of the
people from the rural areas to the urban areas. The literature review focusses on the effect of
the urban sprawl on the urban growth within Australia. The purpose of writing the literature
review is that it can help in throwing light on the event of the urban sprawl taking place in
Australia. The sparse population of Australia is concentrated in a few cities towards edge of
continent. The rapid expansion taking place in Australia increases prospect pertaining to the
long-term urban sprawl. The gap exists in the current literature as the present studies have
highlighted on the arena of the urban sprawl and the urban growth taking place in Australia.
It has however not extensively focussed on the effect that the urban sprawl has on the aspect
of urba growth in Australia. The research has been conducted with the help of theories that
helps in emphasizing the relationship between the urban sprawl and the urban growth within
Australia. This topic is of great significance as the government of Australia has forecasted the
fact that the population of Australia would increase by around 11.8 m in between the present
time and the year 2046. The literature review can help the readers in providing better
understanding of the topic with the help of research work. Secondary sources are used for
conducting the research that can help in throwing light on the topic. The data that are used are
from the year 2015 that helps in suggesting the authenticity of the research. It shows that the
research is relevant in the present age that can have an impact on the society.
Historical background of urban sprawl
Urban sprawl refers to expansion of geographical extent of the cities and the towns.
The need of the urban sprawl arises on account of the need of the present age of
accommodating the rising urban population. Urban sprawl is indicative of unrestricted growth
within the urban areas of the housing and the commercial development taking place in the

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cities. Urbanization relates to social along with the environmental consciousness that is
related to the development. The term “urban sprawl” is used by European Environment
Agency that refers to the aspect of decentralization taking place in the cities. The term can be
said to be politicized that bears negative connotations for a country. According to
Theconversation.com (2019), urban sprawl causes degradation of the environment and
intensifies the segregation in the cities. It undermines vitality of the existing urban areas and
this aspect is criticized on account of the aesthetic grounds. It has been defined as the
uncoordinated growth that takes place without any kind of concern for the consequences.
There is consensus about the fact that the urban sprawl refers to unplanned pattern of the
growth that takes place in the cities in the present age. Urban sprawl can be said to exhibit
one of the characteristics: low density, strip development or the leapfrog development
(Yourmortgage.com.au 2019). Sprawl can be identified with the help of indicators instead of
the characteristics as this can prove to be a more flexible method.
Previous studies on urban sprawl in Australia
A report that has been published by Infrastructure Australia has pointed out the fact
that three-quarter of the growth will take place in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
According to Theconversation.com (2019), the rapid rise in the prices is threatening the
dream of the Australians of having a detached home with garden and a swimming pool. It can
be said that the dream of the Australians is receding and there are many households giving up
the concept of the home ownership. The baby boomer dream of Australia pertaining to the
home ownership has caused the expansion of the cities in second half of 20th century. It has
been argued by Skwirk.com (2019) that the expansion of the urban fringes in Australia took
place with the help of the cheap private transport. By the end of the year 1980, urban fringes
were expanding across the cities of Australia. Towards the end of the year 1980, urban
researchers along with the economists became concerned about the social and the housing

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affordability problems that took place in the event of the unrestrained sprawling growth. The
governments responded in a quick manner and they focussed attention on the urban
consolidation with the help of different kinds of programs like the Greenstreet and the
Building Better Cities. The individuals formed various kinds of groups like the Smart Growth
and the New Urbanism that helped in the promotion of the inner city development. According
to Willing and Pojani (2017), policy interventions are being undertaken that can help in re-
populating the urban areas. Common policy in Australia is to encourage the formation of the
less sprawling cities.
Melbourne can be said to be the exemplar pertaining to the inner-city rebirth. The city
has experienced 30-year turnaround from the decline of the inner city to the present state of
densification (Molinari 2016). Between the year 1981 and the 1991, the population of
Melbourne declined in the inner areas and the density on the other hand increased in middle-
ring suburbs. Turnarounds within Sydney, Adelaide along with Perth are less marked as
compared to Melbourne. The place in which the people lived in the cities have changed in the
present time. The place where the urban Australians live have changed owing to the policies
of the government consolidation. According to Amirinejad, Donehue and Baker (2018), the
policies had been changed in Australia since the year 2000 for increasing the density of the
population in the metropolitan areas. The state along with the territory plans focuses on the
specific zones across Australia which includes the industrial areas along with the surplus
government land. The housing development takes place within the defined zones pertaining
to the transport.
Urban growth in Australia
The sparse population of Australia of that of 24 million can be said to be concentrated
within large cities across edge of country. The population growth taking place in Australia

4EFFECTS OF URBAN SPRAWL ON URBAN GROWTH IN AUSTRALIA
will raise prospect pertaining to urban sprawl in the long term. In between the year 2017 and
that of 2046, the population in Australia will increase by around 11.8 million people (Raynor,
Mayere and Matthews 2018). This can be said to be equivalent to the adding of a new city
that is roughly of size of the Canberra for next thirty years. The growing population can help
in boosting the economic prosperity of the Australians it can at the same time also present the
challenges in relation to the urban development.
It has been stated by Liu and Robinson (2016), that there has been the rise of that of
design-driven planning that can help in bringing benefits that can help in the balancing of the
public and the private interest. These can however be said to be played out within local scale.
The strategies pertaining to metropolitan planning helps in the displaying of the
comprehensive thinking that can be jurisdictionally constrained (Shao et al. 2019). It
converges on various aspects like the growth management, employment along with the
housing supply.
Greater Sydney Commission is organising the local authorities so that a co-ordinated
assemblage can be formed. The strategies of city planning in Australia can be said to be
lacking the vision. It can be said that agglomeration economies favour the non-metropolitan
locations but there exists a narrative that lays stress on the link in between the transportation
and the settlement (Kopecká, Nagendra and Millington 2018). The development of the
railway can help in the arena of the technological spatial plan. The new idea of the city
should be different from the country planning policy of the past that can help in facilitating
the urban growth.
Within the Australian cities, divide takes place in the form of ‘Compact City’ along
with ‘ Sprawl City’. According to van den Nouwelant et al. (2015), compact City can be said
to be a broad labour market that has high density along with the knowledge jobs that have

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high value. They have public transport on account of the opportunities that the people get
pertaining to employment. ‘Sprawl City’ on the other hand has lower job density and they
cannot easily access the urban amenities. Sydney can be stated to be heart of the urban
Australia. It is being predicted that the population within Sydney will reach 4.9 million by the
end of the year 2026.
Viewpoints on the effect of the urban sprawl on the urban growth
The large cities need a greater amount of energy that puts strain on the scarce natural
resources like water and the energy. According to Gurran and Phibbs (2016), the growing
population in Australia puts pressure on the biodiversity and the residential areas are
encroaching on the natural systems of Australia. The growth in the population of Australia
increases the necessity of the urban land. It puts immense pressure on the existing land of
Australia. The population growth in Australia is more concentrated within the urban infill
areas and by the side of the coast. The urban growth theories lays emphasis on internal
demographic along with the economic growth taking place in the cities. The big cities are
expanding in the natural areas of the city fringes (Yokota and Aye 2016). The sector theory
talks about the fact that the spatial competition taking place in the cities paves the path for the
growth of the city. There are different kinds of factors like the prestigious locations that
plays a role in the development of the cities. This theory points out to the fact that the cities
grow in the various sectors instead of within the concentric zones. It can be said that the
lower income districts are not within the separate zone but they exist simultaneously with the
prestigious areas. This is paving the way for the increase in the infrastructure cost and
diminishes the agriculture. It has been found that within Melbourne 50 percent of the total
40,000 new dwelling are built in every year within the greenfield sites. The targets for that of
infill housing that was established in the recent strategic plan is not being achieved.

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Victorian Volcanic Plain is being encroached in the present age by the peri-urban
zone of Melbourne. The woodland remnants in this area has been cleared so that it can allow
the urban development (Amati 2016). This is causing the planning of the growth centers in
Australia. Victorian government has established the conservation areas in the growth
corridors that can help in offering protection to the ecological communities that have national
significance. Encroachment on the urban development of Cumberland Plain have been
instrumental in reducing the community to the fragments in western suburb of the Sydney.
Research questions
The primary research questions that are being asked pertains to the concept of the
urban sprawl. The questions that can be asked is in relation to the fact how the urban sprawl
has made the urban population give up on concept of the home ownership. The questions that
can be raised pertains to the effect of the design driven planning that can help in the urban
growth of Australia.
Conclusion
Urban sprawl is indicative of the expansion taking place in the cities and the towns.
Urban sprawl can help in meeting need of present age that can help in catering to the needs of
the urban population. The people are moving in the urban fringe of Australia with the help of
the cheap private transport. It can be stated that by the year 1980, urban fringe will expand in
nearly all the cities of Australia. Population growth is taking place in Australia that would
create the path for the urban sprawl. It has been estimated that by the end of the year 2046,
population within Australia would be increased to that of 11.8 million people. Design driven
planning can be useful for the Australians in dealing with the issue of the rapid urban growth.
It can pay an important role in balancing public and that of private interest of Australia.
Metropolitan planning should be carefully considered that can help in dealing with the event

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of the urban sprawl taking place within Australia. The growth of the population taking place
within Australia increases necessity in relation to urban land.

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References
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Gurran, N. and Phibbs, P., 2016. 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams': Planning, Housing Supply
and Aff ordability in Urban Australia. Built Environment, 42(1), pp.55-71.
Kopecká, M., Nagendra, H. and Millington, A., 2018. Urban Land Systems: An Ecosystems
Perspective.
Liu, Z. and Robinson, G.M., 2016. Residential development in the peri-urban fringe: The
example of Adelaide, South Australia. Land Use Policy, 57, pp.179-192.
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