Conference

5th State of Australian Cities National Conference, 29 November–2 December 2011, Melbourne, Australia

Owning Institution

The State of Australian Cities (SOAC) national conferences have been held biennially since 2003 to support interdisciplinary policy-related urban research. SOAC 5 was held in Melbourne and hosted by the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology and Latrobe University as well as the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Grattan Institute, the Victorian State Government and the City of Melbourne.

Three plenary panels brought researchers from across the country to address ‘big issues’: place-based disadvantage, the design and form of Australian cities, and metropolitan governance. Over 175 papers, in 46 themed sessions, cover topics ranging from planning and governance for environmental sustainability, to housing affordability and adequacy in the context of an ageing population. Healthy communities, better public transport, high quality open space, participatory planning, and issues affecting the peri-urban fringe are also strong sub-themes within this conference. All published papers have been subject to a peer reviewing process.

Papers from all past and subsequent SOAC conferences can be found at the State of Australian Cities Conferences Collection on APO.

Conference paper

Unheard stories and unmet expectations - the failure of planning

2 Dec 2011

Meghan Bond,

Peter Edwards

5th State of Australian Cities National Conference, 29 November–2 December 2011, Melbourne, Australia

This paper will outline, particularly from the community perspective the problems with planning shifting from planners to politicians and away from the balance between planners, politicians and community that it should be.

Conference paper

Toward a greater understanding of food access in Melbourne

2 Dec 2011

Margalit Levin

5th State of Australian Cities National Conference, 29 November–2 December 2011, Melbourne, Australia

This is a scoping paper that addresses healthy food access in Melbourne. The investigation is premised the concept of ‘food deserts’, spaces within cities that lack ‘adequate access’ to affordable, healthy food.

Conference paper

Current problems and new departures in conserving private heritage resources within Australia's urban planning frameworks

2 Dec 2011

Paul Rappoport,

Robert Freestone

5th State of Australian Cities National Conference, 29 November–2 December 2011, Melbourne, Australia

This paper outlines present threats to privately-held heritage resources in the absence of significant financial support from the state. It canvasses alternative policies for providing heritage support within local planning frameworks.

Conference paper

The role and potential of government land agencies in facilitating and delivering urban renewal

2 Dec 2011

Gethin Davison

5th State of Australian Cities National Conference, 29 November–2 December 2011, Melbourne, Australia

This paper's purpose is to return to the original rationale for a system of public land ownership and development in the 1970s, and to consider the relevance of that original rationale in the light of contemporary urban renewal objectives; what role could and should Australia’s public land agencies have in facilitating and delivering urban renewal?

Conference paper

Reading house prices in Australian capital cities

2 Dec 2011

Le Ma

5th State of Australian Cities National Conference, 29 November–2 December 2011, Melbourne, Australia

How to read the house prices in cities across a country has been an issue of public interest since the late 1980s. Various models were developed to investigate the behaviours of house prices over time or space. This paper suggests a three-part decomposition framework in reading urban house price behaviours.