This paper takes an adventurous – perhaps idiosyncratic - look at how research might better drive insights into the complexity of the city and shape and illuminate policy options to address problems and issues.

This paper investigates the hypothesis that there is a distinctive Australian approach to metropolitan planning. It does this by examining the major strategies formulated for the mainland state capital cities since the Second World War.

This paper draws upon three projects exploring the social implications of compact cities espoused in the current metropolitan strategies and explores the approaches employed and assess their success and limitations.

A continuing issue in metropolitan strategic plans is how much of them will be implemented. This appears to depend on how far planners are able to understand and shape the future of the city; whether appropriate planning and decision-making frameworks and mechanisms exist or can be put in place for making proposals happen; and what...

Using examples from the peri-urban region around Adelaide, where a number of traditional planning themes coincide with emerging natural resource management concerns, this paper poses some questions about the fundamental nature and limits of this relationship.