Drawing on two case studies from the NSW Northern Coalfields, this paper considers economic value, government regulation, public perceptions, and urban development consequences, linking underground materiality with aboveground urban outcomes.

This paper positions the now-redundant Australian Renew Newcastle scheme for temporary building occupation as an example of ‘meanwhile use’: the UK term for the sanctioned short-term use of vacant urban properties awaiting redevelopment.

As Australia’s seventh largest city and global gateway for northern NSW, Greater Newcastle faces a new future with investment in aviation, transport, education, health and tourism. This first-ever Metropolitan Plan for Greater Newcastle, and first for a non-capital city in Australia, aims to capitalise on this investment through a collaborative approach. The Plan sets out...

The dormant cityscape continues to haunt many of our burgeoning, high growth cities. Former port lands, ‘brownfield’ sites and degraded suburban areas persist in these states for what appears to be decades without any apparent revival. Despite the usual forms of planning, zoning and controls they appear to display obstinacy over large time periods that...

This discussion paper is a sociological account of the history of successful urban Aboriginal community development by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people in the city of Newcastle.