Without long-term funding, the federal government’s national urban policy risks being “aspirational rather than substantive”, an urban planning expert has told Government News.
Released last week, the policy document lists affordable housing, improved public transport, more green spaces and inclusive communities as key goals for all levels of government to take forward when planning, designing and developing urban centres of the future.
“As our cities and urban centres develop, there is an increasing need for coordinated government action to provide liveable, productive and sustainable urban communities,” said Professor Barbara Norman – chair of the urban policy forum, established last year to create the policy framework.
“The national urban policy includes an agreed vision, goals, and a set of principles to guide implementation of a sustainable future for all,” she added.
While describing the document as “a meaningful step forward”, Professor Nicky Morrison – director of the Urban Transformations Research Centre at Western Sydney University – told GN: “Without clear funding mechanisms, timelines, and accountability, it risks being seen as aspirational rather than substantive.”
Informed by stakeholder submissions representing state, territory and local governments, peak industry bodies, academics, not-for-profit and private organisations, and First Nations communities, the document is, say its authors, “a unified commitment” from governments to “collaboratively govern and holistically plan our cities within existing footprints first and with housing affordability as a primary goal”.
More than a year in development, the policy focuses on three main themes:
- liveable and equitable cities
- productive and innovative cites
- sustainable and resilient cities.
Key to achieving the first theme is housing affordability, say the document’s authors. “An adequate supply of housing that is affordable, suitable, connected and well located is a priority.”
In response, and echoing Morrison, Maiy Azize, spokesperson for Everybody’s Home – a national campaign to solve Australia’s housing crisis – told GN, without funding to back it up, the commitment lacks value. “It’s encouraging to see policies mention housing affordability, but without direct government investment in social housing to match soaring demand, they risk becoming little more than paper promises,” she said.
To promote inclusive communities, the document’s authors recommend public spaces and services embed support for vulnerable populations – “including First Nations people, women and girls, people with disability, single-parent families, older people, migrants and refugees, and LGBTIQA+ persons”.
Public infrastructure investments “that connect workers, business and resources” will be central to supporting productive and innovative cities. As will integrated information and communication technologies, and smart solutions.
To create sustainable cities, impacts on the surrounding natural environment will need to be reduced and greater use made of existing infrastructure. As well, governments will need to take into account a changing climate and develop resilient urban centres to protect against ever-more frequent natural hazards.
However, Morrison told GN addressing such challenges requires turning lofty goals into bold actions. “Bold actions include bipartisan commitment to introducing stable, multi-decade funding beyond political cycles, genuine collaboration across tiers of government, integrating green financing tools like green bonds, and leveraging digital technologies for smarter urban planning,” said Morrison.
It’s also paramount to prioritise climate resilience by investing in green and social infrastructure, she said. “Like parks, shaded streets, and community hubs to address urban heat, enhance health and wellbeing, and ensure equity, alongside meaningful collaboration with First Nations communities.”
Morrison told GN, while the policy’s aims are ambitious, they are achievable “if supported by long-term funding, intergovernmental collaboration, and a commitment to measurable outcomes.”
“Without these,” she added, “it risks falling short of its transformative potential”.
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