Advancing spatial research by reconstructing Australia's economic geography. Significant National Benefits will arise: (a) Innovative and demanded spatial data based on the new economic geographies created will value-add to a current ARC LIEF project; (b) A newly created socio-economic atlas will enhance our understandings of regional Australia; (c) An understanding of the 'new regional geography of winners and losers' through new analyses of new spatial data; (d) Racilitating the development of ....Advancing spatial research by reconstructing Australia's economic geography. Significant National Benefits will arise: (a) Innovative and demanded spatial data based on the new economic geographies created will value-add to a current ARC LIEF project; (b) A newly created socio-economic atlas will enhance our understandings of regional Australia; (c) An understanding of the 'new regional geography of winners and losers' through new analyses of new spatial data; (d) Racilitating the development of spatially informed policies to enhance the capacity of citizens to participate in the socio-economic life of their communities; (e) Capacity building through skill transfers within the social science research community focused on spatial research and policy.Read moreRead less
Gambling-related harm in Northern Australia: A Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based spatiotemporal analysis of venue catchments. There is growing national concern about the impact of electronic gaming (poker) machines yet little is known about the effects of this gambling in rural and remote areas of Australia. We will develop a database to define the geographic distribution of gambling impacts, the nature of high-risk venues, and the characteristics, both spatial and social, of vulnerable ....Gambling-related harm in Northern Australia: A Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based spatiotemporal analysis of venue catchments. There is growing national concern about the impact of electronic gaming (poker) machines yet little is known about the effects of this gambling in rural and remote areas of Australia. We will develop a database to define the geographic distribution of gambling impacts, the nature of high-risk venues, and the characteristics, both spatial and social, of vulnerable communities. This will enable the design of much needed harm minimisation strategies and will provide regulatory bodies with insights into the capacity of local communities to absorb the impact of electronic gaming machine venues.Read moreRead less
Australia's Rural Heartlands: Declining Economic Fortune or Dynamic Regional Adjustment? Agriculture in the rural heartlands provides high quality food and fibre for domestic consumption and export making significant contributions to national earnings. The heartlands are the custodians of our natural resources and cultural heritage and farmers play a vital economic and social role in the sustainability of these regions. While there is considerable variability between these places this research ....Australia's Rural Heartlands: Declining Economic Fortune or Dynamic Regional Adjustment? Agriculture in the rural heartlands provides high quality food and fibre for domestic consumption and export making significant contributions to national earnings. The heartlands are the custodians of our natural resources and cultural heritage and farmers play a vital economic and social role in the sustainability of these regions. While there is considerable variability between these places this research will provide a detailed understanding as to why it is that rural places differ in their development. A major benefit will be to present Australian governments, the agricultural industry and rural communities with a more accurate picture of how the rural heartlands now function, and to articulate the public policy implications.Read moreRead less
Evolving urban structure, mode choice, travel behaviour and energy consumption: A study of the Sydney planning strategy. The project will analyse the emerging Sydney Strategic Plan which is designed to address excessive car reliance that is claimed to cause inefficient energy use, congestion, adverse health and excessive greenhouse gas emissions. The Project's policy framework will contribute to of an environmentally sustainable Australia and will promote public debate. While other funding will ....Evolving urban structure, mode choice, travel behaviour and energy consumption: A study of the Sydney planning strategy. The project will analyse the emerging Sydney Strategic Plan which is designed to address excessive car reliance that is claimed to cause inefficient energy use, congestion, adverse health and excessive greenhouse gas emissions. The Project's policy framework will contribute to of an environmentally sustainable Australia and will promote public debate. While other funding will have expired, the professional academic network will continue to flourish at spatially oriented workshops and conferences which will provide the means of disseminating the analytical techniques, empirical results and policy analysis from the project, thereby enhancing the research capacities of network members.Read moreRead less
Developing criteria to help solve Australia's urban infrastructure crisis. The key items of infrastructure in our cities are seen to be in crisis. Yet despite a growing willingness to fund new infrastructure, governments at all levels struggle to devise, rank and deliver infrastructure projects. The project will recover and rebuild a language for understanding the role of infrastructure in Australian cities and then devise criteria for better enactment of the infrastructure procurement and provi ....Developing criteria to help solve Australia's urban infrastructure crisis. The key items of infrastructure in our cities are seen to be in crisis. Yet despite a growing willingness to fund new infrastructure, governments at all levels struggle to devise, rank and deliver infrastructure projects. The project will recover and rebuild a language for understanding the role of infrastructure in Australian cities and then devise criteria for better enactment of the infrastructure procurement and provisioning processes. The project's prime outcomes will intersect with a growing need for better ways to build and operate large economic infrastructure and thus contribute to building cities that perform better economically, are more liveable, and contribute to long term environmental sustainability goals.Read moreRead less
Privatising neighbourhoods? Governance and social life in master-planned residential estates. Australian residential neighbourhoods are changing in the face of growing privatisation and privatism, with major implications for the strength of the social and economic fabric of cities. Master planned residential estates are emblematic of this change. This project empirically investigates the extent and nature of privatisation and privatism in these new residential environments. It will provide a rig ....Privatising neighbourhoods? Governance and social life in master-planned residential estates. Australian residential neighbourhoods are changing in the face of growing privatisation and privatism, with major implications for the strength of the social and economic fabric of cities. Master planned residential estates are emblematic of this change. This project empirically investigates the extent and nature of privatisation and privatism in these new residential environments. It will provide a rigorous analysis necessary to growing national debates about creating and sustaining urban social cohesion, and on the importance of social ties between people for producing a more prosperous Australia.Read moreRead less
Reinventing rural places? The extent and impact of festivals as regeneration strategies. This research addresses the important problem of rural decline in Australia. The project will make available new knowledge on innovation in rural places. Benefits will accrue to specific communities from insights on the possibilities and limitations of renewal through festivals. Tourism promoters and regional development policy makers will be able to make use of the online database of rural festivals. Nation ....Reinventing rural places? The extent and impact of festivals as regeneration strategies. This research addresses the important problem of rural decline in Australia. The project will make available new knowledge on innovation in rural places. Benefits will accrue to specific communities from insights on the possibilities and limitations of renewal through festivals. Tourism promoters and regional development policy makers will be able to make use of the online database of rural festivals. National benefits include greater understanding of the significance of festivals. Research will empower rural communities and advance theory on rural restructuring, post-productivism and the reciprocal relationship between place and identities. In these ways, the project seeks to strengthen the social and economic fabric of rural Australia. Read moreRead less
Cultural Asset Mapping for Planning and Development in Regional Australia. At a time when the environmental, social and industrial bases of regional life are changing markedly, this project examines ways that many areas in Australia might revitalise their economies and communities by engaging in new approaches to the arts and creative activity. For consumers and producers alike, many non-metropolitan regions in Australia offer opportunities for enhanced cultural activity and productivity and qu ....Cultural Asset Mapping for Planning and Development in Regional Australia. At a time when the environmental, social and industrial bases of regional life are changing markedly, this project examines ways that many areas in Australia might revitalise their economies and communities by engaging in new approaches to the arts and creative activity. For consumers and producers alike, many non-metropolitan regions in Australia offer opportunities for enhanced cultural activity and productivity and quality of life. But these opportunities have not yet been thoroughly observed, described or analysed. This project addresses this serious gap in knowledge and gives policy-makers, planners and regional and rural communities crucial information they need to decide their futures.Read moreRead less
The Residential Segregation/Desegregation Behaviour of Immigrant Minority Groups in Sydney, Australia's Largest Ethnicity. There is in western nations a developing crisis with multiculturalism as the continual build up of ethnic groups in segregated areas to levels not originally contemplated occurs, exacerbated by the continued decline in birth rates in the host communities. This has been compounded by their relatively disadvantaged situation within growing segregated areas. As a result governm ....The Residential Segregation/Desegregation Behaviour of Immigrant Minority Groups in Sydney, Australia's Largest Ethnicity. There is in western nations a developing crisis with multiculturalism as the continual build up of ethnic groups in segregated areas to levels not originally contemplated occurs, exacerbated by the continued decline in birth rates in the host communities. This has been compounded by their relatively disadvantaged situation within growing segregated areas. As a result governments are struggling to develop new integration policies. Our goal is to portray and assess the Australian situation relative to that in comparative countries and in doing so to place this crisis and proposed responses into context within the Australian scene.Read moreRead less
The Geogrgaphy of Ethnic Group Segregation in Australia, 1966-2001. Comprehensive analysis of the nature and dynamics of ethnic group segregation and assimilation in Australian cities and non-urban areas during much of the post-WW2 period is an under-researched area. Overseas work in OECD countries indicates strengthening of structural spatial divisions and of walls separating ethnic groups from each other and from the 'host' society. Yet the evidence for Australia, a quintessentially immigran ....The Geogrgaphy of Ethnic Group Segregation in Australia, 1966-2001. Comprehensive analysis of the nature and dynamics of ethnic group segregation and assimilation in Australian cities and non-urban areas during much of the post-WW2 period is an under-researched area. Overseas work in OECD countries indicates strengthening of structural spatial divisions and of walls separating ethnic groups from each other and from the 'host' society. Yet the evidence for Australia, a quintessentially immigrant country suggests we have the lowest levels of ethnic group segregation among OECD countries. This project uses an innovative methodology developed by the authors to assess and compare change over time and place to test the validity of ideas about the uniqueness of the Australian experience urban ethnic group experience in our multicultural society.Read moreRead less