Beyond the Edge: Australia's First National Peri-Urban Conference La Trobe University Oct 2013

1. IT’S ALL ABOUT GROWTH: PERI-URBAN PLANNING IN ‘THE
BUSH’.
Paul McFarland
Geography and Planning
University of New England,
Armidale.

2. Presentation
Scene setting
Outcomes
Theory and practice
Conclusions
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

3. County of Cumberland
Planning Scheme –
Sydney, 1951
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

4. Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundaries
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

5. The Macro-economic Emphasis in Political Ideology
Source: http://oxfamblogs.org/doughnut/
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

6. Purposive sampling using semi-structured interviews
Urban & Regional Planners’ Perspectives on Peri-urban Land Use
State, local and private practice planners
Narrative analysis (Alvarez & Urla, 2002; Wiles et al., 2005)
Important distinction:
‘story’ comes from the interview
‘narrative’ comes from the analysis of that story
(Riley & Hawe, 2005)
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

7. It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

8. New England Region Snapshot
Area: 99,144 km2
Population (est.): 183,116
Growth rate 2007-2011: 1.37%
(Sydney 4.66%)
Major land use: agriculture (71.58% land area)
Increasing importance of mining: Narrabri and Gunnedah - Coal
Source: ABS, 2013
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@nrp.nsf/lookup/110Main+Features12007-2011
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

9. It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

10. Key Issues:
i) Planning Focus
ii) Land Use Generally
iii) Peri-urban Land Use Planning
iv) National and International Understanding
v) Planning System Changes
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

11. i) Peri-urban Land Use Planning
Peri-urban fringe pressures acknowledged
- mainly in terms of time taken to rezone from non-urban to urban
‘Values – mainly urban perspective: lifestyle, low density, rural outlook
- some acknowledged other values: mining, water, sewerage, scenic
Urban expansion into peri-urban seen as inevitable
- benefits: choice, tree change, use strategic planning
Negatives noted from those whose lifestyles were affected, incl. farmers
- simplistic approach to resolve this, e.g. education, caveats
Environmental – indigenous heritage, threatened species, new infrastructure
Large scale issues, e.g. food security, generally overlooked
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

12. ii) National and International Understanding
Food security and mining
Vancouver’s approach to agriculture most cited international e.g.
Significant number unaware / unable to discuss specific examples
Urban ag. cited as way to offset loss of non-urban ag. Land
Some questioned the relevance of this to local – state or federal issue
Planning seemed more focused on local and immediate processing
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

13. iii) Planning System Changes
Broad support for reduction of ‘busy work’ (minor applications)
Consultant planners most supportive of changes that would
application costs and processing times
reduce
Reduction of objections to planning strategy
More local autonomy (frameworks as opposed to standard codes)
No suggestions specifically re peri-urban
- local planners realisation of state control over planning
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

14. General Planning Issues
Planners are more focused on regulatory rather than strategic planning
Perhaps due to strategic planning being viewed through regulatory lens:
'the location, intensity, form, amount, and harmonization of land
development required for various space using functions' (Albrechts, 2006)
Continued use of planning approach from Beck’s (2000) ‘first modernity’
- Fordist production systems, the nuclear family, local
protectionism and an unquestioning faith in science
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

15. Peri-urban Specific Issues
Second modernity compression of space/time, global markets, interconnectedness,
social awareness
Local still features, but needs to revision itself to be more responsive to economic,
social and environmental needs (Mayer & Knox, 2010)
Colonial notions of abundance of land and reliable access to food
- Ignores research on peaks and climate change
Actions do not link to corporate rhetoric, e.g. environmental footprint
Peri-urban land is comparmentalised and not recognised as multi-functional
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

16. Conclusion
What is needed in regional planning:
Paradigm shift in the way peri-urban is viewed and valued
Greater engagement with trends in planning (literature, other jurisdictions)
Community engagement is critical for local planning with less distraction by
minute; more focus on strategic planning, especially peri-urban multi-functionality
(second modernity)
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.

17. Thank You
It’s All About Growth: Peri-urban planning in the ‘bush’.