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Articles on Urban growth

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A newborn baby holds a father’s finger. Getty Images

Baby deaths in Tanzania: being born in a city no longer increases their chances of survival

Urban populations are diverse, and certain neighbourhoods or subgroups may be disproportionately affected by poor birth outcomes.
Indonesia plans to relocate its capital from the sprawling city of Jakarta – and it isn’t the only country with plans to build whole new cities. AsiaTravel/Shutterstock

Indonesia isn’t the only country planning new cities. Why not Australia?

Other countries are planning new cities using technological innovation to achieve more sustainable development. Such plans aren’t new for Australia, but existing city growth is the focus of attention.
The Morrison government’s packaging of a bundle of roads spending as “urban congestion” measures is an acknowledgement that transport planning has been inadequate. Dean Lewins/AAP

Congestion-busting infrastructure plays catch-up on long-neglected needs

The focus on roads reflects the fact that this infrastructure program lags well behind the growth of our biggest cities, resulting in less-than-ideal transport patterns.
The Morrison government’s population plan looks to reduce the concentration of growth in the big cities and to raise the benefit-cost ratio of population change more broadly. Andrew Taylor/AAP

Government’s population plan is more about maximising ‘win-wins’ than cutting numbers

Population growth has pros and cons, and the Morrison government’s plan is less about a change in immigration numbers than about increasing the benefits and minimising the costs.
Melbourne is a favourite destination for migrants from overseas and elsewhere in Australia. TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock

Migrants want to live in the big cities, just like the rest of us

Capital city populations are growing twice as fast as the rest of Australia, because of the employment and business opportunities and lifestyle on offer to both new migrants and long-term residents.
About two-thirds of Australia’s strawberries are grown on the fringes of Melbourne and Brisbane. Xavier La Canna/AAP

To protect fresh food supplies, here are the key steps to secure city foodbowls

City fringe foodbowls supply much of our fresh produce and can increase climate resilience by making better use of wastewater and organic waste. A new roadmap outlines how to protect these foodbowls.
Brisbane has half the population of Sydney and Melbourne, but all three cities have very similar commute distances and times. superjoseph/Shutterstock

Our fast-growing cities and their people are proving to be remarkably adaptable

Urban growth has had much less impact on commuting distances and times than media reports would suggest. The explanations include jobs being widely dispersed and residents’ adaptable decision-making.
The big global cities might be engines of growth but are also where the deepest troughs of poverty and injustice are found. Jorge CMS/Shutterstock

Aim for cities of all sizes to give everyone a fair go

The largest cities in Australia and the US are both the richest and the most likely to push out low-income earners. Having cities of all sizes will increase people’s choices of where to live and work.

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