Efforts by governments to redirect population growth to regional Australia have never worked. Even if such policies could be made to work, they probably wouldn't be worth the costs.
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Articles on Population growth
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It's easy to over-estimate crowding and traffic in highly visible downtown cores and underestimate the vast growth happening in the suburban edges of our metropolitan regions.
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.
Empowered women make millions of decisions that add up to a better demographic situation for themselves, their children and for Africa.
Many people think a population policy is about control – like the one-child policy in China, for instance. But modern population policies are about population-well-being.
As Toronto hurtles towards its population dense future, the making of significant green communities for its waterfront needs to be urgently considered.
In the 70s, Whitlam tried to build new, big cities. But this was too costly. Now the most viable solution for Australia's population woes is to make existing cities bigger.
Planners have long tried to determine the ideal city size, and ideas have evolved with changing circumstances. But a good city depends more on the way it's managed than on how many people it holds.
August 1, 2018 is 'Earth Overshoot Day,' a date coined by the nonprofit Global Footprint Network to publicize overuse of Earth's resources. But their estimates actually understate the problem.
Politicians across the spectrum have at some point targeted immigration as a contributor to out-of-control population growth. But would reducing, or banning, immigration take pressure off cities?
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said Australia is "the highest-growing country in the world", with population growth "double than a lot of other countries". Is that right?
Fifty years ago biologist Paul Ehrlich published 'The Population Bomb,' an apocalyptic warning that overcrowding would lead to wars and famine. Here's what the book got right and wrong.
Australian cities are experiencing the third big wave of growth in their history. The response in the past was planning and investment in green infrastructure, and it's time to do the same again.
Most surveys are consistent in finding there is a substantial minority of the view that immigration is too high, but not a large majority.
Australian government environmental funding has decreased by a third since 2013. At the same time, Australia is experiencing massive species loss as funding for the sector dries up.
Some African countries present a facade of democracy. The absence of substantive democracy is contributing to instability on the continent.
Fire is part of the ecology in much of California, but recent wildfires have caused much more damage than past burns of similar size. A fire ecologist points to two key factors: winds and population growth.
Looking past the headline Census figures, we see divergences between rural and urban Indigenous populations, and the young and old.
There's no reason why small families shouldn't become the norm in Africa. But this will depend on improving education opportunities for women and improving birth control policies.
Reasoned debates on sustainable migration intake levels are important. But transport and health infrastructure shortfalls in Western Sydney won't be solved by reactive anti-immigration attitudes.
Top contributors
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Professor of Demography, Macquarie University
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Demographer, ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University
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Principal Research Fellow, Charles Darwin University
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Pratt Foundation Research Chair of Jewish Civilisation, Monash University
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Associate Professor, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University
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Glen Searle is a Friend of The Conversation.
Honorary Associate Professor in Planning, University of Queensland and, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor of International Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
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Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
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John Daley is a Friend of The Conversation.
Chief Executive Officer, Grattan Institute
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Professor of Urban Policy and Director, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
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Adjunct professor, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Charles Darwin University
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Researcher, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University
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Associate Professor, University of Western Australia
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Academic Director, Murdoch University
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Professor, Department of Geography, University of Washington
