Budget 2018: More planning needed to secure our cities’ futures

By Professor Paul Burton, Director, Cities Research Institute
The problem with funding for cities is that it’s everywhere and nowhere.  A great range of spending measures have an impact in and on cities, whether in terms of direct spending on urban infrastructure or less directly on people who happen to live and work in cities, and that represents about 90 per cent of us.  But is that spending on public services and investment in infrastructure guided by a national policy for cities?
Unfortunately, no.
What passes for a national debate about the pros and cons of a ‘big Australia’ often touches on productivity and the changing dependency rate brought about by an aging population but the design and location of major urban infrastructure is by the far the most important element to consider.
Our major cities are struggling to cope with population growth as house prices move beyond the reach of new households, unless

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