Relocating Disadvantage in Five Australian Cities: Socio-spatial Polarisation under Neo-liberalism

During the mid-1980s, the Australian political discourse shifted decisively towards a neo-liberal political agenda that has remained the dominant policy paradigm ever since. Arguably, a key outcome of this has been an increase in social inequality. However, there has been little acknowledgement of this process in Australian urban policy debates. Yet these social outcomes have been accompanied by distinctive impacts on the socio-spatial structure of the Australian city. Using Census data over a 25 year period between 1986 and 2011, this paper analyses the trend towards a marked suburbanisation of the most disadvantaged households in the five major Australian cities. Its conclusions have relevance for current metropolitan planning strategies and their capacity to address what is emerging as Australia’s version of the now more widely recognised “urban inversion” of the last quarter of a century.     

The Film Industry and South African Urban Change

Internationally there has been considerable discussion on the role that creative industries play as a strategy by which post-Fordist cities can revive stagnant urban economies. Among those sectors of the economy that form part of the creative industries, the filming sector counts as one. On the whole, these debates have been conducted with reference to the post-industrial cities of the north. Little attention has been placed on the role of the filming sector in the developing south generally, its spatial distribution, and its relationship to other economic and social geographies in those urban places. The paper provides a spatial analysis of the filming industry in urban South Africa and relates it to general economic and social geographies in two South African cities that have identified the filming industry as a key development strategy. In addition, an agenda for future research, in particular pertaining to urban South Africa is outlined. It is concluded that there is a broader urban planning and geography project at hand. Questions need to be asked about how the filming industry interacts with other government programmes and the ongoing transformation of physical and symbolic spaces in urban South Africa.     

Spatial Inequality and Locational Disadvantage: New Perspectives on an Old Debate

The group of papers within this Forum represent the contents of a seminar on spatial inequality in Australia's cities organised by the Geography Discipline, Flinders University of South Australia. The seminar addressed two important issues for urban policy and research in Australia, the spatial pattern of disadvantage within Australia's cities and recent Federal initiatives in this area. In the early 1990s the Federal Government used its major policy reviews and research programs to commission a number of studies into the structure of our cities. Their findings were, to a certain extent at least, at odds with the commonly accepted view of Australian cities (see for example, Stretton 1989; Badcock 1984) because they challenged the image of the outer suburbs as areas of pronounced disadvantage (see Burgess and Skeltys 1992; NHS 1992a; and Maher el al. 1992). They have been the source of some unease within the academic community.     

THE GEOGRAPHY OF INSECURITY: SPATIAL CHANGE AND THE FLEXIBILIZATION OF LABOR IN METRO MANILA

ABSTRACT: There has been considerable attention in the urban studies literature to the implications of spatial change associated with globalization for the urban poor in advanced economies, but much less so in developing countries despite the fact that this is where most urbanization is occurring. This article attempts to address this issue in the context of Metro Manila, a globalizing city of 10.7 million that sits in a larger mega‐urban region of some 17 million. It does so through an analysis of data collected through two methods: a sample survey of six low‐income settlements in the Metro Manila region that collected information about housing conditions, income, and employment of household members, commuting, and household heads' opinions regarding spatial change; and in‐depth interviews with a subset of respondents that were intended to generate narratives and stories that would elucidate the experience of households with spatial change. The study identifies three main issues confronting the surveyed households: the social impacts of the flexibilization of labor in the Metro Manila region, gender and age differences in access to employment, and the prevalence of extremely long commutes on the urban fringe. The article concludes that the issues faced by Metro Manila households are in many ways quite distinct from those in cities in advanced economies. It further argues that these differences have important implications both for urban policy and practice in addressing equity issues, and for theories of globalization and issues of spatial change and social equity in cities.     

Private Renting in a Home-owning Society: Disaster,Diversity or Deviance?

The rise in private renting in home ownership societies has been variously interpreted as increasing risk and insecurity and providing more flexible housing options for an increasingly diverse resident cohort. Drawing on an original survey and in-depth interviews with private renters in two cities in a classic home ownership society (Australia), there is clear support for the “disaster” interpretation in respect of low-income households renting in outer urban areas, with financial stress and insecurity reflecting and compounding disadvantage. For many others, private renting can be interpreted as a “constructive coping” strategy in the context of urban housing market restructuring. A sizeable cohort of private renters explicitly prioritises living in a desired inner/middle city location over owning. One – albeit relatively small group – appears “deviant” from the home ownership norm in associating private renting with greater lifestyle freedom. The paper contributes an understanding that location and lifestyle are of paramount importance to many private renters rather than housing tenure per se.     

The Housing and Location Preferences of Adelaide Residents

There has been a growing mismatch between household and housing types in Australian cities in recent years. At the same time housing has become increasingly expensive, while low-density urban development has meant increasing social and economic costs for households in fringe suburbs. This paper explores current housing and location preferences of Adelaide residents. The findings suggest that home ownership and the single-storey detached dwelling are well entrenched preferences among residents, and that as yet, the personal costs of the linear spread of the city have not impacted significantly on housing and location preferences.     

The ‘Infrastructure Turn’ in Australian Metropolitan Spatial Planning

This paper argues that a recent resurgence in Australian spatial planning has been superseded by a resort to infrastructure to address urban problems. The paper uses case studies of the Melbourne and South East Queensland (Brisbane) metropolitan regions to chart the renewal of new spatial planning, after a period of neglect. This paper then shows this spatial planning renewal has given way to a new emphasis on urban infrastructure planning as the primary mode of intervention in these cities. The infrastructure turn raises important questions about the spatial planning and infrastructure of cities within a new era of global strategic challenges.     

Investigating the Social Dimensions of Transport Disadvantage—I. Towards New Concepts and Methods1

This article is the first of two papers that engage critically and productively with the relationship between the socio-economic transformations of cities, the differentiation of vulnerable groups within urban space and the distribution of transport services. This article undertakes a comprehensive review of the major conceptual and methodological approaches by which scholars and policy researchers have sought to address the connection between social disadvantage and access to transport. The article critically assesses the relative merits of various spatial analytical methodologies in illuminating social–transport links. The study finds that there is a need for greater sophistication in the use of analytical methods in transport research as well as an imperative for greater sensitivity to social differentiation within urban areas and relative to infrastructure and services. The article concludes by developing a method for combining spatial social and transport service data that is then deployed in the empirical case study reported in the second paper.     

Cities and memory: a history of the role of memorials in urban design from the Renaissance to Canberra

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, there has been a significant revival of interest and growth in numbers of public memorials – sculptures and structures in public spaces that convey information and social attitudes about past persons, events and ideas. This renaissance has been most marked in national capital cities. To better understand this recent revival of interest in memorials, and their potential to reproduce or transform social and spatial relationships within cities, this paper examines the historical evolution of the role and form of memorials within the overall planning and development of Western capital cities, both existing and new, from their origins in Ancient Rome and through their later development from the Renaissance to the beginning of Modernism. It charts memorials’ ongoing contribution to the role of the capital city as a diagram that defines and communicates national history, identity and politics, contrasting this to ways that memorials have adapted to changing technological and political realities of land development and management.     

Investigating the Social Dimensions of Transport Disadvantage—I. Towards New Concepts and Methods

This article is the first of two papers that engage critically and productively with the relationship between the socio-economic transformations of cities, the differentiation of vulnerable groups within urban space and the distribution of transport services. This article undertakes a comprehensive review of the major conceptual and methodological approaches by which scholars and policy researchers have sought to address the connection between social disadvantage and access to transport. The article critically assesses the relative merits of various spatial analytical methodologies in illuminating social-transport links. The study finds that there is a need for greater sophistication in the use of analytical methods in transport research as well as an imperative for greater sensitivity to social differentiation within urban areas and relative to infrastructure and services. The article concludes by developing a method for combining spatial social and transport service data that is then deployed in the empirical case study reported in the second paper.     

Social Disadvantage,Tenure and Location: An Analysis of Sydney and Melbourne

This article focuses on the role that housing markets play in structuring patterns of social disadvantage in Australian cities, specifically Sydney and Melbourne. It explores the relationship between housing tenure and social disadvantage at the local scale (Census collector districts) for the two cities, following a discussion of the various stands of literature on housing tenure and socio-spatial polarisation in Australian cities. It analyses the relationship between areas of high social disadvantage and housing tenure. The analysis, which uses the ABS Index of Disadvantage, distinguishes locations where comparable levels of social disadvantage are associated with very different housing markets, one where public housing is prominent and others which are primarily areas of private sector housing. The social profiles of both types of area are described, drawing out differences between the two cities, as are changes in the extent of these areas over time. The policy implications for the areas of private sector housing are then discussed.     

Social Disadvantage, Tenure and Location: An Analysis of Sydney and Melbourne

This article focuses on the role that housing markets play in structuring patterns of social disadvantage in Australian cities, specifically Sydney and Melbourne. It explores the relationship between housing tenure and social disadvantage at the local scale (Census collector districts) for the two cities, following a discussion of the various stands of literature on housing tenure and socio-spatial polarisation in Australian cities. It analyses the relationship between areas of high social disadvantage and housing tenure. The analysis, which uses the ABS Index of Disadvantage, distinguishes locations where comparable levels of social disadvantage are associated with very different housing markets, one where public housing is prominent and others which are primarily areas of private sector housing. The social profiles of both types of area are described, drawing out differences between the two cities, as are changes in the extent of these areas over time. The policy implications for the areas of private sector housing are then discussed.     

Managing change: Seattle’s 21st century urban renaissance

ABSTRACT

Evolution of the urban planning and historic preservation disciplines has resulted in an “uneasy alliance” in practice, one further complicated by the back-to-the-city movement and increased development pressure in older urban neighbourhoods. In Seattle, as in other U.S. cities, the pace, intensity and scale of redevelopment has caused dramatic spatial and social transformations. Although research has shown that older built fabric provides economic and social benefit for cities, neither regulations created by planners for guiding redevelopment nor strategies created by preservationists for retaining urban heritage have been successful in reconciling these different, yet interconnected, sets of values. We engage three Seattle neighbourhood case studies to clarify and evaluate policies, programs and strategies used by planners and preservationists for reimagining neighbourhood transformations. This work suggests a need for more creative, integrative collaboration between the two fields to simultaneously engage – and reconcile – social and economic tensions caused by urban redevelopment.     

Going too far in the battle against concentration? On the balance between supply and demand of social housing in Dutch cities

In the second half of the 1990s, Dutch urban housing policy shifted from urban renewal to urban restructuring and the creation of more socially mixed neighbourhoods. Motives for restructuring stem from the ongoing debates on concentration, segregation and social mix. Here, we focus on the main instruments of urban restructuring, that is, the demolition of social housing and the construction of more expensive rental and owner-occupied housing. Continued restructuring may eventually lead to a shortage of social rented dwellings for low-income households, the target group of social housing. An important political question is therefore whether the dwindling supply of social housing still matches the potential demand in the target group. We addressed this question with an analysis of three Dutch cities: Rotterdam, The Hague and Breda. The results indicate that, although demolition has brought about substantial changes, the share of social rented housing remains high in most restructuring neighbourhoods and restructuring has not resulted in concentrations of social rented housing in other, non-restructuring neighbourhoods in any of the three cities. In Rotterdam, which had a very large social housing stock at the beginning of the restructuring operation, there are still sufficient affordable homes for lower income households. However, in The Hague and Breda, restructuring has tightened the supply of social rental housing. The municipal authority in The Hague has attempted to remedy the situation by entering regional agreements to secure sufficient levels of affordable housing.     

Ageing in Australia: the Spatial Implications

This paper considers the widely held, but still untested, assumption that deindustrialised and deindustrialising cities have the highest rates of urban unemployment today. Comparison is made between the unemployment rates for the largest Australian cities devoted significantly to manufacturing – Geelong, Newcastle, and Wollongong – and the rates for the other nine major Australian cities. What is found is that the industrial cities did not have the highest rates of unemployment at any of the four censuses under examination(1971, 1976, 1981, 1986). The highest rates were in tourist cities, centres antithetical to industrial cities because they exist for consumption rather than for production (as is the case with the industrial cities).     

Sinks of Social Exclusion or Springboards for Social Mobility? Analysing the Roles of Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods in Urban Australia

For two decades analysts have noted significant and growing socio-spatial polarisation in Australia’s cities. Dominating policy discourse has been the hypothesis that residence in “poverty neighbourhoods” can compound individual disadvantage. Prominent here are concerns about social exclusion and spatial entrapment. A contrary perspective is that low income communities often contain substantial social capital and that accessing relatively affordable housing available in such places may provide a basis for subsequent “progression” in the wider urban housing market. Drawing on a household survey in four disadvantaged Sydney neighbourhoods, we confirm that rates of socio-economic deprivation indeed substantially exceed citywide and national norms and that the perceived incidence of neighbourhood problems is substantial. At the same time, results reveal that such places are far from unmitigated spaces of alienation and suggest that they can provide springboards for geographical and social mobility.     

Planning trajectories in post-socialist cities: patterns of divergence and change

This article explores the new planning regimes and planning processes in post-socialist countries and their ability to influence the spatial transformation of cities. It views planning institutions as culturally embedded in the overall process of economic, social, and political transition, while recognizing the power of specific local imperatives and market pressures to shape their response. The research draws on empirical evidence in four countries and their capital cities to highlight the links between the transition to democracy, markets, and decentralized governance on the spatial transformation in post-socialist cities. The main argument is that the new planning institutions have different ability to direct these processes of change, depending on the legal framework, the availability of plans, and the institutionalization of the plan-implementation process. Despite the diverse mosaic of urban experiences in Prague, Riga, Belgrade, and Tirana, planning institutions are viewed as path dependent, influenced by a common socialist legacy. Further, changes in the exogenous environment – economic, social, and institutional – are perceived to be important sources of convergence, but tend to shape different planning responses and policy choices. The research explores these differences as well as the new patterns of spatial transformation in three principal domains: (1) spaces of production/consumption reflecting the economic transition; (2) differentiation in residential spaces associated with the social transition; and (3) new approaches to planning and service delivery resulting from the transition in governance. Central to the arguments in the article is that transition of this magnitude has created a complex urban world in which the patterns of divergence are going to become more explicit in the future, producing spatial and temporal differentiation among post-socialist cities.     

Why there? Developers' rationale for building social housing in the urban periphery in Latin America

Inadequate housing has become endemic to Latin American cities for over six decades. All that has changed has been who is going where. In the 1960s, the rural poor who came to the city solved their housing needs by building their own informal settlements on peri-urban lands. Today, the urban poor relocate to peri-urban housing complexes built by the private sector with state subsidies. Why have these new housing units for low-income households been built in peri-urban areas? This paper examines some of the mechanisms behind the location of the urban poor in cities, with a specific focus on the role developers have played in the construction of affordable housing in peri-urban areas of Brazil and, Mexico. The paper explores these mechanisms through interviews with affordable housing developers. We found that economies of scale – and not land prices – explain developers' preference for building in peripheral areas. Initial savings that accrue to developers due to lower land prices in the periphery are offset by the cost of having to build basic onsite infrastructure. Plus, large lots – which are available almost exclusively in urban peripheries – enable developers to achieve significant cost savings because these large lots make it possible for developers to build more than 500 units. In addition, weaker municipal regulations and fewer bidders, both of which are typical for projects in difficult-to-access peripheral locations, make for a shorter and easier approval process for these large housing projects.     

Australian Cities and Regions in the Depression: Recent Trends in Unemployment

Australia's recent economic woes have produced a steep rise in national unemployment rates since 1989 (Figure 1) but – as always – the impacts have not been even. Some regions, some cities and some parts of our major cities have fared worse than others. This is no surprise. Much of the recent literature on the nature of urban development in the Western world has emphasised the spatial uneven-ness of the impacts of economic restructuring and demographic change. However it is important that as social scientists and policymakers weareawareof the specific spatial dimensions of the current recession in this country. This Forum examines current trends in unemployment at four spatial levels. At each level, significant variations occur as the result of the intersection of differences in industry mix, occupational structure, and demographic and socio-economic composition within local labour markets. Kevin O'Connor and Virginia Rapson begin by examining contrasts between the capital cities, establishing a national context for the subsequent more detailed contributions, and highlighting in particular the recent decline in Melbourne's job market following the collapse of the finance and property sector.