Planning for a Continent of Cities

STOCK DUE LATE AUGUST 2025

Long-range scenarios for Australian urbanisation

Julian Bolleter and Robert Freestone

Some 50 years after Ideas for Australian Cities appeared we now have another milestone publication that envisions future pathways to the grand challenge of planning more sustainable and resilient cities – the nation’s greatest asset. Planning for a Continent of Cities assembles a unique and thought-provoking set of continental scale settlement scenarios that address the twin challenges of long-term spatial planning and urban governance.
PETER W. NEWTON, Emeritus Professor, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne Institute of Technology

Julian Bolleter and Robert Freestone, in their timely Planning for a Continent of Cities, do us a great service by thinking ahead for us. Indeed, the role of the urban planning profession, as I see it, revolves around advising us as to what we need to do now to prepare for the future and even for the distant future rather than waiting until the future arrives at our doorstep and then discovering that it is too late to do anything about it. Their book is a lively exploration of the urban futures of Australia, essentially of the distribution of the urban population across the great, yet sparsely settled, continent in the coming decades: In its largest cities, in satellite towns around them, along the coasts, along high-speed rail lines, or in uninhabited regions? They combine an understanding of what people envisioned for the country, what experts say, and what can be expected to happen when people vote with their feet into a good set of stories about Australia’s urban future. Like other urban planners, me included, the authors are realists: They understand that there is very little that planners can do about where and by how much cities will grow. But they are realists who understand the power of visions to guide government policy and shape the public investments that make a difference in where people decide to live. These are essentially investments in infrastructure, like high speed rail, schools, universities, and budding industries. They also understand the limited power of regulations and the failure of past efforts, like the Sydney or the Tokyo greenbelts, to contain urban expansion. This book is both informative and insightful, essential reading for anyone who really cares about the legacy that we will leave to those who will outlive us.
SHLOMO ANGEL, Professor of City Planning, Marron Institute of Urban Management, New York University

It is a time of interlocking planetary crises – ecological, social and economic  Julian Bolleter and Robert Freestone ask what this means for one of the world’s most urbanised continents, Australia. In an important contrast to many recent urban books, they consult social opinion as well as the best scientific evidence to draw up an outline for a workable and sustainable future for Australia. It departs from the current ‘Business Council’ program of stacking the metropolitan cities with new population and (always lagging) investment. Mindful of historical policy antecedents, Planning for a Continent of Cities conceives a strategy for national settlement that plans for a network of regional cities that can take us through the coming storms of change.
BRENDAN GLEESON, Professor, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne

Book details

PRICE: $55.00 AUD incl GST

ISBN: 978-1-76080-306-3

FORMAT: paperback

PUBLICATION DATE: 1 July 2025

CATEGORY: Non-fiction; Urban Planning; Art, Photography and Design

RIGHTS: World