State of the Environment

2006

The suburbanisation of coastal Australia

Integrative commentary
Timothy F Smith, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Michael Doherty, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
prepared for the 2006 Australian State of the Environment Committee, 2006

Glossary

Hard infrastructure
physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and hospitals
Peri-urban
an area on the periphery of an urban centre that is in a process of transition to a suburban form from another pre-existing landuse
Social capital
the networks and connections between people that contribute to social cohesion
Soft infrastructure
service infrastructure such as access to preventative medicine and social networks
Suburbanisation
the migration of people from city centres or other areas to outer suburbs but, in the case of coastal localities, the juxtaposition of much higher settlement densities and suburban housing forms in or adjacent to more traditional coastal towns or hamlets.
Sea change
(a) acting upon a desire to pursue a lifestyle that focuses on improved quality of life; (b) the phenomenon of increasing migration to, and suburbanisation of, the Australian coast, particularly those areas outside the primary urban metropolitan centres
Systems approach
understanding of the connections and interactions between components of a system (for example, social, economic and environmental)
Tree change
the phenomenon of increasing migration to, suburbanisation of, inland Australian towns, particularly those areas outside the primary urban metropolitan centres

Key

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