The Importance of Urban Planning In Australia

Among the countries with the most urbanised populations in the world, Australia ranks very high. Most of these populations can be found in the country's five largest cities of Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.  These populations are on the increase and pose threats to the living standards in these and other cities in Australia. There is therefore a great need for the formulation of sustainable urban planning policies to provide the necessary urban infrastructures to manage the needs for development of both urban and non-metropolitan populations.

Why Does Australia Need Urban Planning?

Population in urban areas in Australia is increasing day by day. This is in effect putting a lot of pressure on the effectiveness of its urban public transport systems and roads, urban livability for human occupation, urban biodiversity, air and water systems and most importantly pressure on urban energy and environment. These problems are making it increasingly very difficult for the authorities both local and national to provide the basics in both infrastructure and social services. These problems and imbalances in the management of and access to sustainable infrastructural resources have therefore resulted in a situation whereby more problems are being witnessed in social, environmental and economic spheres. Urban planning is therefore important and can be used to provide solutions to these problems. Some of the ways urban planning can be used to rectify problems include the following:

• To provide solutions that can rectify social dysfunction in the urban populations. These are problems such as poverty, dependence on welfare, crimes, alcohol and drug abuse, under and unemployment, homelessness and street dwellers among other social problems.
• To offer sustainable solutions to environmental degradation. It can be used to prevent soil toxicity and erosion, waste accumulation, air and water pollution as well as act as an agent of conservation of natural and manmade landscapes.
• To provide solutions to degraded patterns of development as a result of overcrowded cities. It can be used to provide affordable housing, which can be used even by future generations of populations. It can be used to provide answers to inadequate welfare and education services access, overcrowded and overpopulated cities and to curb disproportionate consumption of public and national resources.
• To provide solutions to housing and public utility areas close to urban waste disposal locations. These sites are used for the disposal of domestic and industrial wastes and can be hazardous to humans. Urban planning can therefore be used to rectify this problem.