Sustainable urban consolidation in Australian cities

It is now recognized that the sustainability of major cities is integral to their quality of life in the future. This has been recognized around Australia, and in the last decade seen all the major cities produce planning schemes aimed at the long term sustainability of growth. However these plans are struggling to come into fruition. The schemes have been recognized as being a great success at an ideological level for introducing limits on urban boundaries and supporting urban consolidation. However the requirement of the schemes on increasing the density of existing built up areas is met by residents concerned with the effect of consolidation on their local communities. This paper identifies two facets of consolidation schemes that have the potential to defuse negative connotation within residential communities. Firstly the ability of schemes, using Melbourne 2030 as a basis, to communicate the visual impact of consolidation to community groups. Secondly the ramifications negative views of development within community groups are having on the efficiency of the development application process. Further study into the communication to residential community groups is recommended as showing great possibilities for reducing the fear of infill developments.