Productive cities transitions

Living and working in cities shapes how we look after young, old and vulnerable individuals, our environmental footprint, and the health and wellbeing of every resident. Our focus is on how cities can better ‘produce’ economic, social and environmental outcomes.

Majority of people now live in cities and on a daily basis the city is where these people consume goods, experience nature, relax and work. Planning and urban development has often approached these as separate tasks and made spatial allocations accordingly. Population growth and the environmental footprint of cities is, however, increasingly necessitating urban space to be multifunctional and productive spaces economically, socially and environmentally. 

The productive city challenge is one in which the institutions, behaviours, aspirations and practices that operate in cities can be given direction to achieve sustainable urban transitions. It involves understanding the barriers and drivers of urban transitions; the economic and institutional parameters that shape short-term and long-term decision making; and solutions-oriented technological and social innovation. 

Our research in this program will therefore go beyond conventional understanding of productivity and envisage urban environment, spaces and resources as input for a range of social and environmental outputs as well as economic outputs.    

Our studies cover:

• the labour productivity, distributional and housing market impacts from employment concentration (agglomeration) in Australia
• residential densification, infill development and spillover effects in Melbourne
• household practices and circular plastic consumption.

Program leader