Multi-functionality and the Urban-Rural Dichotomy in Australian Metropolitan Planning

This paper reviews the current approach to metropolitan strategic planning in the transitional area between the distinctly urban and rural land known generally as the peri-urban. Peri-urban areas are highly fragmented, multi-functional spaces provide urban areas with a range of services. Productivist cities were developed upon a notion of continuous growth and consumption. Productivist planning regarded peri-urban land as land awaiting higher-order development, mainly for urban purposes. In a post-productivist era there is broad awareness of the finite nature of resources and the need for sustainability. Awareness of the importance of peri-urban land in this regard is also increasing. Recent iterations of Australian metropolitan planning strategies have promoted cities as being 'sustainable' and 'liveable'. Peri-urban areas by their nature are integral to the achievement of these ends. Following an overview of recent metropolitan planning strategies in Australia, the paper critically examines the response of current strategies to the notion of sustainability and multi-functionality and the role of peri-urban land, with particular focus on agricultural production. This paper offers an analysis of Australian metropolitan planning and comments on the treatment of peri-urban land as an integral component of the notion of sustainable and liveable cities.