Cityfutures: completed projects

Who Lives in Higher Density Housing, and Why?

Project Theme: Urban Consolidation
Commissioned by: Internal Grant - Faculty of the Built Environment, UNSW
Commencement: February 2006
Estimated Completion : December 2006

City Futures Contact: Professor Bill Randolph, b.randolph@unsw.edu.au

Description:

Australian cities face a high density future. Higher densities are seen as a panacea for sustainability. Surprisingly, the proposed benefits of higher density living have been subject to limited testing. In particular, there is little published research on the behavioral drivers of higher densities and whether the apparent benefits in terms of transport use are real. This project will develop a robust research method involving both census data and a survey research method to underpin a substantial ARC application in 2006. At the same time, the project will produce a peer reviewed journal article from the results of the study.