Papers

Click here for a full list of papers presented at the Conference

Organising Committee

Chair:

• Professor Steve Hamnett, University of South Australia

Program Committee Convenors:

• Associate Professor Clive Forster, Flinders University
• Dr Andrew Allan, University of South Australia
• Dr Jean Duruz, University of South Australia
• Dr Jon Kellett, University of South Australia
• Dr Paul Maginn, University of Western Australia
• Dr Susan Oakley, University of Adelaide
• Dr Matthew Rofe, University of South Australia

The Committee also acknowledges the support of other members of the Australian Sustainable Cities and Regions Network and, in particular, Professor Patrick Troy, Professor Brendan Gleeson, Professor Ruth Fincher and Professor Bill Randolph.

Purpose

The conference will be an academically focused national conference on Australian urban issues. The SOAC Conference was initially launched at Parramatta in 2003, followed by the second conference in Brisbane in 2005, and Adelaide in 2007. In a period when Australian cities have undergone substantial change the SOAC conference series offers the main academic gathering to explore the processes and outcomes of these changes and their policy implications.

The Conference has five broad aims:

• To review the condition of the contemporary Australian city, based on current empirical evidence, as a means of better understanding current patterns, processes and drivers of change.
• To identify research gaps and suggest areas that should be given priority for future research funding.
• To identify and showcase policy relevant research.
• To create a space for dialogue between researchers, policy makers and practitioners.
• To offer a conference which emphasizes academic rigour, which is inclusive of diverse themes and intellectual positions and which is affordable, particularly for early career researchers and research students

The conference aims to provide a focus for new urban scholarship and will aim to bring together the most prominent academics working in this area in Australia together with new researchers and others – policy makers and practitioners – who are interested in the Australian city.

The principal intention is to lead to a dialogue between leading researchers on the state of Australian cities and where they might be headed. The conference is designed to lead to a better understanding of the research needs of Australian cities and to provide those in the public and private sectors with a better appreciation of the current state and capacities of researchers.

Conference Themes and Key Persons

The Conference will focus on the contemporary form and structure of Australian cities.

The conference proceedings will be grouped into six key sub-themes, each the focus of one of more conference sessions:

• City Economy - economic change and labour market outcomes of globalisation, land use pressures, changing employment locations.
  Panel Chair: Professor Robert Stimson, University of Queensland, Associate Professor Tony Sorensen, University of New England
  Rapporteur: Associate Professor Tony Sorensen, University of New England
• Social City – including population, migration, immigration, polarisation, equity and disadvantage, housing issues, recreation.
  Panel Chair: Professor Daniela Stehlik, Curtin University of Technology
  Rapporteur: Dr Lynda Cheshire, University of Queensland
• City Environment - sustainable development, management and performance, natural resource management, limits to growth, impacts of air, water, climate, energy consumption, natural resource uses, conservation, green space.
  Panel Chair: Dr Phil McManus, University of Sydney
  Rapporteur: Dr Aidan Davidson, University of Tasmania
• City Structures – the emerging morphology of the city – inner suburbs, middle suburbs, the CBD, outer suburbs and the urban-rural fringe, the city region.
  Panel Chair: Associate Professor Louise Johnson, Deakin University
  Rapporteur: Professor Kevin O'Connor, University of Melbourne
• City Governance – including taxation, provision of urban services, public policy formation, planning, urban government, citizenship and the democratic process.
  Panel Chair: Professor Stephen R. Dovers, Australian National University
  Rapporteur: Dr Jago Dodson, Griffith University
• City Infrastructure – transport, mobility, accessibility, communications and IT, and other urban infrastructure provision.

Panel Chair: Dr David Wilmoth, Learning Cities International Pty Ltd
Rapporteur: Dr David Wilmoth, Learning Cities International Pty Ltd

Paper Review Process

Papers to the 3rd State of Australian Cities Conference 2007 (SOAC 2007) were produced through a process of integrated peer review.

Conference proposal abstracts were reviewed by members of one of six conference theme panels. Each panel comprised noted scholars from a range of disciplines and regions grouped around a substantive area of urban research. In addition to deciding which abstracts to accept, panels also offered advice on how potential papers could be improved. The Chairs of each theme panel provided a summary of comments made by the panel on each of the reviewed proposals. Those not selected were given an explanation of the panel decision.

Submitted papers were then refereed by members of the relevant theme panel before final acceptance, acceptance subject to modification, or rejection.

Final papers were checked by the Conference Academic Sub-Committee as having met the referees’ requirements, before being cleared for presentation and publication on the conference CD.

The conference organizers also offered the opportunity for authors to submit papers which would not go through the full peer review process. This opportunity was intended, in particular, for early career researchers or others to submit papers describing work in progress. 15 papers of this sort were accepted and they are clearly distinguished by an asterisk in the list of contents.

There were originally 147 abstracts proposed, 143 were invited to submit papers and 107 papers were finally published.

Responsibility for the content of these papers rests upon the authors.

SOAC 2007 is jointly hosted by the University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide and Flinders University.

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Page Last Updated: 2 Sep 2008
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