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Box 12 The Social Dimension of Urban Consolidation
 
Pat Troy
A policy of urban consolidation has been pursued by federal and state governments to increase 
urban density in Australian cities in the belief that it would:
•
Reduce environmental stresses because it would lead to reduced energy consumption 
and reduced water consumption
•
Lead to reduced demand for infrastructure investment
•
Provide greater choice of housing
None of the governmental propositions which emerged from this policy were based on em-
pirical research, however, and subsequent research has shown that:
1 The per capita consumption of energy is higher for higher density housing compared 
with traditional housing forms – including for transport energy consumption.
2 The per capita consumption of water of households in higher density housing is not 
necessarily lower than that of traditional housing. In Sydney, the per capita consumption 
of water is approximately the same for flat and house dwellers. In Canberra, flat 
dwellers have virtually the same per capita consumption as those in flats and houses in 
Sydney, while house dwellers have a significantly higher consumption. Internal household 
water consumption is more influenced by household composition and behavioural, 
fashion and social considerations than housing form. Household external consumption 
of water is more influenced by the annual rainfall and its seasonal distribution, local 
gardening cultures, and soil conditions in different cities than housing form.
3 The level of infrastructure investment is more dependent on the size and structure 
of the city than on housing form. Increases in density have not been accompanied by 
significant savings in infrastructure services.
4 The market response to government encouragement of medium and high density 
housing has been to constrain the choice of housing so that areas in which consolidation 
policies have been most actively pursued now have limited opportunities for households 
seeking accommodation to house the average-sized household. This has led to a loss 
of diversity in the demographic composition of areas as the smaller-sized dwellings are 
inappropriate for conventional households. This leads to reduced housing choices in 
areas throughout the city. Higher density housing also tends to be rented, which in turn 
means higher proportions of households tend to be transient, with less engagement in 
the local communities in which the higher density dwellings are located. Moreover, the 
housing stock is now less flexible than it was and is thus less capable of responding to 
the changing accommodation needs.
Other consequences of the pursuit of consolidation policies include:
•
Reduction in open space, and thus the ability to moderate local micro-climates 
•
Reduced capacity of the city to produce its own food 
•
The changed hydrology of local drainage basins leads to increased stormwater runoff, 
causing local flooding and increased pollution of the rivers, harbours and bays of cities 
•
Loss of industrial land in the inner suburbs and increased centralization of the city 
•
The subjection of larger proportions of the population to increased noise levels 
•
Loss of much independence of households as higher proportions of the housing stock 
come under the control of bodies corporate that set and manage the rules
•
Consolidation projects also tend to be initiated by developers seeking opportunities for 
profit rather than any interest in the development of communities 
In short, consolidation policies are based on a physical determinist approach to urban planning 
and development, which is not grounded in understanding of the socio-demographic aspects 
of the behaviour or ambitions of households.

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