Lifestyle Boom Raises Environmental Questions
Media Release - DPS 10/96
Thinking of moving to the country to pursue a quiet lifestyle away from the urban rat race? A new study shows you will be less alone than you think.
According to a report just published by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Australia is in the midst of a major movement of people rejecting city living in favour of a rural lifestyle.
Beyond the Suburbs: Population Change in the Major Exurban Regions of Australia, written by Fiona McKenzie, an expert in regional and urban planning, draws on a variety of research materials including the 1991 Census.
Many towns on the fringes of capital cities have experienced significant population and employment growth in recent years, with much higher growth than for capital cities.
But this movement, while often motivated by 'simple lifestyle' choices for individuals, raises important environmental questions - concerns such as loss of native animal habitats as bushland is cleared, harmful effects on wildlife resulting from increased numbers of dogs and cats, and increased pollution due to greater reliance on cars for transport.
Areas such as Healesville, Romsey and Pakenham near Melbourne; Gosford, the Blue Mountains and Penrith near Sydney; and the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley outside Adelaide - most of Australia's exurban regions experienced population growth between the 1986 and 1991 Censuses.
According to the report, the fact that these exurban areas in Australia are key regions of population growth may bring both positive and negative consequences: on the one hand, the potential for local economic and employment growth, as well as some potential for environmental improvement given evidence that people who are attracted to this lifestyle are often environmentally aware.
On the other hand, the population growth brings environmental concerns such as loss of productive agricultural lands, clearing of bushland and consequent habitat loss, land use conflicts between farmers and exurban residents and the costs of infrastructure and service provision.
"At the heart of much of the exurban (and urban) development debate is the difficulty in dealing with individual lifestyle choice versus long-term environmental and land use management," the report says.
"Exurban development has the capacity to have a significant cumulative impact, a factor which is not apparent at the level of an individual development proposal or a single government decision… there is still a need for policy makers to more clearly understand the dynamics and long-term impacts of exurban development…"
The report suggests that with proper management and planning the opportunities for these regions may be maximised and the problems minimised. And the report includes a review of policy.
The report's findings include:
- an overturning of the belief that exurban regions are mostly populated by workers who are commuting daily into the Central Business District (CBD). The traditional view of the 'exurbanite' is one of the relatively wealthy professional, locating in attractive rural settings, commuting to city-based employment. In the case of most exurban regions studied, less than 10% of the population was found to be commuting to work in the CBD. In the case of large cities like Sydney, the issue of congestion may be an important explanatory factor.
- a surprising finding was that the majority of workers in exurban regions worked close to home - within the same local government area as their home. An average of 51% of those people living in outer exurban areas were working within the same local government area that they lived in. And of those living in inner exurban zones, the average across capital cities was more than 30% working within their local area, with up to 45% in the case of Sydney. This indicates that there is a shift away from the city as a focus for employment—that exurban areas are not just commuter settlements for the metropolitan areas.
- indications that these communities are becoming more self-contained, probably due to higher populations and greater small business and employment opportunities. The concentration of people working within their own local government area may also reflect a change in economic structure, with a greater number of people self-employed or working from home. The role of technology, such as telecommunications, in expanding locational choice for individuals (across a range of occupations) may well be of increasing significance in exurban development and may be altering the traditional image of the 'exurbanite' as a long-distance commuter.
Media contact: Fiona McKenzie (03) 9342 1113