Lyla Lindsey
Migration has had a significant impact on Australian cities and urban lifestyles. Australia is a highly urbanized country, with two-thirds of its population living in capital cities, which are also major employment hubs. Migration, particularly skilled migration, contributes to demographic balance, addresses skill shortages, and enhances economic prosperity in these cities. However, it has also led to population growth and urban sprawl, raising questions about accommodating future growth and controlling expansion. Australian government policies have aimed to encourage more compact cities, and while sprawl has slowed, it hasn't been prevented. The COVID-19 pandemic has also influenced migration patterns, with border closures reducing international migration and impacting internal migration flows, but it has not caused an exodus from cities. Understanding migration dynamics is crucial for regional development and addressing growth pressures in Australian cities.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Population growth | 79% of Australian population growth was in the capital cities in 2017-18 |
| Population density | Australian cities are now more densely populated |
| Urban sprawl | Policies have slowed but not prevented sprawl, especially in faster-growing cities like Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney |
| Demographic balance | Migration and skilled migrants contribute to demographic balance and meeting skills shortages |
| Employment | 66% of employment was in capital cities at the time of the last census in 2016 |
| Housing | Urban consolidation policies have encouraged more compact cities, with smaller block sizes and inner-city apartments |
| Lifestyle | Migration policies need to focus on the nature and needs of the regional economy to attract migrants to regional areas |
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What You'll Learn
- Skilled migrants are drawn to major cities, contributing to demographic balance and economic prosperity
- Migration policies aim to ease pressure on capital cities by encouraging settlement in regional areas
- Urban sprawl: policies have slowed but not prevented it, with challenges remaining for future population growth
- Population growth in regional urban centres (RUCs) is a long-term government goal to revitalise struggling towns
- COVID-19: despite border closures, capital cities maintained their appeal, with nearly 42,000 arrivals in Q3 2020
Skilled migrants are drawn to major cities, contributing to demographic balance and economic prosperity
Australia is a highly urbanised country, with two-thirds of its population living in capital cities, which is also where 66% of employment is located. Skilled migrants are drawn to these major cities, contributing to demographic balance and economic prosperity.
According to the 2016 Census, 63% of skilled migrants settled in the greater capital cities, following employment opportunities. The big cities offer diverse career paths, similar jobs to advance their careers, and a desirable lifestyle for them and their families. This trend has continued, with 79% of Australian population growth occurring in the capital cities in 2017-18. The population of these cities grew by 307,800, a 1.9% increase, nearly twice the growth rate of non-capital-city areas.
The appeal of capital cities for skilled migrants has contributed to demographic balance. Firstly, it helps meet skills shortages in these cities. Secondly, it contributes to the overall population distribution, easing pressure on the cities and revitalising struggling towns in regional areas. For example, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when international borders were closed, nearly 42,000 people moved to capital cities in Australia in the September 2020 quarter.
Skilled migrants are drawn to major cities, contributing to economic prosperity in several ways. Firstly, they bring their skills and expertise, filling job vacancies and contributing to the growth of various industries. Secondly, they increase the consumer base for businesses and services in these cities, stimulating economic activity and growth. Finally, skilled migrants contribute to innovation and entrepreneurship, introducing new ideas, starting businesses, and creating jobs.
To encourage skilled migration to regional areas, the Australian government has implemented policies to meet skill shortages and improve amenities, services, and infrastructure. However, a lack of employment choice and diversity remain challenges in these areas. To make regional Australia more attractive to skilled migrants, there is a need to diversify employment opportunities, enhance amenities, and ensure migration policies focus on the nature and needs of the regional economy.
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Migration policies aim to ease pressure on capital cities by encouraging settlement in regional areas
Migration has played a significant role in shaping Australian cities and urban lifestyles over the years. The distribution of the population between metropolitan regions and their rural counterparts is a crucial topic, given the growth pressures in large cities and the decline in some remote regions.
To address these challenges, Australian governments have implemented various migration policies aimed at easing the pressure on capital cities by encouraging settlement in regional areas. Here are some key aspects of these policies:
- Attracting Migrants and Refugees to Regional Areas: Since the 1990s, Australian governments have made efforts to attract and retain migrants and refugees in regional areas. This approach aims to promote economic development and sustain populations in rural communities, while also reducing the strain on large cities and their infrastructure.
- Introduction of Regional Visas: The Australian government has introduced a range of visas to encourage regional migration. These visas target different types of migrants, including highly skilled migrants, flexible mobile labor for unskilled jobs, and resettled refugees. The idea is to match the skills and labor offered by migrants with the needs of regional areas, fostering economic growth and addressing labor shortages.
- Addressing Population Decline in Rural Communities: Rural communities in Australia have been experiencing population decline, labor shortages, and skill deficiencies. By encouraging migration to these areas, the government aims to revitalize these communities and address these issues.
- Incentives and Support for Regional Settlement: Local governments in regional cities and towns have developed initiatives to support the settlement of refugees and, to a lesser extent, skilled migrants. These initiatives include intercultural programs, social and cultural integration efforts, and addressing structural barriers to enhance social cohesion in culturally diverse communities.
- Development of Regional Urban Centres (RUCs): Understanding the dynamics of RUCs is crucial for Australian regional development. Research focuses on patterns of population change through internal migration across RUCs, analyzing social, economic, and infrastructure development factors and their impact on regional migration and population shifts.
- Sprawl Containment and Urban Consolidation: Urban-consolidation policies have aimed to prevent sprawl and promote more compact cities. Strategies such as subdivision, dual occupancy, infill development, and smaller block sizes have been employed. While sprawl has slowed, it has not been entirely prevented, especially in fast-growing cities.
- Global Migration Pressures: Migration pressures towards advanced economies like Australia are expected to increase, particularly from regions with growing populations and income disparities. Climate change is also projected to contribute to internal and regional migration within emerging market and developing economies.
- Impact on Native Workers: While migration can bring benefits to recipient countries and migrants, it may also pose challenges for native workers in specific market segments. Fiscal and labor market policies should be implemented to support and retrain natives facing labor market competition due to migration.
- Integration Initiatives: Active labor market and immigration policies that facilitate immigrant integration, such as language training and professional title recognition, can further enhance the positive outcomes of migration for both migrants and recipient societies.
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Urban sprawl: policies have slowed but not prevented it, with challenges remaining for future population growth
Urban sprawl has been a significant feature of Australian cities in the last few decades. The ""great Australian dream" of home ownership, affordable land, large residential blocks, and cheap private transport caused cities to spread out during the second half of the 20th century. By the 1980s, urban fringes were ever-expanding, and inner areas became sparsely populated "doughnut cities". This trend continued until urban researchers, planners, geographers, and economists warned of impending environmental, social, and housing affordability issues due to unrestrained growth.
In response, the Australian government introduced consolidation policies aimed at encouraging more compact and less sprawling cities. These policies have included subdivision, dual occupancy, infill development, smaller block sizes, inner-city apartments, and repurposing non-residential buildings. The focus has been on increasing population density across whole metropolitan areas, especially in the inner city.
These policies have had some success in slowing urban sprawl. Cities like Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth are no longer "doughnut cities", and their inner areas have become more densely populated in the last 30 years. However, sprawl has not been entirely prevented, especially in faster-growing cities. The challenge of accommodating future population growth remains, and containing and controlling sprawl will be crucial.
Migration has played a significant role in shaping Australian cities and will continue to do so in the future. Currently, two-thirds of Australia's population lives in capital cities, and these cities attract most skilled migrants (63%) due to diverse opportunities and employment. The government has implemented policies to encourage migration to regional areas to ease pressure on capital cities. However, these areas need to become more attractive by diversifying employment opportunities, improving amenities, services, and infrastructure, and ensuring migration policies meet the needs of the regional economy.
While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted migration patterns, with Australia's borders closed to international migrants, it did not cause an exodus from capital cities. People continued to move to these cities, and internal migration within Australia has been high, with about 40% of the population changing their addresses within a five-year period.
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Population growth in regional urban centres (RUCs) is a long-term government goal to revitalise struggling towns
Population growth in regional urban centres (RUCs) has been a long-term goal of Australian government policy to revitalise struggling towns. The distribution of population between metropolitan regions and their rural counterparts is a topic of interest due to the growth pressures in large cities and areas of decline in some typically remote regions.
The Australian government has been attempting to repopulate inner- and middle-urban areas to encourage more compact, less sprawling cities. This has been done through subdivision, dual occupancy, infill development, smaller block sizes, inner-city apartments, and the repurposing of non-residential buildings. These policies have slowed but not prevented sprawl, especially in faster-growing cities like Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney.
The largest Australian cities are under strain, with issues such as expensive local housing markets, rising levels of housing unaffordability, growing traffic congestion, and overcrowded schools and hospitals. To alleviate these pressures, more spatially balanced patterns of population growth that encourage regional development have been proposed.
The Department of Urban and Regional Development (DURD) identified several "new cities" to be developed across Australia in the 1970s, such as Albury-Wodonga and Bathurst-Orange. However, many of these planned cities failed to emerge as major population hubs due to an overestimation of the government's ability to establish them.
COVID-19 has also shifted urban growth dynamics and preferences for regional living in Australia. The strict lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne prompted high levels of out-migration to surrounding regional centres, such as Wollongong and Geelong. These shifts in preferences offer new opportunities for long-term population decentralisation and dispersion, building on previous government attempts to encourage and sustain regional growth.
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COVID-19: despite border closures, capital cities maintained their appeal, with nearly 42,000 arrivals in Q3 2020
Australia is a highly urbanised country, with two-thirds of its population living in capital cities at the time of the 2016 census. These cities have been shaped by history, infrastructure, natural landscapes, and policy. In recent years, policies have focused on increasing population density and controlling sprawl.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted typical migration patterns, with border closures reducing the number of international migrants. Despite this, nearly 42,000 people moved to capital cities in the third quarter of 2020, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This inflow is particularly noteworthy given the mobility restrictions in place at the time.
The appeal of capital cities remained strong during the pandemic, with employment opportunities and lifestyle factors attracting new residents. However, the pandemic may also have contributed to a shift in settlement patterns, with some regional areas experiencing significant growth in house prices as demand increased.
Overall, while COVID-19 and associated border closures impacted migration to Australia, the appeal of capital cities remained resilient, highlighting the continued draw of urban lifestyles in the country. These findings underscore the importance of migration in shaping Australian cities and their populations.
To promote regional areas as more attractive destinations, there is a need to diversify employment opportunities, improve amenities and services, and ensure migration policies are tailored to the specific needs of these regions.
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Frequently asked questions
Migration has led to a significant increase in the population of Australian cities, with 79% of the country's population growth occurring in capital cities in 2017-18. This has resulted in a shift from ""doughnut cities",", where inner areas were sparsely populated, to denser cities with higher populations in inner areas.
Migration has contributed to the demographic balance, skills enhancement, and economic prosperity of Australian cities. Skilled migrants, in particular, have played a crucial role in meeting skills shortages and creating diverse employment opportunities.
Migration has influenced the shape and structure of Australian cities. To accommodate the growing population, policies have promoted urban consolidation, focusing on increasing population density, particularly in inner-city areas. This has led to the redevelopment of former industrial areas and the repurposing of non-residential buildings.
