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This article explores diverse ways of experiencing the city through an experimental field-based workshop supported by the Institute of Australian Geographers and this journal. The two-day methods practice workshop attracted 40 participants and aimed to train doctoral students and early career researchers in practices of observing, feeling, listening, mapping and visualizing the city. This paper aims to demonstrate how learning new methods that include Embodied Observation, Qualitative GIS, Locative Media Ethnography and Sonic Methodologies enabled 16 participants to encounter and experience the City of Melbourne in novel ways. The group learning environment and co-authored pieces that assemble diverse reflections demonstrate that the workshop is a form of innovative teaching and learning that has implications for Higher Education in Geography, but is yet to be explored more fully in the pedagogic literature. The experimental workshop has ongoing pedagogical benefits given the leadership, participatory and collaborative skills that unfolded when leading scholars, doctoral students and early career researchers came together to produce lively geographies of the city.

This document is a final report of an inquiry into projecting Australia's urban and regional futures, specifically focusing on population dynamics, regional mobility, and planning responses. It examines the drivers and effective management of population growth and change in regional Australia, identifying various push and pull factors influencing population change and providing policy implications for managing population growth and change in non-metropolitan areas. The report highlights the importance of factors such as proximity to major cities, access to transport links, availability of housing, and lifestyle opportunities in attracting and retaining residents. Challenges identified include insufficient infrastructure, housing affordability, and the need to attract key workers. The report suggests policy solutions such as supporting local business development, improving internet connectivity and transport infrastructure, and providing affordable housing and key worker incentives. Cooperation between different levels of government and industry is also crucial in managing population change effectively. The document also discusses the social impacts of population growth and decline, particularly in relation to skills shortages and the pressure on health services. It analyzes the factors influencing population change, identifies push-pull factors for migration to regional areas, and investigates how local governments can manage population growth. The report presents the methodology used, including statistical modeling and surveys, and provides an analysis of the variables that impact population change. The text also discusses the use of regression analysis to understand the factors influencing population growth and decline in regional urban areas in Australia, highlighting the importance of factors such as proximity to the coast and major cities, climate, industry specialization, and the presence of a highly educated workforce [Extracted from the article]

Increased time spent at home during COVID-19 exposed inequities in Australian housing quality and availability. Many Australians lack sufficient space to carry out activities shifted to their homes and the financial downturn rapidly increased stress around housing affordability. Research demonstrates living in unaffordable or poor-quality housing can negatively impact residents' mental health. This study explores the mechanisms through which housing moderates COVID-19's impact on mental health by analysing 2,065 Australians surveyed in mid-to-late 2020. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine associations between housing circumstances, neighbourhood belonging and mental-health outcomes (loneliness, depression, and anxiety), adjusted for demographics. Open-ended responses were analysed using thematic analysis and critical-realist epistemology. Feeling 'trapped' and 'helpless' because of insecure tenure or lack of money to improve housing conditions reduced participants' sense of control. Inadequate space and noise adversely impacted participants' well-being. Participants' housing context – including amenities, natural spaces, and social connections – strongly impacted their emotional experiences. Safe, secure, and suitable housing is a known determinant of safety and physical health; this study suggests it is also a critical factor for Australians' mental health. To improve mental health among the vulnerably-housed, future housing policy should not compromise on housing affordability, quality, space and access to nearby amenities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed complex connections between housing and health vulnerabilities. By investigating the share housing market in Sydney, Australia during the COVID-19 period, this paper examines these connections, highlighting health risks associated with shared facilities, overcrowding, and rental insecurity. Using data from Flatmates.com.au, Australia's dominant share housing platform, the paper analyses advertisements offering or seeking share housing in April and August 2020. The analysis highlights health risks, vulnerabilities and risk management strategies employed by those looking for share accommodation or new household members during the pandemic period as well as wider implications for housing and health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lifestyle destinations draw migrants in with a promise of certain place encounters. However, these place encounters are likely to change over time, particularly with increased amenity migration and associated development. In this article, I consider the lifestyle destination settlement of Maroochydore and surrounding suburbs in the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Plans to build a central business district (CBD) have been approved, with the local council aiming to build infrastructure for growing populations. However, these plans may jeopardise the imaginary of Maroochydore as a quiet sea change idyll that draws lifestyle migrants and tourists to the area. In order to understand the potential impact of a CBD to migrants' place encounters, I interviewed 34 migrants of different ages and life stages to Maroochydore and surrounds (the Maroochy area) as part of a larger study. I used narrative, visual, and virtual visitation methods to explore their prior place‐based experiences and current encounters with the area. Housing form and density were the most discussed material components related to the CBD, likely because of fears that high‐rise buildings affect an imagined coastal lifestyle. Employment and transport were the most discussed day‐to‐day practices potentially affected by the CBD. Participants thought the CBD positively affected public transport services but had little effect on future employment opportunities. The challenges discussed in this article have implications for how lifestyle communities manage and maintain positive place encounters, balancing the realities of growing development with idyllic expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Provision of public services by state governments rather than municipalities is considered an important urban governance factor preventing deeper levels of socio‐spatial inequality in Australian cities. The paper examines the spatial patterns of investment by the New South Wales state government in a wide range of services and infrastructure in metropolitan Sydney over 28 budget years from 1988/89 to 2015/16. We examined the relationship between volume and type of investment in infrastructure and services, and considered a local area's socioeconomic characteristics, distance from the central business district, and designation as a strategic site in metropolitan plans. Despite an overall redistributive approach favouring relatively disadvantaged areas, the most disadvantaged suburbs in metropolitan Sydney had significantly lower levels of investment. When funding was directed to the most disadvantaged suburbs, it was often in the form of new social housing development, reinforcing both the concentration of poverty and disadvantage in resource access. The findings suggest that this is a case of under‐investment by the state government in areas already populated by disadvantaged communities rather than a market‐driven process whereby disadvantaged households move into poorly resourced neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]