Population concentration in major cities is more extreme in Australia than elsewhere

A new map graphically illustrates how Australia’s population is massively biased towards major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.

“Australia has a weirdly large share of big cities for its size.”

In fact, an analysis carried out in the year 2000 showed that Australia had a greater share of urban population living in cities of over 750,000 people than any other major country, and that it has very few small cities for a country of its size.

This trend has continued, according to the latest census data, which shows that populations in major cities are still growing nearly twice as fast as elsewhere. This is despite the many potential benefits of life in smaller, regional cities such as cheaper house prices, less congested roads and greater life satisfaction.

The transport issue is something of a conundrum for city planners, as in most major Australian cities sufficient infrastructure was not put in place before development and high land prices made it a much more difficult proposition. Decision makers are now left wondering whether investment is worthwhile now, before things get even worse, or whether internet-led developments such as remote working and internet shopping will give people all the benefits of a city life wherever they are and mean the end of the big city boom in decades to come.

Re-post ~ Clever Aussie map raises serious questions by Jason Murphy on News.com.au