FACTBase Bulletin 51 - The Relationship Between Transport, Spatial Form And Economic Growth. A comparison and analysis of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth

This Bulletin has been prepared as part of the Committee for Perth's Get a Move On! project. It analyses the relationship between transport, spatial form and economic growth in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth through the consolidation of information from recently published literature. It aims to identify the impacts of accessibility on the spatial structure of employment and the key strengths and weaknesses resulting from transport and urban form in each metropolis.

Key Findings

• Greater Perth is a relatively monocentric city, where majority of businesses and services are located within 15km of the city centre.
• The population densities within 5km of the Greater Perth CBD is significantly lower than the densities present within 5km of the Greater Sydney and Greater Brisbane CBDs.
• Perth’s spatial structure and quality road and rail infrastructure have allowed for greater accessibility for journey’s from the outer suburbs to the CBD by both car (45 minutes) and public transport (60 minutes).
• Greater Sydney is the only metropolitan region in Australia where there is residential, employment and economic pull away from the CBD.
• Non-CBD activity centres are more likely to generate substantial economic activity when associated with both high levels of connectivity to the CBD, or specialised nodes such as science, technology and innovation.