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Metropolitan planning in the Greater Hobart region : considerations, options and a preferred organisational model

thesis
posted on 2023-05-26, 20:53 authored by Mackey, Damian
The greater Hobart metropolitan area is home to almost 200,000 people, constituting the largest urban centre and capital city of the island State of Tasmania, Australia. It is centred on the Derwent River estuary with the built area taking a linear form, extending along both sides of the river, hemmed in by hills and mountains on either side. At present there is no single body responsible for monitoring, planning, directing and controlling growth and development over the entire metropolitan area. The key city-forming and city-serving functions of government are generally divided between Tasmania's State Government and five local Councils at the Local Government level. There are no substantial mechanisms for facilitating cooperation and coordination between and across levels, and no mechanisms whatsoever for undertaking metro-wide strategic planning. Over the last half century several attempts have been made to establish a regional planning body; all have failed. The Hobart metropolitan area lacks an understanding of its place in the greater scheme of things, particularly in the new world economy, and subsequently has no clear vision of its future. At a more mundane - but not unrelated - level there are no metro-wide policies or strategies for the direction of growth and the location of facilities, employment, housing, industrial areas, commercial areas and so on. The provision of infrastructure follows development pressures, rather than leading the way under a coordinated and pre-planned strategy towards some generally agreed vision. There are no mechanisms capable of recognising and dealing with metropolitan issues, whilst decisions made by local Councils and the various State agencies often have effects with metropolitan consequences. This paper attempts to examine the need for metropolitan planning, understand the reasons for the failure of previous attempts, analyse the options suitable in the Hobart context and, finally, to recommend an appropriate model. It is based on the premise that, before metropolitan planning can take place, a robust mechanism with real powers must first be devised and implemented.

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Copyright 1996 the Author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s). Thesis (M.T.P.)--University of Tasmania, 1997. Includes bibliographical references

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