For more than a decade, the OECD has encouraged research and debate on the concept of learning regions, and its relevance to policy interventions intended to promote economic and social development. CRITICAL (City-Regions as Intelligent Territories: Inclusion, Competitiveness and Learning), a Europeanfunded project, has contributed to research on this and related ideas, focusing on five 'city-regions'.

The CRITICAL research team involved researchers from universities in each of Tampere, Finland; Dublin in Ireland; Dortmund in Germany; Newcastle-on-Tyne in England; and additionally, from Melbourne, Australia. The project examined the kinds of learning that occur in different types of networks, and their implications for innovation. In the European cities, case studies were conducted on eight networks in various sectors (such as small-medium enterprises, cultural development, training for socially excluded groups, community, sustainability), while four case studies were conducted in Melbourne. The case studies encompassed a mix of informal and formal networks, and explored both systematic learning initiatives and serendipitous activities (see Charles and Duke 2006 for more on the project).

In the analysis of the case studies, a number of key themes emerged, including the direct implications of learning in networks for economic development, for enhancing cosmopolitan identity, for encouraging sustainability, for enhancing social cohesion, and for governance. The last of these emerged as a key issue in the analysis of the Melbourne cities, where the formal responsibilities and boundaries associated with state and local government (and federal policy, in some cases) were inappropriate for addressing key urban issues, and development coherent policy and program interventions.

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The State of Australian Cities (SOAC) national conferences have been held biennially since 2003 to support interdisciplinary policy-related urban research.

This paper was presented at SOAC 3 held in Adelaide from 28 to 30 November 2007.

SOAC 3 was jointly hosted by the University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide and Flinders University.

Themes and Key Persons

SOAC 3 focused on the contemporary form and structure of Australian cities.
The conference proceedings were grouped into six key sub-themes, each the focus of one of more conference sessions:

City Economy - economic change and labour market outcomes of globalisation, land use pressures, changing employment locations.

Social City – including population, migration, immigration, polarisation, equity and disadvantage, housing issues, recreation.

City Environment - sustainable development, management and performance, natural resource management, limits to growth, impacts of air, water, climate, energy consumption, natural resource uses, conservation, green space.

City Structures – the emerging morphology of the city – inner suburbs, middle suburbs, the CBD, outer suburbs and the urban-rural fringe, the city region.

City Governance – including taxation, provision of urban services, public policy formation, planning, urban government, citizenship and the democratic process.

City Infrastructure – transport, mobility, accessibility, communications and IT, and other urban infrastructure provision.

Paper Review Process

Conference papers published from SOAC 3 were produced through a process of integrated peer review.

There were originally 147 abstracts proposed, 143 were invited to submit papers and 107 papers were finally published.