Abstract: Since the 1970s Australia has been dominated by urban living, hence the scant attention paid to urban policy and practice by governments is remarkable. Issues of poverty and unemployment are considered seemingly intractable problems and, while a more integrated approach to reducing urban social disadvantage is regularly recommended, it is rarely achieved. Through a case study of the challenges facing urban regeneration of the older suburbs of West-Central Sydney my PhD thesis explored the appropriateness of the ‘social inclusion’ concept in guiding housing, employment and transport policy actions in this disadvantaged sub-region. The empirical data drew largely from semistructured interviews with key regional stakeholders, supplemented with census statistics, information from government and development industry reports and my own long experience as an architect/urban planner advocating for more socially responsible outcomes in Western Sydney. Containing Australia’s highest number of new migrants, large proportions of West-Central’s households have low employment and education participation rates and are highly car dependent. Yet NSW government targets for a massive population increase will further stress the area’s limited resources. Social polarisation is increasing, the economy is struggling to undergo transformation following de-industrialisation and housing has become unaffordable. Ideally, individuals should be able to participate in the relevant institutions of society without having to confront the manifold consequences of poverty and inequality. The plurality of urban life requires combining urban theory with analysis of quantitative and qualitative methods, drawing on multi-disciplinary studies to describe socio-economic inequality across space, with Governance arrangements embracing a social inclusion agenda coupled with new skills in sustainable urban management.