This study examines the drivers of peri-urban agricultural land loss in Greater Western Sydney (GWS), one of the fastest growing peri-urban regions in Australia, and on the particular contribution of government planning policy and resultant tensions between state and local government decision making.

This research aims to identify how the eight councils have addressed climate risk and resilience, and to determine the barrier and enablers to planning, implementing, and evaluating related strategies across the Western Sydney region.

This paper reports on research conducted just ahead of the 2020 pandemic, that surveyed 350 built-environment practitioners in NSW, and in a diversity of fields, about the barriers and opportunities (personal, workplace, regulatory and attitudinal) they experience when seeking to deliver health-supportive places.