Australasian cities have ridden a long wave of economic growth driven by the export of resources, international education, tourism, and immigration. Far from being equally shared, this growth has instead produced widening disparities within and between cities, suburbs, and regions.

Dominant modes of decision-making regarding city form and function are not easily disrupted. Assumptions about the cultures of city life, the motives of powerful actors in shaping cities and city futures are embedded in socio-political discourses and may seem largely immutable. However, cities do change. Papers in this conference track discuss how our expectations of...

Our cities need big thinking, new conceptual and methodological practices, as well as research and advocacy to place just infrastructure transitions at the centre of urban and regional planning. To that end, this track includes research outputs that address these complex challenges.

Papers in this track bring together academics, tertiary students, policymakers and practitioners from diverse disciplines to explore how our cities are impacting health behaviours, risk factors and outcomes, and how cities can be more resilient and equitable in the decades ahead.

SOAC 2021 and these conference keynote papers focused on urban and regional transitions in the COVID-recovery era to report and appraise the social, spatial, and economic consequences for equity, inclusion and justice.