Transforming the built environment through construction

Abstract

Achieving sustainable urban development for a projected global population of 9.2 billion in 2050, 70 per cent of whom will be living in urban settings (United Nations 2008), represents one of the principal challenges of the twenty-first century. Australia, as one of the world's most urbanized societies, led this global transition 125 years ago. Its cities are classed among the world's most liveable. Liveability, however, does not equate to sustainability. Indeed the current trajectory of Australia's urban development has been classed as unsustainable (Newton 2006, 2007a).