Urban development growth strategies and societal well-being

Abstract

Cities have advanced in terms of economic and social status over the last five decades, improving the living conditions of hundreds of millions of people. However, population growth and urban expansion have put pressure on social and environmental conditions. This study examines the relationship between urban development and societal well-being over time. We analyze 500 pages from published urban plans of Greater Sydney between 1968 and 2018 and code the text into causal maps. The findings show that policymakers adopted a dominant urban development strategy over the last fifty years to pursue economic and public infrastructure growth. This growth strategy resulted in unintended, negative consequences for social and environmental dimensions of societal well-being. Although policymakers eventually recognized the seriousness of these social and environmental consequences, they never attempted to fundamentally change the dominant growth strategy. Instead, policymakers sought to address the consequences (i.e., symptoms) by responding to each issue piecemeal.