Locational disadvantage and the spatial distribution of government expenditure on urban infrastructure and services in metropolitan Sydney (1988-2015)

Bibliographic Data

ID5695877
AuthorsIlan Wiesel (0000-0002-7244-1775, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author), Fanqi Liu (0000-0003-0552-7242, The University of Melbourne), Chris Buckle (0000-0001-6163-7679, UNSW Sydney), Caitlin Buckle
Year2018
Volume56
Issue3
Pages285-297
Publication date2018-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1745-5863 • E-ISSN: 1745-5871
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1745-5871.12245
OpenAlexW2747467431
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited28

Provision of public services by state governments rather than municipalities is considered an important urban governance factor preventing deeper levels of socio-spatial inequality in Australian cities. The paper examines the spatial patterns of investment by the New South Wales state government in a wide range of services and infrastructure in metropolitan Sydney over 28 budget years from 1988/89 to 2015/16. We examined the relationship between volume and type of investment in infrastructure and services, and considered a local area's socioeconomic characteristics, distance from the central business district, and designation as a strategic site in metropolitan plans. Despite an overall redistributive approach favouring relatively disadvantaged areas, the most disadvantaged suburbs in metropolitan Sydney had significantly lower levels of investment. When funding was directed to the most disadvantaged suburbs, it was often in the form of new social housing development, reinforcing both the concentration of poverty and disadvantage in resource access. The findings suggest that this is a case of under-investment by the state government in areas already populated by disadvantaged communities rather than a market-driven process whereby disadvantaged households move into poorly resourced neighbourhoods

Business · Disadvantage · Disadvantaged · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Local government · Metropolitan area · Political science · Poverty · Public infrastructure · Housing Market and Economics · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Urban and Rural Development Challenges

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