Stakeholder perceptions of the impact of the declaration of an urban development area in Moranbah: how sustainable will the outcomes be?

Abstract

Moranbah is a rural mining town experiencing severe housing stress. In an effort to expedite the delivery of affordable housing, the Queensland State Government declared 1218 hectares of Moranbah, Queensland as an Urban Development Area in July 2010. Urban Development Areas declared elsewhere have not been met with enthusiasm by all, with accusations of a creep towards state dominance in planning. The nature of power and politics in modern day society needs to be considered to understand these accusations. Governance has replaced government and dictates community participation, but community consultation does not always produce sustainable planning outcomes. Concrete outcomes need to be identified to evaluate the success of community participation programs. This paper addresses the apparent gap in town planning literature as to whether or not State intervention in rural resource towns, such as Moranbah, would lead to sustainable planning outcomes. It provides not only evidence from the literature, but also stakeholder data to argue the case against indiscriminate State intervention.