In this article, we explore how infrastructure enhances economic productivity and growth; government investors can generate revenue from infrastructure projects; and communities can build a strategic business case for a city deal.

Australian urban policy is in a quandary. Jobs are being attracted to the inner areas of capital cities, whereas housing is still being provided mainly at the urban fringe.

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) has played a critical role in public policy for more than 50 years. Everyone concerned with the public policy can benefit from being aware of the key features of CBA and importantly, its limitations and how it may evolve. CBA goes beyond financial analysis which considers direct monetary costs and revenues. It instead, enables policymakers to assess whether a policy initiative or project will provide a net community benefit. CBA also takes into account that the (limited) resources deployed in implementing the initiative or project have alternative productive uses.

In cities worldwide, urban renewal is transforming underutilised and degraded areas into spaces and built environments, which meet contemporary living, working, or cultural needs. Urban renewal can happen incrementally, as new investment modernises established urban areas, but is generally brought about by a dedicated public effort. Successful urban renewal can generate many benefits, but as critics have highlighted, these have not always come to fruition. A review of recent case studies suggests ten guiding principles for urban renewal decision-making. Such principles will support good outcomes from a public interest perspective.

Most of our walking is purposeful. Our daily commute begins with an exercise routine, the journey to work, or a trip to the shops. Rarely do we walk to simply observe. However, when we do, we can see our cities in a different light, even along the paths we travel regularly. What quickly becomes apparent is the amount of clutter we collect in the public realm.

This paper begins with the questions of what might be the readily defensible domain of planning regulation and whether the mandatory provision of affordable housing falls within this scope. The discussion then turns to the standard economic tests of whether Inclusionary Zoning is warranted in terms of allocative efficiency.