Brisbane: The 200 Kilometre City or Just another Port Town

摘要

Brisbane used to be seen as a 'normal' city, a hub and spoke CBD with suburbs. But it is now fashionable to see it as a strip, some 200 kilometres or more along the coast, and west no more than about 50 kilometres. The new shape was unlocked by car ownership and a terrible lack of beaches within the old radius. The towns along the beach strips of the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, beyond the old suburban limits of the Brisbane City Council, grew into new suburbs, ultimately encroaching upon the gaps between them and the original Brisbane. Suddenly, commentators discovered a monstrous conurbation, from Noosa to the Tweed. But this does not make South East Queensland a linear city. Brisbane remains a river city with a dominant centre. There are a few minor alternative centres located in far distant parts of the sprawl that go far beyond the boundaries of still the largest geographic metropolitan local government, the Brisbane City Council (BCC). Because employment remains within the original city, concentrated in and around Brisbane's CBD, the cost of accessibility has become a significant issue. It means that serious commuting remains central and will remain central until alternative centres challenge the dominance of Brisbane's CBD and its commercial and industrial sites.