CONNECTED SERVICES – NOT FACTORY FLOORS – THE FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIA’S SMALL CITIES
Analysis into the opportunities of Australia’s small cities by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), combined with LinkedIn data, has revealed a much clearer picture of new areas of growth for regional cities.
Findings from the RAI and LinkedIn partnership mirror the trends seen in Australia’s biggest cities and internationally, exposing more insight into Australia’s changing economy.
Australia’s major urbanisation trend since the 1970’s has in fact been the rise of regional cities. Since 1971, regional city populations have grown at a rate of 8 per cent, four times the rate of growth for our major cities during the same period.
An in-depth explanation about the networks and skills driving the economy in some of these key small cities will be presented to a group of 80 regional mayors, councillors, MP’s and key decision makers at Parliament House in Canberra today.
Assistant Minister for Cities, The Hon. Angus Taylor, will be speaking at the event along with a number of experts, researchers and city leaders.
“If we want to build great small cities in Australia we have to focus on nurturing the new economy and helping people deliver the new skills this economy needs to grow,” said Jack Archer CEO of the Regional Australia Institute.
“Its time to let go of those creaking factories and embrace the future as specialised global service hubs,” he concluded.
Valuable area-specific results and advice will help our city leaders to better understand and seize the opportunity for growth at their fingertips.
For example, research shows the Sunshine Coast is one of Australia’s most outward focused and globally connected small cities but its internal professional networks are weaker than other cities.
Whereas Newcastle, in contrast, is deeply connected within the city but much less so outside and needs to build new links to the world.
The demand for new economy skills such as IT and online marketing is also on the rise in small cities such as Wollongong, which many still see as hubs for old industry decline.
For more information on the Regional Australia Institute’s Great Small Cities research, visit http://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/home/our-current-work/great-small-cities/.
