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Abstract
Debate about urban sustainability is in some danger of splitting into narrow, technical disagreements in which value-laden questions about the purposes, meanings and lived reality of cities are easily lost. As one way of anchoring debate about urban futures in foundational questions, this article focuses on the history of suburban ambivalence towards modern development that has helped shape Australian cities. This history offers important insights into contemporary suburban aspirations and environmentalist critique of them. It is presented here as a contribution to efforts to constitute urban sustainability as viable democratic projects built on more than expert discourses of efficiency and risk.
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges improvements made to this article with the aid of suggestions from two anonymous reviewers and Greg Bamford, James Boyce, Matt Bradshaw, Pete Hay, Keith Jacobs, Allan Johnson, Mark Sagoff, Elaine Stratford and Peter Wilde. The views expressed and any failings of the article remain the responsibility of the author. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (Discovery-Project 0344074).
