Speakers and events

Marcus Spiller

Metropolitan Structure and Regional Growth

How reshaping Auckland can give NZ a competitive advantage
Marcus Spiller, Director, SGS Economics and Planning Pty Ltd
18 December 2006.

Marcus Spiller [Director] BTRP, MComm MPIA, CPP
Marcus Spiller is a Director of SGS Economics & Planning Pty Ltd in Melbourne. His consulting experience spans land economics, regional development, housing policy, infrastructure funding, policy co-ordination systems and business planning for cultural institutions.

He has taken up secondments as lecturer in urban economics at Melbourne University, adviser to the Minister for Planning and Housing in Victoria and senior executive in the Queensland Department of Housing, Local Government and Planning. He is an Adjunct Professor in Urban Management at the University of Canberra and a former National President of the Planning Institute of Australia.

He is also a Director of VicUrban, the Victorian Government's land development company. Mark has recently worked with the Ministry for the Environment in New Zealand on Catalysing Positive Urban Change in New Zealand. He also recently worked with the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment on Urban Change in Victorian Activity Centres.

SGS Economics and Planning have been assisting with the review of the Regional Growth Strategy with work covering Overseas Infrastructure Planning and the Intensification of Centres. They have been closely involved in the development of the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy, and are assisting in the implementation of Melbourne 2030 and the redevelopment of inner city Perth.

Details of Visit
Whilst in NZ, Marcus was invited to provide a presentation to interested planning and economic development staff from the ARC, Central Government and TA's.

The presentation draws on work SGS are undertaking for Capital Cities in Australia examining the national economic contribution of major cities and examining how metropolitan policies that promote compact cities can boost economic productivity.

The presentation concludes that:

cities are where most of the value adding is done, even for resource based economies
Urban structure profoundly affects:

the cost of freight
the efficient functioning of labour markets
the call on national savings required for housing and infrastructure

nations with more compact, public transport friendly cities will be better able to manage the shock of carbon pricing
poly-nucleation in cities mitigates costs of social exclusion and ‘divided communities'