Essays On Air: Australia’s property boom and bust cycle stretches back to colonial days

In the 1980s, Australian geographer Maurice Daly exposed the urban planning system as a policy toolkit developers could capitalise on to drive subdivision and speculation – an insight that remains true even today. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Australia’s property market is slowing and many people are contemplating a possible bust. But today’s episode of Essays On Air reminds us that even since colonial days, Australia’s property market has had its ups and downs.

Essays On Air, a podcast from The Conversation, brings you the best and most beautiful writing from Australian researchers.

Today, University of Sydney urbanism researchers Alistair Sisson and Dallas Rogers narrate a recent essay they wrote for the journal Australian Geographer on boom and bust cycles in major Australian cities.

It’s titled Property speculation, global capital, urban planning and financialisation: Sydney Boom, Sydney Bust redux. It was recorded and edited by Dallas Rogers and written with Alistair Sisson and Chris Gibson for the 100th anniversary of the journal Australian Geographer.

The audio version features the voices of Roderick Chambers and Kevin Suarez, producers from the community radio station 2SER.

The authors would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, upon whose land their research takes place.

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Additional audio

Strange Dog by Blue Dot Sessions

Atlantic State of Mind (A Long Winter) by McGee

Gnossienne No3 by Trans Alp

Soundscape audio sourced from freesound.org

Hip Horns With Drums by (none given)

Dallas Rogers recently received funding from The Henry Halloran Trust, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Urban Growth NSW, Landcom, University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, and Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA).

Alistair Sisson receives funding from an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.