South Australia

• Liveability defines the degree to which a place is suitable or good for living in and includes both urban and rural environments. It interacts with and depends on our natural environment that provides ecosystem services such as water, land, food, air, shelter, health and wellbeing. The state of our urban and rural environment influences our health in many ways. Over a third of respondents from the SOER 2023 YourSAy survey rated the liveability of their environment with respect to supporting health and wellbeing as one of their highest environmental priorities.
• Our population is growing. We need to respond to key issues such as climate change, water management, green space, biodiversity, transport, waste management, energy use, noise and odour to ensure that impacts from population growth are managed. By integrating sustainable practices into our lifestyles, industries and policies, we can work towards a more sustainable future for our growing population.
• Reusing and recycling treated wastewater and stormwater, and optimising our water use, including adopting a more holistic approach to integrated water management, will help reduce the pressure on our public water supplies, and drainage and sewer network, all of which are ageing and built for lower population density.
• Coordination and further implementation of best practice for the management of stormwater runoff, including water sensitive urban design, is still required to manage and improve the quality of stormwater that flows into surface waters and the marine environment. Better management of stormwater may also have other added benefits such as providing water for greening and helping cool our urban centres. Improved governance over stormwater management is suggested to provide a more holistic approach to leading and implementing strategic and best practice stormwater management.
• South Australia has experienced major bushfires, flooding, heatwaves and extreme storms, all of which are likely to increase in severity, duration and frequency in the future with climate change. These events will affect the way we live, impact our plants and animals, place pressure on our water supply and food production and can result in significant clean-up of waste. Building resilience in government, businesses and our communities is an important issue to address both now and in the future.
• Protection and restoration of green space with mixed structure including tree canopy is vital. It contributes to social, physical and mental wellbeing for our communities, improves air quality, absorbs noise, reduces heat and energy use, and supports biodiversity. Better protection of our trees, native vegetation and areas of sown endemic vegetation is required, as is the establishment and maintenance of multi-storey vegetation, water features and green spaces, particularly for new developments and urban infill on both private and public land. Better incorporation of knowledge from Aboriginal peoples is also recommended when planning for the maintenance and restoration of green space.
• South Australia is very car-dependent, with around 85% of people using cars as their primary mode of transport. The Committee for Adelaide’s Benchmarking Adelaide Report indicated that Adelaide lags behind similar cities when it comes to providing efficient public transport services and cycling infrastructure.
• South Australia is leading the way in resource recovery and recycling, and has the highest resource recovery rate of any state or territory in Australia. South Australia was also the first state in Australia to introduce container deposit and plastic waste avoidance legislation. However, the recovery of waste is still below expectations.
• COVID-19 impacted the way we lived. Bicycle sales increased dramatically, visitor numbers to our national parks rose by 77% in 2020 compared with the same time the previous year, air quality improved due to people staying at home, more people appreciated parks and gardens in their local area and more Australians were moving to regional areas. However, the pandemic also generated a significant waste stream of masks, testing kits, single-use gowns, gloves, wipes and other single-use items.
• Differences between Greater Adelaide and regional communities, including the economies of scale and distances between regional townships and cities, need to be considered during the development of any policies, strategies or actions plans.

Australia

• The growth of our population influences the landscape of our urban areas including resource use, urban heat, pollution and waste. These impacts can extend to the natural environment and surrounding urban areas.
• Climate change is impacting urban and rural areas, including increases in temperature, bushfires, drought and intense rain events. This, in combination with other stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other aspects that may affect our liveability, for example, water security and cost of living pressures, can affect our health and wellbeing. Over the past 18 months, our urban environments have experienced several 1-in-100-year shocks and stresses that will have significant impacts for future generations.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed population growth (through reduced international migration), encouraged flexible working arrangements and increased the uptake of walking and cycling, which improved air quality.
• Liveability within our urban environments depends on the size and location of the area, and is influenced by access to services, tree canopy cover and commuting times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a shift of people away from apartment living to larger homes in more suburban or regional communities. However, the majority of population growth has occurred in our major cities.
• The three levels of government (local, state and federal) need to effectively collaborate and provide a holistic approach to sustain and regenerate our cities to be smarter, greener, cleaner and more equitable.
• It is recognised that the expansion of urbanisation disproportionally impacts Indigenous people by affecting their cultural connections. We need to engage with Indigenous people when designing and planning for urban development.
• The Australia SOER 2021 Urban Environment and Inland Waters sections include information on water use.