Geographies of Land, Home and Place
Geographies of Land, Home and Place brings together our expertise in understanding the places and land systems on which we live, how we are housed and the social geographies of inclusion and belonging.
This research is concerned with the collection, digitisation and use of housing information in Australia.
Project dates: 2019–2023
The collection, digitisation and use of housing information in Australia has increased exponentially in the past decade.
This brings significant implications for land and housing law and governance. The move from ‘analogue’ to digital, then to big data and Ai not only speeds up existing social, economic and political relations but fuels new and different dynamics (Poovey 1998 p.1-28; Kitchin 2014 p.19-20) just as innovation like the printing press or telephone did in the past.
As such, emerging digital and informational geographies and politics demand renewed critical attention (Kitchin and Lauriault 2014; Graham et al 2015; Dalton et al 2016).
As in many other cities, the proliferation of these technologies is occurring in a context of housing crisis where land prices are escalating and producing significant housing unaffordability.
The confluence of these factors highlights the importance of examining the urban governance implications of the emergence of what is often termed ‘Prop-Tech’ (Shaw 2018) – new technological applications in real estate. As well as how these manifest in specific locations.
Greater understanding of PropTech is vital to sharpen the legal and policy response to the emergent urban governance aspects of digitisation.
This research is concerned with the proliferation of these technologies in Melbourne, Australia.
Key people
- Ani Landau-Ward – Lecturer
- Libby Porter – Director, Centre for Urban Research
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