Towns & Cities

Shanti
4 days ago
2 min read

Towns and cities are built environments, but they remain part of wider ecosystems. Water, heat, soil, vegetation, wildlife, transport and waste move across urban boundaries and connect settlements with their surrounding region.

High aerial view of an Australian city beside a broad winding river, with leafy residential neighbourhoods, mature street trees, bridges, dense riverbank vegetation, urban buildings and forested hills in the distance under soft natural light. — An Australian riverside city where homes, mature trees, urban infrastructure and dense habitat corridors connect with surrounding bushland, showing how built and natural environments can exist within the same landscape.

What This Index Covers

This index covers recognised towns, cities, urban centres, localities and selected metropolitan areas. It records the definition and source used because population thresholds and boundaries vary. Resources connect local climate, waterways, habitat, planning, gardens, hazards, community projects and relevant authorities.

Browse Resources

Browse the resource areas currently organised under this index. Links can be added as reviewed articles and records are published.

Settlement directory - Browse towns, cities, urban centres and localities with their parent region and country.

Urban definitions - State whether a record uses legal, statistical, planning or common-use boundaries.

Urban ecosystems - Explore waterways, soils, remnant vegetation, street trees, gardens and wildlife habitat.

Climate and hazards - Connect heat, flooding, fire, storms and water security to current local sources.

Planning and services - Find the relevant local authority without treating planning information as legal advice.

Community action - Connect gardens, restoration, citizen science and stewardship projects.

Read First

Before using these resources for identification, growing, harvesting, conservation, community work or other practical decisions, read:

What Counts as a Town or City?

Urban Boundaries Are Not Ecological Boundaries

How to Check Local Planning, Hazards and Permissions

Coverage and Evidence

Definitions of town, city, urban centre and metropolitan area vary. The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not use one simple definition of a town; its statistical structures serve defined analytical purposes. Urban conditions can also vary street by street. Confirm the boundary, date, authority and local evidence before comparing places or making decisions about planting, hazards, land use or access.

The Earth Resource Map and Learn library are being built progressively. Indexed means that a topic or resource can be connected to its identity, source and broad context; it does not mean that every claim has been verified or localised. Evidence is assessed claim by claim. Where information is missing, uncertain, restricted or location-dependent, that limitation should remain visible.

Last Reviewed

20 August 2026

This date records review of this index-page copy and its resource structure. Individual articles, records, laws, project details and evidence may have different publication and review dates.