Digital cities: an Australian perspective

Australia is experiencing several key (related) transitions: societal transition to an information-based economy; and settlement transition to telematic/digital cities. The transitions are underpinned by radically different forms of economic and social organisation, systems of production and distribution etc. Earlier urban eras---centralised or in-house telematics---had a relatively fixed spatial locus which was simply injected into existing workplaces, meeting places or residences. The present era is one where all telematic devices are personal and mobile, not constrained in any significant way by issues of location. Telematic cities are those where electronic interaction has been substituted for physical interaction to the maximum extent possible across the spectrum of urban activities.