4. Canberra’s growing urban area


4.2 ACT trends

Land types in the ACT

The total area of the ACT is around 236,000 hectares. 5% of this is national land, which includes national institutions like Parliament House and the National Library, as well as areas around Lake Burley Griffin and central Canberra. The other 95% is managed by the ACT Government.

Nearly 75% of ACT Government land is currently zoned for conservation and greenspace (this includes public parks, gardens, sports ovals, and urban reserves). Highly modified urban land accounts for 10% of the ACT, and 15% of the ACT is classed as rural and broadacre land (non-urban land set aside for agriculture, future development, and other purposes).

This map shows the main land use types in the ACT. Nearly 75% the ACT is made up of conservation and protected land.

Data sourced from: Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate.

Urban growth

However, Canberra’s urban area is growing. Between 2006 and 2022, the ACT’s urban area increased by an estimated 9%. The map below shows the urban expansion that has taken place since 2006 in dark orange and blue. Most of this development occurred in Gungahlin, West Belconnen and the Molonglo Valley.

This map shows the urban growth of the ACT since 2006. The light orange shows the size of Canberra’s total urban area in 2006. The dark orange shows the new urban areas that were built between 2006 and 2018, and the blue shows the new urban areas that were built between 2018 and 2022.

Source: OCE and Geospatial Intelligence Pty Ltd.

Canberra’s growing population is a major factor driving the need for new housing in the ACT (see Human Settlements). The ACT had a population of around 457,000 in 2022, which is projected to grow to 696,000 by 2050. It’s estimated that we will need to build around 100,000 new dwellings by 2050 to support our growing population.

If the ACT’s historic urban growth trends continue unchanged, our urban footprint would need to increase by more than 50% by 2050. This would have devastating impacts on our environment.

We need to rethink our approach to urban development if we want Canberra to be a compact and efficient city into the future.