Consuming the Urban Environment. A study of the factors that influence resources use in Australian cities.

The research seeks to understand the factors contributing to the contemporary pattern of escalating urban consumption in Australia. The significance of the research rests in the fact that both the 2001 and 2006 Australian State Environment Reports on Human Settlements identify levels of per capita consumption running at unsustainable household levels equivalent to 4-planet living and growing. Extensive empirical information including household surveys and focus groups will provide the basis for a range of analyses, including multi-level modelling, that will enable a unique segmentation of consumption according to individual household versus contextual factors (dwelling, urban, location, technology, social group).