The Sponge City Hypothesis: does it hold water?

Abstract

The notion of sponge cities has attracted considerable attention in the media, in the policy arena, and in academia. It rests on the notion that some regional centres 'soak up' population and business from a 'pool' of surrounding areas, thereby appearing as 'oases' of growth in areas of population decline. Specifically, the notion of sponge cities rests on two premises and a deduction: some large towns and provincial cities are growing; surroundings areas are losing population; therefore, the growth results from the relocation of people from outlying farms and smaller towns to the nearby growing centres. Despite its popularity, the notion has largely gone untested. Investigation of migration trends in Dubbo and Tamworth (New South Wales, Australia), frequently cited as sponge cities, over the period 1986Á2001 shows that the reality is much more complex than the simple metaphor suggests. The contribution made by the 'pool' to the growth of the regional 'sponges' is relatively minor. This calls into question the value of the notion of a sponge city*and the use of metaphors in social science more generally.

Population Growth and Change: Implications for Australia's Cities and Regions

“…the Hunter Valley and Illawarra) but also contributed significantly to migration flows to the coastal belt and high amenity inland regions (Argent et al ., 2007; Argent et al ., 2011). The populations of major regional centres have also been augmented by ex‐urban migrants, with in‐migrants from the hinterlands generally comprising smaller shares, in spite of their popular characterisation as ‘sponge cities’ (Alexander and Mercer, 2007; Argent et al ., 2008). The interconnectivity of settlement and demographic shifts is further reinforced by the increasing complexity of well‐established patterns whereby people live in one type of settlement and work in another.…”

Rural change and tourism in remote regions: Developments and Indigenous endeavour in Westland, Te Tai o Poutini, Aotearoa New Zealand

“…However, some commentators claim that the communities of small towns themselves can turn their economies around and that, coupled with strategic planning, can promote successful development (Van Niekerk & Marais, ). Furthermore, several argue that the resilient communities are the ones with a more diversified economy that have purposively captured growth, and these are the towns that can survive cycles of “boom” and “bust” (Argent, Rolley, & Walmsley, ; Collits, ; McManus et al, ).…”

Labor Networks Connecting Peripheral Economies to the National Innovation System

“…Doloreux an economic perspective, the uneven patterns of development appear to be worsening with observations that the two-speed dichotomy between the haves and have nots (Stimpson 2001) is shifting to a three-speed one producing the fast moving, slow moving and the rest (Corden 2012). Research has debated and ascribed observations of Australia's regional urban geography to various ideological and theoretical constructs such as post-productivism landscapes, amenity or resource-led development, the sponge cities hypothesis, and sea/tree change movements (Argent et al 2008;Connell and McManus 2011;Luck et al 2010;Smailes 2002;Tonts et al 2013). This development unevenness is compounded by an increasingly long-distance commuting labor force (LDC) or, as colloquially known, FIFO (fly in/fly out), BIBO (bus in/bus out) and DIDO (drive in/drive out).…”

“…The LDC option enables highly-paid labor (primarily highly specialized) to live far from work locations in comparatively amenity-rich regional towns (see Argent et al 2009) reflecting in part the vast remoteness and low infrastructure provision across much of regional Australia (Argent et al 2008;Martinus 2016). As such, the use of LDC hinders LGAs in the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory were excluded as outliers as they did not significantly contribute to OECD patent statistics used to measure innovative For example, labor mobility as embodied by the various independent commuting variables of the model can be viewed as a product of the well-worn paths between places of residence and work associated with generations of interchange based on some initial first connection (cf.…”