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Unit 4: Planning and Sustainable Futures

12 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

What do sustainability and liveability mean, and how are they measured?

Define sustainability and liveability and explain how each is measured and how they relate

WACE Year 12 Geography focus on sustainability and liveability. Covers the three pillars of sustainability, liveability indicators, how the two concepts overlap and tension, and real examples.

7 min read →

Why do some countries concentrate population in one dominant city, and what are the consequences?

Explain urban concentration, primate cities and the rank-size pattern, and their consequences

Urban concentration and primate cities. Covers the primate-city and rank-size patterns, the causes of concentration, and the consequences of unbalanced urban systems with real examples.

7 min read →

What causes urbanisation, and why does it occur at different rates in developed and developing countries?

Explain the causes and global patterns of urbanisation in developed and developing countries

Causes of urbanisation. Covers rural-urban migration, natural increase, push and pull factors, and the contrast between developed and developing world urbanisation with real examples.

7 min read →

How are urban and regional places planned and governed, and by whom?

Explain how urban growth and regional development are planned and the role of stakeholders

WACE Year 12 Geography focus on urban and regional planning. Covers urbanisation pressures, the planning system and stakeholders, strategies such as urban consolidation, and real WA and global examples.

7 min read →

What are the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability, and how do they interact in planning?

Explain the three dimensions of sustainability and analyse the tensions between them in planning

Three dimensions of sustainability. Covers the triple bottom line, intergenerational equity, the tensions between economy, environment and society, and how planning balances them with real examples.

7 min read →

How are spatial technologies used to investigate, plan and manage sustainable places?

Explain how GIS, remote sensing and GPS are used in planning and apply them to spatial analysis

Spatial technologies in planning. Covers GIS, remote sensing and satellite imagery, GPS, data layers and overlay analysis, and how these tools support planning decisions in the exam.

7 min read →

Why do many rural and regional places decline, and how can their futures be made more sustainable?

Analyse the causes and consequences of rural and regional decline and strategies to address it

Rural and regional decline. Covers depopulation, service withdrawal, the cycle of decline, and regional development responses with real Australian examples.

7 min read →

Why do cities sprawl outward, and what are the consequences of low-density suburban growth?

Analyse the causes and consequences of suburbanisation and urban sprawl

Suburbanisation and urban sprawl. Covers the causes of outward growth, the costs of low-density development, and consolidation responses with real Australian examples such as Perth.

7 min read →

Why are megacities concentrated in the developing world, and what challenges do they face?

Analyse the growth, characteristics and challenges of megacities in the developing world

Developing-world megacities. Covers what a megacity is, why they cluster in the developing world, informal settlements and services, and liveability challenges with real examples such as Dhaka and Lagos.

7 min read →

What strategies create more sustainable and liveable places, and how is fieldwork used to investigate them?

Evaluate planning strategies for sustainable and liveable places and the fieldwork used to investigate them

WACE Year 12 Geography focus on planning strategies and fieldwork. Covers strategies for sustainable and liveable places, the geographical inquiry process, fieldwork methods and spatial technologies, with real examples.

8 min read →

How is fieldwork planned and conducted, and how is primary data processed and evaluated?

Plan and conduct geographical fieldwork, processing and evaluating primary data

Fieldwork and the inquiry process. Covers the inquiry sequence, primary data methods such as transects and surveys, processing and presentation, and evaluating reliability and bias for the exam.

7 min read →

How can cities manage the challenges of growth to become more sustainable and liveable?

Evaluate strategies used to manage urban challenges and improve sustainability and liveability

Managing urban challenges. Covers transport, housing, informal settlement upgrading, green infrastructure and waste, comparing developed and developing-world responses with real examples.

7 min read →