Rachel Gallagher – The Conversation

Musgrave Park, Brisbane. Darren England/AAP

April 19, 2026

Homeless camps are rising as affordability falls. It’s a problem Australia has solved before

In the 1940s, tent cities and ‘shanty’ settlements appeared across Australia, as families struggled to find homes. The government acted then – and needs to now.

Brisbane’s West End. Photo: Rachel Gallagher

June 30, 2023

Houses and high‑rises (and nothing in between): why land zoning hasn’t been effective for improving urban density

Rachel Gallagher, The University of Queensland and Yan Liu, The University of Queensland

Simply rezoning land for higher density is not enough to achieve the planning goal of transforming low-density and car-centric neighbourhoods into mixed-use and walkable neighbourhoods.

Shops, offices, gyms and apartments dominate Brisbane’s ‘mixed use’ zone. Rachel Gallagher

September 27, 2022

How we accidentally planned the desertion of our cities

Rachel Gallagher, The University of Queensland; Thomas Sigler, The University of Queensland, and Yan Liu, The University of Queensland

The zoning policies that planners introduced to create vibrant and resilient mixed-use neighbourhoods have had the opposite effect, as services and residential developments crowd out light industry.

Brisbane’s inner southern suburbs. Rachel Gallagher

December 9, 2020

Why city policy to ‘protect the Brisbane backyard’ is failing

Rachel Gallagher, The University of Queensland and Thomas Sigler, The University of Queensland

Brisbane City wants to preserve backyards, but they account for much of the open space lost to development under policies that also aim to increase housing density in existing urban areas.

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