Brisbane Growth

Source: Courier Mail 

Brisbane has begun overtaking its southern rivals but innovation will be vital to housing and moving its growing population, a "smart" cities conference has heard. 

The Brisvegas economy was set to grow up to 40 per cent in the coming decade and by a whopping 70 per cent in the next 20 years according to Peter Hyland, director of prominent urban consultancy Urbis. 

The population would increase by 1.2m in the coming decade and the Olympics was only 4 per cent of the massive infrastructure spend headed Queensland's way in the next two decades. 

Brisbane also had the country's highest growth in working-age people, at 7.7 per cent annually, a key driver of the future economy. 

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, who gave the keynote address to Wednesday's Smart Cities and Energy Efficiency conference at City Hall, said Brisbane had even been approached about its Metro system by the Brazilian city of Curitiba, considered the world leader in bus transport. 

"We have a strong university sector here.

"The 10-year forecast is that our health sector is going to grow by 36 per cent, property construction by 41 per cent, transport and logistics by 43 per cent, advanced manufacturing by 29 per cent and professional services by 50 per cent. 

"Those economic sectors are going to lead growth in terms of demand for jobs and demand for materials."

Brisbane therefore had to get smarter and better at building houses, new office space and higher density, given the city's lack of greenfield development sites. 

Last year's inaugural State of the City Report, due to be updated in the coming weeks, predicted a "$275b future" for the economy by 2041.