Digital Transformation of Urban Planning in Australia: Influencing Factors and Key Challenges

TL;DR

This study explores the factors influencing and challenges faced in digitally transforming urban planning in Australia, highlighting organizational and external barriers and the lack of a digital maturity model.

Contribution

It applies the TOE framework and case studies to identify key challenges and gaps in digital transformation within Australian urban planning.

Findings

Organizational and external environmental factors are main challenges.

Absence of a digital maturity model in the industry.

Insights provide implications for research and practice.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, several governments in developing and developed countries have started their journey toward digital transformation. However, the pace and maturity of digital technologies and strategies are different between public services. Current literature indicates that research on the digital transformation of urban planning is still developing. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand the influencing factors and key challenges for the digital transformation of urban planning in Australia. The study adopts the inter-organisational theory and Planning Support Science (PSScience) under the Technological, Organisational, and External Environmental (TOE) framework. It involves a multiple case study, administered semi-structured interviews with thirteen IT and urban planning experts across Victoria and New South Wales governments and private industries. The study findings indicate that the main challenges for digital transformation of the Australian urban planning system are related to organisational and external environmental factors. Furthermore, a digital maturity model is absent in the Australian urban planning industry. This study offers important implications to research and practice related to digital transformation in urban planning.