This book examines the diverse and evolving character of contemporary industrial land. Maligned and misunderstood for decades, urban industrial land still houses the essential services that keep cities running, supports diverse and specialized employment, and incubates innovative enterprises. Yet these critical places have undergone dramatic changes in the twenty-first century that remain largely overlooked in planning practice and understudied by urban scholars. This book goes inside their inner workings to uncover the forces driving their transformation.

Drawing on extensive research in Melbourne, Australia, and comparative insights from other cities, Carl Grodach reveals the varied, often invisible productive activities that industrial lands support, and the planning conflicts and values that shape their future. In doing so, the book challenges planners, governments, and urban scholars to reimagine industrial land as a vital building block for more resilient and equitable cities, and as a critical lens on urban development. 

Carl Grodach is Foundation Professor of Urban Planning and Design at Monash University, Australia. His research bridges economic development and land use planning, with an emphasis on urban manufacturing and industrial lands, cultural industries, and circular economies.