About
About the Australian Zoning Atlas
The Australian Zoning Atlas is the first ever nation-wide map that classifies and compares residential planning controls across Australia.
It combines cadastre data with zoning ordinance from across state and local governments to ascertain the restrictiveness of the controls that determine what can and cannot be built on residential land across Australia.
The initial public release of the Atlas (v1.3.0) focuses on identifying “highly restricted” land across Australia’s capital cities, highlighting the sheer volume of land restricted under current land use controls.
Future releases will extend this analysis further, and enhance the underlying data to generate more comprehensive outputs.
Using the data
The Australian Zoning Atlas’s underlying dataset is comprehensive, and can be used for substantial geospatial analysis for both residential and commercial land. If you are interested in utilising the Atlas’s underlying data for research or commercial purposes, you should reach out to contact@yimby.melbourne.
Extending the data
The nature of the project is that its dataset can be extended. If you would like to discuss future directions for Zoning Atlas research, including the addition of more cities to the Atlas, you should reach out to contact@yimby.melbourne.
Credits
The Australian Zoning Atlas is a project of the Australasian Housing and Land Economics Initiative and YIMBY Melbourne. It was built by Jonathan O’Brien, Ethan Gilbert, and Paul Spasojevic.
The Atlas was refined based on the feedback of dozens of planning, economics, and policy professionals. The team extends our thanks to all who gave us their time, including professionals from Urbis, Astrolabe, Grattan Institute, and Urban Intelligence, among many others.
Support the Australian Zoning Atlas
The Australian Zoning Atlas is an expensive tool to build and maintain. To support or sponsor the Atlas, you can make a one-time donation to the YIMBY Melbourne, or reach out to discuss further supporting the project at lead@yimby.melbourne.
Explainers
How the numbers are made
Methodology
How land is classified into restriction buckets, how the analysis runs, and how reforms are calculated.
Data
Every dataset behind the site—its source, vintage, and coverage, jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
Assumptions
Every modelling constant—dwelling yields, calibration, absorption rates, scope—all in one auditable file.