You can't stop progress

The release of census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics is an exciting time for data nerds. It’s time to evaluate the impact of change on our environment. Moama (where I live), on the NSW side of the Murray River now has a population of 6930. This is growth of almost 19% in the past 5 years and is expected to grow even further.?

Growth of one fifth of your population has implications. It is not just the amount of accommodation that needs to increase but also the infrastructure to support larger numbers. The census has also revealed an increase in the number of people occupying a house which means even more houses are required. Public transport requirements inevitably increase (not just because of population size, but also because of environmental concerns, as well as changes in the expectations of individuals).

In the words of Bill Heslop from Muriel’s Wedding “You can’t stop progress”.

Having a post graduate degree in information management, this type of data excites me. Census time is when we can accrue information to establish benchmarks, which can be used as measurements for all sorts of purposes.

The Romans were very good at information gathering, but because of differences in the determinations of city limits and who they chose to include, there are some inconsistencies in the census findings during the Roman Empire. For example, the 70BC census of Rome that was prior to some of the civil wars but had other conquests had the total Roman Empire at a greater number (approximately 55 million) than the census conducted by Claudius in 70AD. At the height of the Roman Empire in 2nd Century AD, Rome itself was made up of over 1 million people and would shrink remarkably after the fall of the west. No city would surpass that number until the great urban population booms of the industrial age, many centuries later. https://www.unrv.com/ (As an aside, I have a strong interest in New Testament History, and enjoy the fact that there is so much reliable data of this period, even aside from the Biblical accounts, because of the sheer numbers of congregated people in cities that required reliable record keeping).

The next city to reach the one million mark was London. In 1801, when the first reliable modern census was taken, greater London recorded 1,096,784 souls: rising to a little over 1.4 million by 1815.?https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Population-history-of-london.jsp

The pandemic has accelerated many changes in our society. There has been a decrease in the use of cash in many instances, with some places refusing to handle money. There has been an increase in the reliance of smartphones and a change in our expectations regarding service, spatial requirements and further changes in our interactions with others in general. As we have all experienced new pressures and stresses, we need to constantly remind ourselves that others have gone through the same and be respectful of others. The way we ‘do life’ has changed. Cultural shifts are therefore inevitable, in both large and small cities and towns.

Progress can be a good thing, but things will never be the same again. Moama has been named 64th on a list of 644 medium-sized areas in NSW, in terms of population growth and Echuca (just across the Murray River) has been listed at 172 out of 524 medium-sized areas in Victoria in terms of population growth. The data also predicts a spike in almost 2000 extra households by 2041. This potentially means an increase in educational requirements and more jobs. This has been the same story for many regional towns, which is very good news, but there are implications.

We need to learn how to embrace change, hang on to those good things that make our locality special (look for a future post on the importance of maintaining heritage) and accept that some things will not be the same, for the sake of future generations. Let's take the time to look at the data, the real facts and not just the nostalgic memories, and truly make things better.