Australian cities have historically been
strongly rooted in natural resources-based development. The recent ‘resources boom’ has produced a
new round of urban development tied to global demand for iron ore, gas, and
coal. This has had significant implications
for urban development in Australian cities, including impacts on the
composition and livelihoods of the local labour force and the corporate
landscape more generally. The economic
base of Perth and Brisbane in particular has changed significantly in response
to this resources boom. This change has
had two important consequences, including the evolution of downstream services,
and has changed the way in which these cities exert control over distant parts
of the world. This paper investigates
both the local and the global dimensions of resources-driven urban development
in Australia by providing an analytical overview of employment structure and
the concomitant vectors of power as projected exogenously.