When amalgamations were all the rage, the small, 14-square-kilometre City of Unley, population 40,000, decided to stick with its heritage and identity and go it alone. For a council with an unusually intense set of issues to deal with, it appears to have been a wise decision. Across Australia, inner-city councils like the City of Unley are facing unprecedented pressures as they adjust to a rapidly changing world. As the city centres have gained in size and density, their gravitational pull has strained the amenities and resources of the inner suburbs around them. Unley: Inner-city life details what municipalities like Unley, home now to more than 38,000 people, have learned over 150 years and how they have responded. It celebrates 150 years of Unley Council’s history from its incorporation in 1871, and delves back to the pre-colonisation era, and the early years of South Australia from 1836.
