An internationally renowned town planner, who this week visited Brisbane for the first time in 35 years, has praised the city's growth but warned of future challenges as critical infrastructure became obsolete.
Michael Batty, a Professor of Planning at University College London, said his last tip to Brisbane was in 1982 and, when he returned this month, one of his first impressions was the city's impressive connectivity.
![A visiting town planning expert says he was surprised about Brisbane's evolution since his last visit 35 years ago.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170716154909im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/p/6/y/k/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxbivf.png/1500036721679.jpg)
"I have a lot of experience in subways and so on, but the guided bus network where they built all the infrastructure that pertains to the buses themselves and the stations, that seems to be pretty good," he said.
"I've got to admit, it's quite impressive.
![Brisbane's busways came under particular praise.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170716154909im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/w/3/3/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxbivf.png/1500036721679.jpg)
"Normally a city has to be 2 or 3 million before you can even think about a subway system.
"Brisbane to some extent has not quite reached that limit, so it's very interesting the developments of the busway system, which is sort of like a subway system but is more flexible and more cost effective really in some sense, it works just as well."
Professor Batty also praised the city's road infrastructure, the preservation of heritage buildings and the development of South Bank.
"One of the problems in many many western and eastern cities is the development of a strong freeway system," he said.
![Associate Professor Yan Liu and Professor Michael Batty.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170716154909im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/b/j/1/z/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gxbivf.png/1500036721679.jpg)
"Because it's a sort of hilly place and the rivers are in valleys...I think that you've dealt well with the freeways, they kind of meld in much better."
Professor Batty said his reason for returning to Brisbane was to offer international experience towards planning for Brisbane's future.
University of Queensland associate professor Yan Liu received a discovery grant from the Australian Research Council to fund the research into the changing face of Queensland's capital.
Professor Batty said he predicted in the coming years Brisbane would change significantly as the use of buildings changed, environmental considerations changed and obsolete infrastructure was outgrown.
"I do think our cities will become increasingly disconnected to how we behave as individuals," he said.
"It will be increasingly difficult to tie the physical form of our cities to how we interact as a society, because so much will take place in the virtual world.
"For centuries buildings have outlasted the people occupying them, which can be problematic."
Professor Batty said he and Dr Liu had been building simulation models that could forecast what might happen as Brisbane grows and regenerates.
The simulator is designed to show, for example, what effect building a new road could have on the city as a whole.
Dr Liu said the research would look at both Brisbane and Ningbo, a coastal city of a similar population in China.
"I expect there will be some societal differences between the way Australian and Chinese residents behave, but the biggest differences will be in the actions of the developers and planners," she said.
Professor Batty is a recipient of the prestigious Vautrin Lud Prize, a Commander of the British Empire and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
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