Since 1985 · Melbourne

Know what a place can become.

Urban economics, property research and planning for developers, investors and government.

Explore our work ↗
Key clients include Victoria State Government · Mirvac · Lendlease · ColesLook a little closer Places. Capital. People.

The next conversation / A book in draft

AI Cities + Renewable Energy Regions

Brian Haratsis + Declan Haratsis

How could technology change where we live and work?

An exploration of artificial intelligence, renewable energy and the possibilities ahead for our cities and regions.

Explore the book (opens in a new tab)
The draft cover of AI Cities + Renewable Energy Regions, by Brian Haratsis + Declan Haratsis
Draft cover · publication details to be confirmed

Three ideas from the draft

  1. 01 · People & placeWhen services come to us.

    AI Cities explores how remote work and digital services could alter the relationship between households and city centres.

  2. 02 · Capital & regionsA new geography of opportunity.

    The draft considers how renewable energy, digital infrastructure and changing industries could influence where activity takes place.

  3. 03 · Adaptive thinkingPlanning for possibilities.

    An exploratory argument for planning that can respond to change and preserve useful options for the future.

01 / How we think
01 / Our approach

Collaborative.

Illustrative dashboards from eight disciplines, from spreadsheets to bar, line and pie charts, gathered around one master table.

Bring the right perspectives together.

Different disciplines, connected early enough to shape the thinking.

In practice · Geelong region, VICWaurn Ponds 6uses studiedOverseeing a master plan for a mix of uses, working closely with council and the State.

At the tableTraffic and civil engineers · Architects · Urban designers · Heritage and biodiversity specialists · Planners · City of Greater Geelong · Department of Transport & Planning · Invest Victoria

See it in practice

02 / Thinking in practice

We answer the big questions.

Six of the 20 projects Macroplan publishes, from a masterplanned community in Queensland to every pharmacy in Australia.

All 20 projects on macroplan.com.au (opens in a new tab)
Architectural rendering of the Whiterock Estate masterplanned communityRipley Valley, QLD

01Residential · Planning · Intrapac Property

Whiterock Estate

What would it take to open up land with no road and no services?

  • Town planning
  • Project management
  • Economic services

2,300residential lots

A $15M catalyst loan for a new 2 km entrance road brought delivery forward 10–15 years.

Read the project: Whiterock Estate
The QV precinct in Melbourne’s CBD at duskMelbourne CBD, VIC

02Retail · Mixed use · Grocon

QV

Can one city block stack retail, offices and homes?

  • Retail curation
  • Economic research

≈600apartments above three levels of retail

Brian Haratsis negotiated the basement location with Woolworths.

Read the project: QV
Hands marking routes on printed mapsAustralia-wide

03Health · Spatial analysis · Pharmacy Guild of Australia

Pharmacy Guild of Australia

What share of Australians can readily reach a pharmacy?

  • GIS analysis
  • Data analytics

5,800community pharmacies assessed

Benchmarked against GPs, supermarkets, banks and post offices, across more than 368,000 mesh blocks.

Read the project: Pharmacy Guild of Australia
Published image from Macroplan’s Hunter Region mapping projectHunter Region, NSW

04Government · Decarbonisation · Department of Regional NSW

Hunter Region mapping

Where are the region’s businesses, and what could decarbonisation mean for them?

  • GIS database
  • Interactive web mapping

Businesses, zoning, investment, employment land and major projects in one online map.

Read the project: Hunter Region mapping
Rendering of a linear plaza in Leppington Town CentreSouth-west Sydney, NSW

05Residential · Feasibility · Aland

Leppington Town Centre

Which development scenarios stay viable under Council’s contributions schemes?

  • Financial feasibility
  • DCF modelling

2large mixed-use developments tested

Part of Aland’s ongoing negotiations with Council.

Read the project: Leppington Town Centre
Aerial view of Darwin’s city and waterfrontGreater Darwin, NT

06Government · Retail · Northern Territory Government

Greater Darwin activity centres

How much retail floorspace will a growing region need, and where?

  • Activity centre audit
  • Floorspace projections

Confirmed the scale and hierarchy of centres for the Palmerston growth corridor.

Read the project: Greater Darwin activity centres

03 / Connected expertise

Your question.
Our collective thinking.

We help our clients harness and interpret change. Choose a sector to see the question it starts with, and the services that answer it.

01 / Retail · Places people choose.

What does a changing market mean for your place?

Understanding demand, changing habits and the role a centre can play in its community.

  • Understand the market and the people it serves.
  • Explore the role, offer and mix of uses.
  • Connect the commercial proposition with a planning pathway.
Explore retail

IllustrativeA high street, the trade area it draws on, and the people coming in.

Six services as published

  • Urban Economics & Property ResearchPopulation, demographic, residential and retail forecasts, and economic impact assessments.
  • Town PlanningTimely approvals, rezonings and planning advice, including expert evidence.
  • Retail Analysis & InsightsTrade areas, expenditure forecasts, gap, needs and impact assessments.
  • Financial Modelling & FeasibilityCash-flow and EstateMaster models, business cases and transaction support.
  • Data Analytics & GIS MappingCatchment, density and travel-time mapping, and the MapCloud online map.
  • Decarbonisation Tools & AssessmentsGreen Star Communities assessments and regional precinct grant applications.

Who we work with

Developers, landowners, financiers, all three levels of government, infrastructure and planning agencies, universities, and health, childcare and aged care providers.

04 / The people behind the thinking

A national team of specialists.

“We are economists, analysts, planners and problem solvers. We consider challenges through an alternative lens.”

Macroplan

More than 40 years of thinking about places.

Since 1985 · Founded in North Melbourne
  1. 1985

    Brian Haratsis leaves the Victorian State Government to start his own property economics and planning consultancy, in North Melbourne.

    Source
  2. Early 2000s

    Macroplan becomes a national consultancy, with offices in Australia’s major capital cities.

    Source
  3. Today

    One national team of economists, analysts, planners and problem solvers.

    Source
Brian Haratsis, Chief Executive Officer

Brian Haratsis

Chief Executive Officer

Founded Macroplan in 1985. Author of five books on Australia’s cities, and a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia.

Glenn Lamont, Chief Operating Officer & General Manager VIC

Glenn Lamont

Chief Operating Officer & General Manager VIC

An urban economist with 28 years’ experience, including senior roles at the ABS, the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance and KPMG.

Nigel Stapledon, Chief Economist

Nigel Stapledon

Chief Economist

Close to 50 years as an economist, including senior roles at the Australian Treasury and as Westpac’s Chief Economist.

  • Jim TsirimiagosActing General Manager NSWSenior Management
  • Estella ZhangManager Urban Economics & Property ResearchEngagement Managers
  • Ian ChurchillManager Retail VICEngagement Managers
  • Yvette BurtonManager Economics & Retail QLDEngagement Managers
  • Declan HaratsisManager Strategic Projects & ResearchEngagement Managers
  • Richard LeManager Data ResearchEngagement Managers
  • Lainey HaratsisManager Strategic ProjectsEngagement Managers
  • Damian TanSenior Consultant, Economics & Property ResearchConsultants & Analysts
  • Felicity KelsonSenior AnalystConsultants & Analysts
  • Medeea BrendaAnalystConsultants & Analysts
  • Brianna CooperExecutive Assistant Chairman & CEOBusiness Services
  • Mohd Hafiz SairiGIS ManagerBusiness Services
  • Rachel MulderAccounts ReceivableBusiness Services
  • George AlexiouIT ManagerBusiness Services

Map data: City of Melbourne, Vicmap (State of Victoria), CC BY 4.0

Our office

Meet the team

05 / Ideas

What are we thinking?

Talks and reviews by Brian Haratsis, as Macroplan publishes them, and the books he wrote before AI Cities.

Recent thinking

All recent thinking Macroplan’s Ideas page (opens in a new tab)

Earlier books by Brian Haratsis

Where a book is on sale, its spine links to the seller.

As listed on his profile (opens in a new tab)

Have a big question? Speak to the experts at Macroplan.

A place to start

Your place.
Your question.

A place. A question. A possibility. Bring your perspective.

Call(03) 9600 0500WriteSend an enquiry

Melbourne · Level 12, 360 Elizabeth Street

Start a conversation

Let’s talk about
your next project.

A question, a place, a complex challenge. Begin with a conversation with the Macroplan team.

Contact Macroplan ↗
Call (03) 9600 0500 ↗Write an email ↗