Good things happen when cities grow. Public services like libraries, hospitals and schools flourish; not for profits organisations emerge to build social and human capital, businesses form to serve the needs of groups in the community, and the need for infrastructure – public and private – acts as a reliable pipeline for professionals, financial services, constructors, suppliers and trades.

But failure to grow can be a sign of underlying problems. Services can be scale back. Businesses can fail. Infrastructure can decay. Skilled people can move away.

Adelaide’s growing. But not as we once did. And like many cities, we’re losing those we need most.

In this paper, we explore some ideas for managing good growth, and harnessing those who see themselves as South Australians but might be outside the border for now.