As Queensland grapples with the ongoing housing crisis, two burgeoning cities an hour south of Brisbane continue to steadily grow.
A decade ago, the Anna Bligh state government declared two "priority development areas", or PDAs, south of Logan City, at Flagstone and Yarrabilba, earmarking them as the future home of 190,000 people within 40 years.
The move put state body Economic Development Queensland in charge of fast-tracking planning approvals on two massive greenfield sites, rather than the local council.
Ten years on, Greater Flagstone — the largest PDA at 7,188 hectares — is already home to about 8,000 of an expected 138,000 residents, a population nearly as big as Cairns.
Flagstone City's central development is being constructed by developers Peet, overseen by Troy Thompson.
"It's probably one of the largest greenfield development sites in Australia," Mr Thompson said.
"There are 50,000 homes to be developed in this area over the next 30 years, and it's a $6.7 billion development, so it's a huge development.
"There's not many of these in Australia, where you've got a huge greenfield site, and you're turning it into a brand new regional city."
Fifteen minutes to the east of Flagstone, Yarrabilba is being developed by Lendlease, and is now home to more than 11,000 of its expected 50,000 residents – roughly the size of Gladstone.
Lendlease head of Queensland communities Ian Murray said the PDA process fast-tracked thousands of affordable new lots at the right time.
"The government issuing the PDAs I think was critical to … being able to put some supply to the market," he said.
In Flagstone, Mr Thompson said 20 families a month were now moving in, attracted by affordable housing and a strong community focus.
Heavy trucks and tradies' utes fill narrow streets dotted by the skeletons of new homes, while half-finished roads end abruptly at wire fences and raw new earthworks as new lots are carved out of hillsides.
A new house in either PDA costs upward of $450,000 – far below Brisbane's median house price of nearly a million.
"During [COVID], a lot of people from down south moved up into south-east Queensland, from the southern states," Mr Thompson said.
"Between 2020 and 2022, we had about 1,500 new residents moving to Flagstone."
Infrastructure challenges
The decision to house thousands of residents on greenfield sites 40 kilometres from Logan City, with existing infrastructure only designed for smaller regional communities, hasn't been without problems.
Streets that were once quiet country lanes are gridlocked morning and night as parents drop off school children, and commuters begin the long drive north, south or west.
In last year's floods, Flagstone's single entry road was flooded for more than a day, cutting off residents.
Money has been set aside to build new service roads in and out, and eventually Flagstone will have a train line as well.
But the slow growth of planned infrastructure such as major shopping hubs, medical and entertainment precincts is frustrating for some residents.
Yarrabilba resident Jo Connolly and her family moved in when the suburb was still in its infancy, and has watched it grow rapidly over the years.
"We wanted to be part of a tight-knit community of families," Ms Connolly said.
"We wanted somewhere that was safe for our kids to play on the road, safe for our kids to walk around, and somewhere we could see ourselves for quite a long period of time.
"We were priced out of homes in Shailer Park, which is where we were renting, and Yarrabilba gave us the opportunity to have a lovely house on a good-sized section, and to get the house that we wanted. We didn't have to compromise."
Since those early days of dirt roads, the Connollys have seen Yarrabilba's population boom, and infrastructure struggle to keep up.
"When we first moved out here, you hardly saw another car. Now [it's] car, car, car," Ms Connolly said.
"There's no gaps. Even entry and exit into Yarrabilba, we've still only got one entry and exit, and I feel like we're at capacity.
"I can sit at the roundabout for ages trying to get out because there's so much traffic coming straight through."
Slower growth
Even with the rapid expansion, Logan City Council deputy mayor Jon Raven said both PDAs were developing slower than the council expected.
"Logan's natural development fronts in Park Ridge, Logan Reserve, Chambers Flat – they are some of the fastest-growing suburbs in this country," he said.
"For the past three months, they've been in the top 10. Yarrabilba and Flagstone should be in the top 10, but aren't.
"What we're seeing is that people are making a choice to move to where the infrastructure already exists, rather than moving further out.
"And that's something that will continue to happen until the infrastructure catches up."
Just outside central Flagstone, developers Orchard Property Group are midway through a 640-home development, Pebble Creek.
Managing director Brent Hailey said even with the benefit of fast-tracked approvals, the slow rollout of key infrastructure was an ongoing challenge, with the responsibility shared between the state, council and developers.
Orchard Group spent $12 million on installing sewage and water mains before they could sell a single lot at Pebble Creek, a risky financial outlay upfront.
"I've been in this industry for 42 years, and I've always maintained that infrastructure should lead development, not the other way around," Mr Hailey said.
"And it's never been able to be achieved in Queensland.
"We got so far behind in a period of time. I can't put my finger on exactly when that was, but it's probably more than 20 years ago, and then we've been playing catch up ever since."
School pressures
At both PDAs, public transport is scant, and for older children and teenagers, there aren't many opportunities for entertainment or part-time jobs around school.
Schools and childcare services are also under pressure.
In Yarrabilba, two state schools and two Catholic schools are at or near capacity, and a second public primary school is opening this year.
In Flagstone, family day care operator Danielle Van Veen says her business is at capacity.
"We definitely need more childcare. I'm getting phone calls almost daily requesting care and we're fully booked," she said.
Like the Connollys, Ms Van Veen said her family had chosen Flagstone for the opportunity to live within a tight-knit community of young families, enjoying semi-rural landscapes and comfortable new homes.
And even with the infrastructure challenges, she said it was a welcoming and supportive community.
Future planning
Lessons learned at Flagstone and Yarrabilba will likely be applied to one of south-east Queensland's few remaining large greenfield sites, north of Brisbane in Moreton Bay.
Expected to house 70,000 people by 2040, Caboolture West was selected to be a pilot for a new approach to planning.
A state planning department spokesperson said Caboolture West was designated a Priority Growth Area.
In contrast to the PDA approach, at Caboolture West the state is leading the infrastructure planning and land use, but Moreton Bay Regional Council will approve or reject development applications.
"A declared Priority Growth Area will enable a new approach to land use structure planning and infrastructure planning in these areas to ensure they are well planned and supported by infrastructure as they roll out," the spokesperson said.
It's a key difference to the PDA system, where local councils have fewer rights to veto or approve development, and infrastructure has lagged behind.
It's a change Mr Hailey says is needed, as Queensland continues grappling with where to house so many residents in a short space of time.
"There's a lot of conversations to be had around the delivery of the infrastructure, and that will always be the bigger issue," he said.
