Wollondilly Shire in the context of "Peri-urbanisation"

Macarthur is a region in the Outer South-West part of the Greater Sydney area, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region includes the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, the Camden Council and the Wollondilly Shire. It covers an area of 3,067 square kilometres and has a population of close to 310,000 residents.

The region is bounded at the north by Glenfield; at the south by Yanderra; at the east by the town of Appin; and at the west by the hamlet Nattai.

Greater Sydney is the most populous metropolitan area in Australia and Oceania. Located in the state of New South Wales, it encompasses the state capital Sydney, including the City of Sydney local government area (LGA), as well as the surrounding built-up areas. Greater Sydney covers an area stretching from the Hawkesbury and the Northern Beaches in the north, to the Blue Mountains in the west and to Wollondilly, Campbelltown and Sutherland in the south.

Under the New South Wales Greater Cities Commission (formerly the Greater Sydney Commission), the Greater Sydney Region, along with Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong, will constitute a Sandstone Mega-region that will make-up 70% of the New South Wales population and 25% of the national population.

Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 11 local government areas: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly. It includes Western Sydney, which has a number of different definitions, although the one consistently used is the region composed of ten local government authorities, most of which are members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC). The NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney calls the region "Greater Western Sydney".

Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity occurred in the Sydney metropolitan area from around 30,000 years ago. The Darug people lived in the area that was greater western Sydney before European settlement regarded the region as rich in food from the river and forests. Parramatta was founded in 1788, the same year as Sydney, making it the second oldest city in Australia. Opened in 1811, Parramatta Road, which navigates into the heart of greater western Sydney, is one of Sydney's oldest roads and Australia's first highway between two cities – Sydney central business district (CBD) and Parramatta, which is now the sixth largest business district in Australia. Rapid population increase after World War II saw the settlement of many ex-service men and migrants in the greater west, making it one of the most urbanised regions in the country and an area of growing national importance.

South Western Sydney is a region of the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the south-west of the larger Sydney metropolitan area, and is part of the predominantly working class area of Greater Western Sydney. In the early 2010s, urban development has occurred in places like Camden and Campbelltown. Areas such as Leppington, spanning Liverpool, Camden and Campbelltown councils, had higher number of families. In 2004, Leppington was identified as part of Sydney's South West Growth Centre. Edmondson Park, being part of the South West Growth Centre, is also expected to see significant growth and development over the next 10 years.

There are a number of different boundaries and definitions for Sydney's South-West with majority of definitions including the suburbs within City of Liverpool as well as surrounding areas. This can also include the Macarthur region which is often referred to as 'Outer South-West', particularly referring to the local government area of City of Campbelltown as well as Camden Council and occasionally also the Wollondilly Shire. City of Canterbury-Bankstown is also often included in definitions of Sydney's South-West and usually referenced as being 'Inner South-West'. In the broadest sense, South-Western Sydney can also include Fairfield City Council as it is south of Prospect Reservoir even though geographically the council is west of Sydney CBD and not south-west.

Yanderra is a small suburb and locality that is located in the Macarthur Region of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Yanderra is geographically the southernmost point of the Greater Sydney area that is located on the Hume Highway. The suburb is part of the Wollondilly Shire local government area and is located 93 kilometres (58 mi) southwest of the Sydney CBD.

Appin is a town on the south-west fringe of Sydney in the Macarthur Region in Tharawal country near its boundary with Gandangara country, New South Wales, Australia in Wollondilly Shire. It is situated about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south of Campbelltown and 35 kilometres (22 mi) northwest of Wollongong.

Nattai is a small village in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. The area around Burragorang and Nattai was home to numerous collieries from the 1920s to the 1990s, such as the Nattai-Bulli, Oakleigh, Wollondlly, Nattai North and Valley collieries. It is estimated 72 million tonnes of coal was mined in the Burragorang-Nattai region (NSW Mines Department records).

ZEN Energy is proposing to turn degraded coal industry land at Nattai on the escarpment above the Burragorang Lake into a 1,000 megawatts (1GW) Western Sydney Pumped Hydro project capable of supplying up to eight continuous hours of ‘firming’ energy, essential to stabilise the state’s electricity grid ( https://www.zenenergy.com.au/knowledge-base/industry-news/turning-western-sydneys-coal-mining-past-into-a-clean-energy-future ).