This project aims to investigate the operation of the higher density multi-unit residential development sector in Australia’s largest city. The project intends to draw on theoretical approaches to understanding the political economy of urban processes and innovative fine-grain analytical techniques. Expected outcomes include a novel analysis of the developers behind the higher density transformation of urban Australia and their relationship to the land use planning system that facilitates this process via value uplift. The knowledge generated is intended to benefit planning policy makers and inform wider public debates on contemporary urban change by elucidating the rationale behind the key actors’ currently driving housing supply.