City flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of City
(Canberra Central, ACT) - 1.41 km², mapped from live district and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
1.41 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to City's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over City
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 3 Oct 2026
typical observed square 2 a day
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
City at a glance
How City is zoned
Buying in City? The Territory Plan zone on this page sits alongside the Crown lease, which sets what a block may actually be used for.
Across its 1.41 km², City is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay. There are 121 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Designated. The median lot measures about 557 m² across 386 parcels.
Who lives in City
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the City suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 1165, and decile 10 within the Australian Capital Territory. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of City's 4,835 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Civic, the wider ABS statistical area containing City. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than City itself.
487 in 2001 to 5,361 in 2025, up 1001%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
City data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | the ACT Territory Plan and ACT Government spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the ACT Territory Plan and ACT Government spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the ACT Territory Plan and ACT Government spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the ACT Territory Plan and ACT Government spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | the ACT Territory Plan and ACT Government spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific City address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 65% of City. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Published flood models are held over parts of City. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
See what's in the $9 report →City planning - frequently asked
Is City flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers City and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the district-wide suburb average is 8%). Published flood models are held over parts of City; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is City bushfire-prone?
Bushfire mapping covers City and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Canberra Central average is 17%).
Is City under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 65% of City, and over about 100% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 3 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 2,500 ft, with an average of 3,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 4 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in City?
The dominant planning zone in City is Designated, though the suburb also includes Core and Transport.
Does City have heritage-listed places?
City has 121 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in City?
Across 386 surveyed parcels in City, the median lot size is about 557 m². There are also 233 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does City have a train station?
There is no train station inside City itself. The suburb is served by 25 bus stops and 1 tram stop.
What is the population of City?
At the 2021 Census City had 4,835 usual residents, with a median age of 27 and an average household size of 1.7 people. The wider Civic statistical area, which contains City, went from 487 people in 2001 to 5,361 in 2025, up 1001%.
Is City an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), City scores 1165 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within the Australian Capital Territory (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in City?
Median household income in City was $2,232 a week at the 2021 Census, against $2,434 for the typical suburb in Canberra Central. Median rent was $550 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,950 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reid | 1.2 km | 0% | <1% |
| Acton | 1.3 km | 42% | 12% |
| Braddon | 1.5 km | 0% | <1% |
| Parkes | 1.7 km | 34% | 0% |
| Turner | 1.8 km | 3% | 0% |
| Ainslie | 2.4 km | <1% | 32% |
| Campbell | 2.5 km | 3% | 39% |
| Russell | 2.7 km | 0% | 25% |
| Capital Hill | 3.0 km | 0% | 0% |
| Barton | 3.0 km | 37% | 3% |