Peter Trainor, a PhD student in Politics at Flinders passed away in late 2010 after a long illness. At the time of his passing, Peter was working towards completing his thesis on issues in urban politics and governance in the northern region of Adelaide. He had made significant progress with his research, a small part of which is published here. This paper gives a flavour of the depth and intellectual commitment that Peter brought to his work. We are pleased to publish the paper in partial recognition of Peter’s valuable contribution to intellectual life at Flinders both as a student and teacher.