City of Ballarat CEO Justine Linley rejects the potential "social disaster" scenario outlined by Urban Researcher Professor Michael Buxton.
She said Ballarat planners were focused on making the city's growth areas liveable.
"We're very keen to make sure we have very liveable places, very accessible places, green places that are environmentally sustainable.
"A key to this would be to ensure growth areas remained within 10 minutes of essential services.
Ms Linley said in-fill development was an area where the council could expand, suggesting the CBD had the potential to house around 1,700 more residents than are currently there.
However, she added the City of Ballarat does need to be in partnership with other tiers of government, particularly for big infrastructure investments.
