This paper sets out to better understand the particular nature of urbanisation on the Gold Coast in South East Queensland and of urbanism in general. In developing this understanding it draws on the conception of adolescence as a stage in the physiological and psychosocial development of children into adults. The characteristics of adolescence including rapid growth; identity confusion; developing sexuality; growing analytical capacity and egocentrism are used in the analysis of Gold Coast urbanisation. As a young Australian city the Gold Coast displays many of these adolescent characteristics in the way it has grown and is now managed and led. The paper concludes by proposing a more ambitious and comparative research agenda for analysing similar cities in Europe, North and Central America and extending our understanding of more general processes of urbanisation.