christarrant
December 12th, 2004, 09:19 AM
more suburbs coming up, but hopefully some density and descent architecture which is better than the current crap that is served up in our cities
Bob Carr's new vision for suburbia
By Tim Dick, Darren Goodsir and Justin Norrie, SMH, December 10, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/12/10/suburb_ent-lead__200x289.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/12/09/MAP1_CONTEXT_MAP_copy_gallery__550x384.jpg
Every new suburb built in Sydney in the next three decades will be designed around villages and town centres, with the State Government reversing its recent practice of allowing subdivisions of uniform houses.
Announcing plans for nearly 80 new suburbs on Sydney's south-west and north-west fringes, the Premier, Bob Carr, yesterday pledged that every resident will be within walking distance of a shop. "It really tackles the quality of life. We've got to see that in these new-release areas families have got to have walking distance to the shops," Mr Carr said.
Under the new approach, each village centre will be surrounded by a ring of medium-density housing, comprising a mixture of low-rise units and semi-detached homes. Single houses will be permitted only beyond that ring, in an effort to create vibrant communities and avoid the recent "McMansion" suburbs, where large homes sit on small blocks far from any town centre.
The villages, which will have only a few shops, will be linked to town centres, where there will be a wider range of shops and recreational facilities, and buses to railway stations
The plan is an admission that recent developments in north-west Sydney, such as Kellyville, have not worked. Declaring the "McMansion" era over, Mr Carr said BASIX targets would require new homes to use less energy and water, discouraging large houses.
The director of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Bill Randolph, said "anything that rekindles a sense of community at the local scale is to be welcomed, but the delivery of these new villages will be breaking new ground". But he said using villages to build suburbs on city fringes would parallel efforts by the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, to redesign inner suburbs to help people feel part of a community.
Professor Randolph said the viability of the village approach may depend on whether the shops are used by residents and become profitable for their owners.
Bipartisan political support would also be needed, he said. "If it [the plan] has any chance to succeed, and much will depend on the details and careful management of the process, then it's essential that the [new government] commission is allowed to get on with its task unmolested by future political shifts. We don't want another Cumberland Plan or Kellyville."
The Opposition's planning spokeswoman, Peta Seaton, supported the village part of the plan.
The president of the NSW division of the Planning Institute of Australia, Monique Roser, endorsed the Government's move away from simple subdivisions towards more complex villages where people can get out of their cars and walk. "All the research has been done on the walkable suburbs [and they] are the most healthy," she said.
But a leading architect, Glenn Murcutt, who has described Kellyville and Albion Park as barren, soulless and "a complete disaster", said the main consideration had to be where all the new residents would work. "If people had to drive, many of the projected benefits may be reduced."
Bob Carr's new vision for suburbia
By Tim Dick, Darren Goodsir and Justin Norrie, SMH, December 10, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/12/10/suburb_ent-lead__200x289.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/12/09/MAP1_CONTEXT_MAP_copy_gallery__550x384.jpg
Every new suburb built in Sydney in the next three decades will be designed around villages and town centres, with the State Government reversing its recent practice of allowing subdivisions of uniform houses.
Announcing plans for nearly 80 new suburbs on Sydney's south-west and north-west fringes, the Premier, Bob Carr, yesterday pledged that every resident will be within walking distance of a shop. "It really tackles the quality of life. We've got to see that in these new-release areas families have got to have walking distance to the shops," Mr Carr said.
Under the new approach, each village centre will be surrounded by a ring of medium-density housing, comprising a mixture of low-rise units and semi-detached homes. Single houses will be permitted only beyond that ring, in an effort to create vibrant communities and avoid the recent "McMansion" suburbs, where large homes sit on small blocks far from any town centre.
The villages, which will have only a few shops, will be linked to town centres, where there will be a wider range of shops and recreational facilities, and buses to railway stations
The plan is an admission that recent developments in north-west Sydney, such as Kellyville, have not worked. Declaring the "McMansion" era over, Mr Carr said BASIX targets would require new homes to use less energy and water, discouraging large houses.
The director of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Bill Randolph, said "anything that rekindles a sense of community at the local scale is to be welcomed, but the delivery of these new villages will be breaking new ground". But he said using villages to build suburbs on city fringes would parallel efforts by the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, to redesign inner suburbs to help people feel part of a community.
Professor Randolph said the viability of the village approach may depend on whether the shops are used by residents and become profitable for their owners.
Bipartisan political support would also be needed, he said. "If it [the plan] has any chance to succeed, and much will depend on the details and careful management of the process, then it's essential that the [new government] commission is allowed to get on with its task unmolested by future political shifts. We don't want another Cumberland Plan or Kellyville."
The Opposition's planning spokeswoman, Peta Seaton, supported the village part of the plan.
The president of the NSW division of the Planning Institute of Australia, Monique Roser, endorsed the Government's move away from simple subdivisions towards more complex villages where people can get out of their cars and walk. "All the research has been done on the walkable suburbs [and they] are the most healthy," she said.
But a leading architect, Glenn Murcutt, who has described Kellyville and Albion Park as barren, soulless and "a complete disaster", said the main consideration had to be where all the new residents would work. "If people had to drive, many of the projected benefits may be reduced."