Proposed changes to the NSW planning reforms must not stop the diversity of housing types required, according to the Urban Taskforce.
With a growing number of people wanting to live in more urban areas, often in apartments, it is crucial that the low density suburban models for Sydney are encouraged in the right locations, said Urban Taskforce's CEO Chris Johnson.
"What is needed to contribute to community discussions on future growth are a number of models for varying levels of density," Johnson said, pointing to a new system of grading density based on building heights that they havd designed.
They range from 100 to 1,000 people per hectare, with the extent of amenities increasing with higher density levels.
“We need a robust planning system that supports the development of new housing. This may mean having many Urban Activation Precincts at town centres and transport nodes where the code assessable system can get communities involved in setting the rules for development options and then projects get faster approvals when they comply with the rules," Johnson said.
“Sydney needs to engage in discussion about the need for a range of density types so that we can accommodate the 1.5 million extra people needing housing in the city over the next 20 years."
In recent years, Sydney has produced 15,000 new houses per year, with a recent boost to 21,000.
Johnson said that at least 32,000 new houses or apartments will be required per annum over the next 20 years.
Looked very much like whoever made the block sizes, played more than a few games of Simcity (loved that game, might go download it)
"If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear." - Gene Roddenberry
"Balloon animals are a great way to teach children that the things they love dearly, may spontaneously explode" -- Lee Camp
The NZ government has come to understand the complexities of the issue, including that the alleged benefits of growth containment are illusory anyway.
NZ cities are already not low density, and road expenditure has been diverted to public transport for too long already; and one consequence of this is congestion delays that are the worst in the world for the given city size. TomTom included NZ cities in their data base last year, the first time the cover has been blown on how ridiculous NZ’s outcomes are.
The reality is that this inefficiency is never ameliorated by the public transport mode share increase that the planners are seeking.
Then there is the “pricing out” effect. The higher house prices go, the further away from existing city cores first home buyers are forced to locate to find something they can afford. In the USA RE sector, this is called “driving to qualify” (for a mortgage). Any young couple house hunting can tell any advocate or politician that there is no way they can save on transport expenses what they can save by buying a cheaper home further away. NZ society is full of anecdotal evidence of this effect, and Members of Parliament are aware of this.
Then there are the numerous macroeconomic effects of growth containment and land price inflation. This includes reduced economic productivity, greater inequality, a higher (and less competitive) exchange rate, and higher local costs of doing business. Finance Minister Bill English has been publicly stating that “we are not going to let 20 urban planners wreck the NZ macroeconomy”, and he is absolutely right.
The NZ government has got a good grasp of all this, which has helped them to gain the courage to tackle the issue. It also helps that public opinion surveys have shown that the majority opinion is now in favour of fairer house prices for young people, which is something NZ should be proud of. The “fair go” is an iconic New Zealand attitude.
I think that winning this policy discussion comprehensively, has to include establishing that the benefits of urban growth containment are “oversold” anyway and the unintended consequences and downside costs far outweigh even the alleged but illusory benefits. People are far less ready to endorse a perceived loss of efficiency, perverse environmental indicators, and “runaway infrastructure costs” just so young people can get affordable housing. They need to be made to understand the real life options represented by “most UK cities” versus “most US cities” completely rebut these illusions.
“Most European cities” fall somewhere between those of the UK and the US. Every city in France outside Paris, is a similar density to Houston or Salt Lake City, not Manchester or Liverpool. Half the cities in the rest of Europe are comparable in density to Auckland and Toronto and LA and Sydney, not to UK cities.
The UK’s cities are comparable to Japan’s for density, far denser than almost everything in Europe. So the UK must have massive advantages against which their housing crisis must be balanced. WRONG!
I think the NZ government has come to understand all this.
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