Energy and Water Security and Consumption - Essay Example

?Running head: 30 Year Plan of the Greater Adelaide 30 Year Plan of the Greater Adelaide Insert Insert Insert 26 October 2011 Abstract The Greater Adelaide 30-year plan consists of seven administrative areas of the government inclusive of the Murray Bridge region. In addition, the Greater Adelaide consists of vibrant and diverse urban centre network that covers approximately nine thousand square kilometers. The greater Adelaide is projected to experience moderate growth rates for the coming 30 years and an increase in population projected at five hundred and sixty thousand people. The 30-year plan for greater Adelaide is made up of targets, policies, and governance directions that will aid in the general forecast period development of the greater Adelaide and the surrounding environment. Its key function includes the provision of dynamic target expressions of the region and particular advice with regards to lands that should be allocated as employment lands. 30 Year Plan of the Greater Adelaide Introduction The 30-year plan of Greater Adelaide provides directions and policies of land use, which will be incorporated into structure plans, including those of local Development. It provides population growth, employment and housing targets that are specific to each region. Environmental protection is also among the main functions of the 30-year plan for Greater Adelaide by ensuring sufficient plans for protection of the environment. Priorities of the use of land for employment and housing alongside infrastructure and long-term transport plans are set aside. Importantly, the well-developed transport network of the Greater Adelaide owes its success to the towns planning where the bus and train services are balanced and operated by contracting transit companies for effectiveness (Cervero, 1998, p 363). Plans for essential services such as water, health, electricity, and education are also set aside while activities of labor markets, industries, and lands are planned for economic growth. The 30-year plan is generally inclusive of the state competitiveness and productive capacity with regards to the mineral resources and primary productions of the Greater Adelaide. Implementation of the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide In general terms, the 30 year plan of the greater Adelaide is a blueprint for solving environmental and economic issues that are being faced by the region. Public opinions and views are being put place through the comprehensive Plan where the community views are critical for development. The 30 year Plan is meant to enhance competitiveness of South Australia through the efficient planning systems while ensuring that the region remains livable among its dwellers. The Plan addresses the problems of climate change, economic growth, population growth, technological advancement, ageing population and most important of all is the protection of the environment in its natural state. The plan is characterized by affordable strong housing and creation of employment for a vibrant economy and resilient urbanization. Through the 30 year plan, the region ensures housing and employment creation is achieved while preserving their heritage and maintaining a bigger portion of the metropolitan Adelaide in its previous state. The 30-year plan is meant for long-term benefits, as it combines all the essential elements to be planned to achieve sustainable development and environmental protection of the Greater Adelaide. Environmental protection of the Greater Adelaide bases its efforts on the South Australian Department for environment and heritage, which seeks to examine environmental issues through the program of free community forum. The community forum is proved useful to environmental protection as depicted by “the construction of a green roof and living wall display” (Hopkins and Goodwin, 2011, p.251). This 30 year plan of the greater Adelaide is underpinned with the largest spending in infrastructure in the history of South Australia. The plan involves additional investment in the next four years for modernization and upgrading of schools, transport networks and hospitals and schools in the greater Adelaide. The plans for developments of the transit corridor consist of green spaces, walking, and cycling networks. The open spaces network will link public facilities, significant vegetation areas, parks, and areas of coastal foreshore areas. The 30-year plan also includes Metropolitan Open Space System, which covers coastal foreshores, Hills Face Zon, City Adelaide Park Lands, O’Halloran Hill, and Gawler urban buffers (Amati, 2008, P.125; Beatley and Newman, 2009, p.194). More so the plan has put into consideration the global economic recovery through strategic position for the country’s economic growth. Infrastructural plans will ensure that South Australians are provide with an opportunity if living close to public transport network for easy accessibility of social amenities such as medical, educational and transport services. The plan fully supports creation of employment and protection of export industries such as mining, agriculture and the country’s defense which are characterized as the backbone of a booming South Australian economy. The 30-year plan includes focusing on housing planning where high density housing is to be done at strategic locations, where the public transport interchanges and the major transit corridor are easily accessible. This new housing development will put into consideration a variety of housing features such as villas, medium-density housing, designed apartment housing and traditional styles housing. The higher density houses will focus on established areas such as locations of major transit corridor, shopping centers, and bus interchanges. The plan also supports higher levels of residential housing in the Adelaide City. Throughout the 30-year plan, the new developments are focused on shifting to transport oriented development and metropolitan region revitalized areas (Freestone and Westerman, 1993, p. 195). The Plan is machinery for the Government agencies and private service providers of infrastructure development. The 30-year plan will be used by government agencies and councils to guide the region in making development decisions locally. Environmental protection agencies in Australia have put into consideration contamination of ground water into their plans through accountability of federal regulatory bodies, the state, and landowners. In addition, public attitudes and changing demographics in Australia have placed a lot of emphasize on ground water contamination as an important aspect of environmental protection. Although these contaminations of ground water have occurred in isolated areas, the arsenic affects the whole environment, as it circulates in the atmosphere water and soil (Naidu, Smith, Owens and Bhattacharya, 2006, p. 627). The agency given the responsibility of implementing the 30-year plan is the Department of Planning and Local Government. Their responsibility is to establish a government committee made up of chief executives who will aid in trouble shooting infrastructural issues in conjunction with the Local Government. Committees have also been incorporated in the plan to ensure that unnecessary delays are done away with, while consultations with private corporations and the local government are given the necessary support and directions with regards to policies and infrastructure. Environmental Protection The 30-year plan with regards to environmental protection involves protection and improvement of the environment resource and its biodiversity. Successful environmental protection to achieve healthy biodiversity and ecology helps the Greater Adelaide in general to come up with a conducive working and living environment for all people. Health biodiversity and ecology helps the Greater Adelaide in achieving competitive advantage over other regions. In addition, the Greater Adelaide seeks to expand its working population while ensuring environmental protection is also upheld through containing urbanization and effectively planning for efficient housing. Moreover, significance of environmental protection depends on the huge size of land protected and land used for primary production. The 30-year plan also seeks to come up with a network of open spaces and greenways through definition of new growth areas, northern suburbs, and northern gawler using green buffers. In addition, the 30-year plan places emphasis on open spaces as an essential component in well developed, accessible, and healthy neighborhoods, cities and surrounding environments. A network of open spaces and greenways has been included in the new growth environments where land for redevelopment and design is set aside in the metropolitan area (Hall, 2010, p. 102). Environmental protection plan also involves significantly reducing consumption rates of water and energy in dwellings that are coming up. Exportation of green energy to other countries and regions is included by the South Australia national leadership support while challenging applicability of worlds sustainable urban development through developing suburbs and housing environments that are interconnected. The leadership has also facilitated prioritization of conservation elements that pre-existed, such as the preservation of the hill face zone. Noise pollution, being one of the factors considered in planning for environmental protection policies, has seen officers in South Australia Adelaide issue defects notice to traffic vehicles that cause noise pollution. Through the defects notice issued the police officers enables the vehicles to be cleared by undergoing a full inspection with regards to noise pollution. The Environmental protection agency has also undertaken to protect the environment from noise pollution in conjunction with the police through issue of test certificates to inspected vehicles (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1991, p 163). According to United Nations Human Settlements Programme (2010, p. 46), South Australia adopted capital intensive waste management processes such as the container deposit legislation and zero waste South Australia, which has helped them achieve high levels of environmental protection. Generally, waste collection process in Adelaide is modernized, with high standards rates. The urban environment is dependent on government funding for innovation and development with regards to functions of the cities, transport demand, and use of Land. Technological advancement in the cities influence the shape of development, costs of infrastructural development, and urban environmental policies (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 1966, p.164) Conclusion Basically, the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide focuses on major issues of the country such as biodiversity, provision of water, energy and water security and consumption. The objectives of the 30 year plan include maintenance and improvement of living standards, generation of competitive advantage and sustainability of climate change. The greater Adelaide has anticipated population growth and thus plans to channel the growth into renewable energy and transit oriented developments where wastes and water usage is recycled. The objective of coming up with housing facilities that are commuter friendly will be supported by advancement of telecommunications and broadband networks. Reference List Amati, M., 2008. Urban Green Belts in the twenty-first century. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Beatley, T. and Newman, P., 2009. Green Urbanism down under: Learning from sustainable communities in Australia. Washington DC: Island Press. Cervero, R., 1998. The Transit Metropolis: A Global Enquiry. Washington DC: Island Press. Freestone, R. and Westerman, H., 1993. Spirited Cities: Urban Planning, traffic and Environmental Management in the nineties: Essay for Hans Westerman. Leichhardt: Federation Press. Hall, T., 2010. The Life and Death of the Australian Backyard. Collingwood: Csiro Publishing. Hopkins, G., 2011. Christine Goodwin. Living Architecture: Green Roof and Walls. Collingwood: Csiro Publishing. Naidu, R., Smith, E., Owens, G. and Bhattacharya, P., 2006. Managing Arsenic in the Environment: From soil Human Health. Collingwood: Csiro Publishing. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 1996. Innovative Policies for Sustainable Urban Development: The Ecological City. Paris: OECD Publishing. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 1991. The State of the Environment. Paris: OECD Publishing. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. 2010. Solid waste management in the world’s cities: Water and Sanitation in the worlds Cities 2010. Washington DC: UN-HABITAT. Read More