Planning and Urban Development: Sydney Growth Centers - Report Example

Name: Professor: Course: Date of Submission: Planning and Urban Development SYDNEY GROWTH CENTERS As the disguised realities of climate change and threats posed by increasing human population draw governments’ attention globally, Australia is keen to embrace technological simulations for purpose of sustainable urban development. The increasing adoption of more economical, modern, and technologically enhanced urban development strategies need to be appreciated for the emerging trend towards new urban policy instruments. The new policies are meant to improve planning, and development assessment tools that seek the reduction of environmental risks associated with urban development. The Sydney Growth Centers have been instrumental toward the establishment of the urban development design for the Sydney basin aimed at accommodating and serving the needs of the future generations. The North West and South West growth centers are critical in delivering the government’s metropolitan strategic development expectations including provision of houses to the growing urban populations and promotion of sustainability within the Sydney basin. The land release plan announced by the government aims at dealing with the expected growth and changes including demographic changes in Sydney over the next 30 years (The Growth Centers Commission (GCC). The centers’ new urban development plan aims at accommodating estimated 100,000 new houses in the South West, and approximately 60,000 houses in the North West within the stipulated time span (GCC). The plan also covers an outline of the regional infrastructure capable of meeting industrial growth needs and the expected increase in the number of dwellings. This assay entails critical analysis of the Sydney Growth Center’s new urban release program through the precinct planning process. The precinct planning concepts establish detailed physical guidelines for the land, buildings, open space, landscape, and infrastructural improvements for each discrete area within the Sydney area. The centers have well outlined development design guidelines for each precinct within Sydney. THE STRUCTURE PLAN The structural plans for different precincts accommodate different aspects of urban development including creation of industrial precincts, recreational centers, different urban centers and new accommodation facilities in the residential areas. The structural plans are designed in a manner capable of supporting economic development to addressing the growing needs of the urban population including jobs and decent dwelling areas. The issue of environmental sustainability occupies a center stage in the new urban development plan in which the structural plan takes into consideration the protection of natural vegetation among other aspects of the natural environment within the different precincts (Urban Taskforce Australia 6). The structural plans address environmental sustainability in different ways including creation of parks to conserve natural vegetation, reduction in energy consumption, and sustainable water use. The plans entail strategies to reduce personal car travels and encouragement of other energy friendly means of movement such as cycling, and reduction of travel demands through creation of local job opportunities. Other plans include establishment of water recycling and treatment facilities to promote sustainable use of the water resources. The structure plans additionally address the problems of housing experienced before projects such as building of large houses on small blocks of land and lack of diversity in housing to accommodate age diversity in the urban population (Maher 8). The South West growth center precinct structural plan comprises of proposed urban areas, mixed use town center, medium density residential areas, industrial development areas, civic use lands and street designs with walk radius. It is estimated that Sydney’s population will surpass about six million people by 2036 translating to an additional 770,000 houses (GCC). The housing development aspect has been put under the Greenfield development program aimed at addressing the forecast demand in the housing sector. The Greenfield development program is crucial for achievement of the housing development under the new urban development plan through the commitment to deliver about 30 percent of the future housing demand in Sydney. DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS The precinct planning process on Sydney takes into consideration several development parameters including population density, number of houses, allowance for pedestrian, and cyclist sections in the development of infrastructure, areas covered by natural vegetation and parks within the city. The land occupied by different development projects is given in terms of lots. For example in the South West precinct, the Edmondson Park occupies 7,500 lots, Oran Park, 7,000 lots, and the Turner road 4,000 lots (GCC). The current Oran Park precinct status entails 7,500 new dwellings, about 23,000 new residents, 50, 000 square meter town center and two neighborhood centers. Turner Road on the other hand comprises of about 11,000 new residents, 4,000 dwellings, 266 hectares of residential areas and a mixture of densities and a golf course related area. Other development parameters include the number of employment opportunities, hectares of employment areas, hectares of open areas, walking and cycling routes, and commercial areas. All precincts have specific allocation of development parameters capable of establishing whether the intended goals in the development have been attained (NSW Government Metropolitan Strategy). The development process focuses on population, housing and job parameters to propose the necessary measures towards attaining the expected development levels within the Sydney region. Infrastructure development needs are accessed on the basis of the precincts demands in terms of population density, industrial areas, job opportunities and number of commercial centers. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The two Sydney growth centers have emphasized on the issues of sustainable development through various environment friendly plans within thin the master plan. Almost every precinct plan has an aspect of environmental planning where the focus is on the conservation of natural vegetation within the urban development areas (State of New South Wales). Adherence to sustainable development in the new urban development plans is also determined by the number of land hectares left with natural vegetation. This ensures that the development process does not exclude environmental impact assessment as a key part in every modern development. The South West growth center focuses significantly on the sustainability issue in the urban development precincts plan. This is particularly evinced through allocation, creation and protection of parks among other conservation measures. Some of the major environmental issues covered in almost every precinct plan include conservation of some natural vegetation within the urban development areas, the quality of air and water. The focus on natural vegetation conservation in Sydney’s growth centers is attributed to the fact that some areas such as the South West of Sydney have most of the vegetation species classified under the Threatened Species Conservation Act of 1995(GCC). In this case, developers are compelled to establish ways of conserving such species at whatever cost during the urban development process. Areas identified as having fragmented vegetation or patches have been recommended for consolidation and conservation as habitat areas. With these centers lying within the water catchment areas, the precincts plans have had to take into consideration ways of maintaining the quality of water throughout the new urban development. The waterways in the South West and North West of Sydney are significantly stressed by the increased pollution predisposition associated with the numerous sewage treatment plants, and the high urban population densities. The precincts developers recognize that the new urban development is likely to increase the amount of pollutants. The water resources in these areas face a great threat from the pollutants hence the need for the planners to establish ways of taming the potential pollution effects. Concerns in the quality of air within the Sydney growth centers have been addressed through plans to reduce fuel energy consumption and the number of personal care travels. The plan has strategies to create localized job opportunities as ways of reducing the demand for travel thereby cutting down on fuel consumption and pollution associated with fossil fuels Urban (Taskforce Australia 7). The plan also provides for pollution control measures such as emission control and fuel standard improvement. All these strategies aim at ensuring improved quality of air alongside the urban area expansion. The precinct development control plans particularly address the various environmental concerns and development sites through clear waste management strategies, biodiversity conservation, salinity, soil management and crime prevention. INDICATIVE LAYOUT PLAN The indicative layout plan starts with draft test for the structural plan development parameters to ascertain viability of the plan. The draft provides state agencies and the urban developer coordinators with a platform for discussion of the precinct plans before reaching an agreement on the indicative layout plan (GCC). The growth centers’ development code offers the basis for evaluation of the precinct plans to determine their consistency with all requirements. The growth centers’ commission has established state and local government planning package as a standard to guide the urban planning process. The indicative layout plan is also agreed upon based the rezoning by an amendment to the growth centers. Besides other agreements on the urban development planning, urban precinct plans are required to receive biodiversity certification. The biodiversity certification ensures that implementation of the urban development plans meet the requirements of environmental sustainability. All proposed precinct plans should be consisted with the biodiversity certification order established by the growth centers commission. The Oran Park and Turner Road precincts have gone through the indicative layout plan draft and agreement stages of the precinct planning process to ascertain consistency with the requirements of the government agencies, local governments, and the Growth Centers Commission (Maher 6). Majority of Sydney’s urban development precincts have been established following the precinct planning process. The process ensures that all urban development plans meet the standards and requirements of the Sydney Growth Centers commissions. The development plans have environmental sustainability requirements that every precinct plan must be consistent with, in order to be approved by the commission. CONCLUSION The Sydney Growth Centre’s new urban release program closely adheres to the precinct’s process in different ways including the structural plans, environmental analysis, and the indicative layout phase. The structural plan for the different precincts have been designed in a way that they support economic development to address the growing needs of the urban population including jobs and decent dwelling areas. The structural plan for the South West Precincts address the problems of housing experienced before such projects as building of big houses on small blocks of land and lack of diversity in housing to accommodate age diversity in the urban population. The precincts plans feature different development parameters including the number of job opportunities, population densities, commercial, new urban centers, and residential areas in hectares. The precincts plans further cover various environmental sustainability requirements such as conservation of natural vegetation, reduction in pollution, and improvement of water and air quality. All urban development precincts should be consistent with the Sydney Growth Centre commission. The various Park precincts within South West area including the Oran Park and Turner Road adhere to the precincts planning requirements. Work Cited Maher, Ken. “Achieving Better Design: Residential Flat Development in NSW.” Urban Design Advisory Committee for the Premier of NSW, 2000. Web. 31/05/12. NSW Government Metropolitan Strategy. “Planning Report for the South West Growth Center”. NSW Government Metropolitan Strategy, 2004. Web. 31/05/12. State of New South Wales. “Sydney Growth Centers Strategic Assessment Program Report.” State of New South Wales, 2010. Web. 31/05/12. The Growth Centers Commission. “Sydney’s Growth Centers and Precinct Planning.” The Growth Centers Commission, 2008. Web. 31/05/12. Urban Taskforce Australia. “Draft Growth Centers Strategic Assessment.” Urban Taskforce Australia, 2010. Web. 31/05/12. Read More

The issue of environmental sustainability occupies a center stage in the new urban development plan in which the structural plan takes into consideration the protection of natural vegetation among other aspects of the natural environment within the different precincts (Urban Taskforce Australia 6). The structural plans address environmental sustainability in different ways including creation of parks to conserve natural vegetation, reduction in energy consumption, and sustainable water use. The plans entail strategies to reduce personal car travels and encouragement of other energy friendly means of movement such as cycling, and reduction of travel demands through creation of local job opportunities.

Other plans include establishment of water recycling and treatment facilities to promote sustainable use of the water resources. The structure plans additionally address the problems of housing experienced before projects such as building of large houses on small blocks of land and lack of diversity in housing to accommodate age diversity in the urban population (Maher 8). The South West growth center precinct structural plan comprises of proposed urban areas, mixed use town center, medium density residential areas, industrial development areas, civic use lands and street designs with walk radius.

It is estimated that Sydney’s population will surpass about six million people by 2036 translating to an additional 770,000 houses (GCC). The housing development aspect has been put under the Greenfield development program aimed at addressing the forecast demand in the housing sector. The Greenfield development program is crucial for achievement of the housing development under the new urban development plan through the commitment to deliver about 30 percent of the future housing demand in Sydney.

DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS The precinct planning process on Sydney takes into consideration several development parameters including population density, number of houses, allowance for pedestrian, and cyclist sections in the development of infrastructure, areas covered by natural vegetation and parks within the city. The land occupied by different development projects is given in terms of lots. For example in the South West precinct, the Edmondson Park occupies 7,500 lots, Oran Park, 7,000 lots, and the Turner road 4,000 lots (GCC).

The current Oran Park precinct status entails 7,500 new dwellings, about 23,000 new residents, 50, 000 square meter town center and two neighborhood centers. Turner Road on the other hand comprises of about 11,000 new residents, 4,000 dwellings, 266 hectares of residential areas and a mixture of densities and a golf course related area. Other development parameters include the number of employment opportunities, hectares of employment areas, hectares of open areas, walking and cycling routes, and commercial areas.

All precincts have specific allocation of development parameters capable of establishing whether the intended goals in the development have been attained (NSW Government Metropolitan Strategy). The development process focuses on population, housing and job parameters to propose the necessary measures towards attaining the expected development levels within the Sydney region. Infrastructure development needs are accessed on the basis of the precincts demands in terms of population density, industrial areas, job opportunities and number of commercial centers.

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The two Sydney growth centers have emphasized on the issues of sustainable development through various environment friendly plans within thin the master plan. Almost every precinct plan has an aspect of environmental planning where the focus is on the conservation of natural vegetation within the urban development areas (State of New South Wales). Adherence to sustainable development in the new urban development plans is also determined by the number of land hectares left with natural vegetation.

This ensures that the development process does not exclude environmental impact assessment as a key part in every modern development.

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