THE TOWN PLANNER’S VIEW
SO what does a leading town planner think about where our cities are going? Julie Bindon is the founding director and former chair of Sydney-based urban development services firm JBA and a member of the University of NSW’s Built Environment Advisory Council and UrbanGrowth’s Design Directorate expert panel. She has spent more than 35 years working in statutory planning and on major urban redevelopment projects such as the old Carlton & United Breweries site, now known as the Central Park precinct, on the fringes of Sydney’s CBD. “Cities are so complex,” says Bindon, “but they’re basically about the intersection of planning, economics and politics – an unholy trinity!” THE FUTURE IS CROWDED: “The main trend is towards denser development, usually in taller buildings, as our cities become more ‘urban’ and less ‘suburban’. We have to accommodate more people and minimise congestion – and all in a pleasant environment to live in. It requires really good-quality design of the precincts, with excellent public parks, playgrounds and open spaces that are communal but semi-private. In high-rise buildings, we’re seeing greater use of rooftops, with trees, barbecues, community gardens... I’ve even seen some with cinema screens.” IT’S NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT TO BE GREEN: “It’s become quite competitive among developers throughout Australia to outdo one another in terms of their projects’ sustainability. Environmentally, it’s all about energy, water and waste, with some projects aiming to achieve carbon neutrality or at least high Green Star ratings. In commercial buildings, that translates to added value for owners and tenants – they call it a ‘design dividend’ – because those buildings have lower operating costs, plus highly rated buildings fit with corporate sustainability agendas.” NEIGHBOURHOODSUNLIKELY AREAS: “A ARE significant SPRINGING trend UPof theIN past industrial30 years land, is or the brownfield redevelopmentsites. It’sof related former to the big structural shift in the Australian economy away from manufacturing and towards the services sector. In metropolitan Sydney, on the Parramatta River waterfront, we’ve seen tracts of land – often big – converted to residential neighbourhoods, all the way from Balmain to Parramatta. The massive redevelopment of the former container terminal, now known as Barangaroo, is under construction on the north-western edge of Sydney’s CBD. In Port Melbourne, Fishermans Bend is being planned as five precincts that are expected to become home to 80,000 residents and 60,000 jobs by 2050, making it the largest urban renewal area in Australia.” CITIES ARE GETTING “HEALTHY”: “There’s growing awareness in the community that we can’t keep building motorways or widening roads and planners are keen to promote the concept of ‘personal mobility’ for health and transport. Walking is the No.1 form, followed by cycling. Along with the advent of car sharing, we’re seeing less parking in new office and residential buildings, particularly those close to public transport. End-of-trip facilities – bike parking and showers – for people cycling to work are increasingly being mandated in office buildings across Australia.” IMAGINING THE FUTURE URBAN BLOCK: “We’re seeing cases of mum-and-dad home owners forming consortia to sell consolidated blocks of land to developers at a very good premium. There’s real potential for urban growth in the zone between five and 15 kilometres from the CBD. Growth in these areas will mainly be in lower-rise formats: buildings of no more than two storeys, such as modern terrace houses and duplexes.