Leaders from two major industry groups representing developers have expressed their broad support for a proposal for precinct-scale urban renewal across Australia’s low-density, car-dependent middle-ring “greyfield” suburbs.
In a recently released book, titled Greening the Greyfields, four of Australia’s leading urban planning researchers argue that “greyfield” suburbs, built during the mid-to-late 20th century, are becoming physically, technologically and environmentally obsolete.
They advocate these outdated “greyfield” suburbs should be transformed – at a precinct scale – into more sustainable, higher density, walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods with access to quality public transport.
The book was authored by Peter Newman, who’s the coordinating lead author for transport for the International Panel on Climate Change and a Curtin University sustainability professor; Swinburne University emeritus professor Peter Newton; Swinburne University senior research fellow Stephen Glackin; and Sweden’s Blekinge Institute of Technology’s Giles Thomson.
It’s an idea that has gained broad in-principle backing from two leading figures in Australia’s developer community.
Urban Taskforce Australia chief executive Tom Forrest told The Fifth Estate that Greening the Greyfields “gives much food for thought to governments and industry on how to transform the so-called ‘missing middle’ in cities like Sydney”.
Urban Development Institute of Australia national president Maxwell Shifman cautioned that UDIA doesn’t have an official position on the idea, and hasn’t created a policy paper examining it in-depth.
That being said, Mr Shiffman said his personal view is that it’s “an interesting idea” that would “probably, on balance, be welcome in many circumstances”.
So what’s wrong with the greyfields?
Following trends imported from the US, many of the middle-ring suburbs built in Australia after the Second World War were laid out to only be accessible by car, rather than by foot.
Single use zoning rules mandated that vast tracts of land can only be used for one-to-two storey detached single-family houses.
This means that, from many houses in these “greyfield” suburbs, basic necessities such as work or shops are beyond a comfortable walking distance from homes. Meanwhile, public transport is often limited to an inadequate local bus service.
This car dependency is a problem for sustainability, because just under one-fifth (17.6 per cent) of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions come from burning fossil fuels (especially oil) for transport, according to the CSIRO.
The Australia Institute’s National Inventory Report 2020 shows road transport accounts for 85.4 per cent of that transport emissions total. (For context, just 7.1 per cent comes from plane flights).
It’s about addressing the group of people that you’ll get on that front page of the local paper with their arms folded in front of a new proposal.
Maxwell Shifman, UDIA
However, building up density by retrofitting public transport and subdividing lots in an ad-hoc way can create issues – as the current debate over the SA planning laws and the 30-year strategy for Greater Adelaide illustrates.
The authors of Greening the Greyfields said that “a new kind of urban regeneration is needed at the scale of precincts, rather than lot by lot, to transform the greyfields into more liveable and sustainable suburbs”.
“We suggest a Better Cities 2.0 program, led by the federal government, to establish greyfield precinct regeneration authorities in major cities and build partnerships with all major urban stakeholders. It would set us on the path to greening the greyfields.”
This is backed up by a recent study by the Committee for Sydney, which showed that urban renewal near Sydney’s train stations could create up to 327,000 dwellings in highly accessible locations with great amenities over the next 20 years.
This would create a massive $9.3 billion economic windfall for the state, along with $16.3 billion in economic value through land appreciation and rezoning.
Beware the NIMBYs
Mr Shiffman said that Australia has struggled for a long time to make the link between large scale infrastructure, and maximising its value through the land use planning that goes around it.
“Typically, we just build a tram line or train station, and don’t put enough effort into planning the precinct that sits around it that could substantially benefit from the delivery of additional, more affordable housing,” he told The Fifth Estate.
The big challenge in implementing the ideas in Greening the Greyfields is that attempts to densify an existing neighbourhood are likely to face opposition from nearby residents, he said.
“On the one hand, I think there’s a growing acceptance of the need to densify and grow within established suburbs in certain areas. But you’ve got to deal with what is often a very, very vocal group of people that already live in an area who have bought in there for a reason, which is its current character.”
For example, if a developer were to try to amalgamate a series of sites and come up with a proposal, the likely response from nearby residents is that the plan “is too big and there will be too many cars”.
“It’s about addressing the group of people that you’ll get on that front page of the local paper with their arms folded in front of a new proposal. You’ve got to bring all the existing residents on the journey, and that’s a very, very challenging thing to do.”
Here’s what the developers say…
Meanwhile, The Urban Task Force’s Tom Forrest said his group strongly supports high rise development within an 800 metre radius of transport nodes, supported by precinct plans.
“This will help create more vibrant suburbs with more housing options where people want to live – closer to established infrastructure, services and facilities, as well as reducing environmental impacts by building homes closer to jobs,” he said.
“For the precinct concept to succeed however, governments need to provide the ‘land-assembly instruments’ referred to in the book. Development corporations should be looked at.”
Governments must lead, coordinate and consult with all stakeholders for this to work, Mr Forrest said.
“Strategic planning for such precincts needs to be funded and undertaken upfront. Further, zoning needs to be flexible and not prescriptive. These are concepts which challenge the very essence of planning – but are so necessary to ensure land use can adapt to changes in demand arising from unforeseen events, like Covid or the GFC.”