Perth Challenges Flashcards
Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl is the low-density outward growth of the city, mostly through the growth of residential and commercial development on undeveloped land on the fringes of the city
Scope
Scope is defined as: the breadth, depth or reach of the challenge.
The size of the challenge is generally based on the number of people the challenge impacts and the cost to buisness or health, and/or geographical area that is impacted
Urban Sprawl - in relation to Scope
Urban sprawl is not sustainable as it results in:
Private vehicle dependency
And its associated problems of congestion, air pollution and GHG emisions, increased travel times, reduced leisure time and declining community health
Urban Sprawl has been most evident in areas like Alkimos and Eglington,Harrisdale and Piara Waters, Wandi and Wellard
Occurred
Over the last decade, most of the growth in population has occurred in the southeast, southwest and northwest corridors all increasing by over 100,000 residents
Perth experienced the 2nd largest growth in population of all cities in Australia, with 53,400 more people in the metro area
Most of Perth’s higher density suburbs are concentrated in the ERZ, specifically the northern suburbs like: Doubleview, innaloo, Joondanna, Tuart Hill, Nollamara, Westminster, North Perth, Scarborugh
Urban Sprawl - Causes
- Car Ownership
Much of Perth’s urban sprawl is a direct result of increased mobility
The Car has given people flexibility and convenience in travel, and has encouraged and allowed the extensive expansion of residential developments in outer suburban areas
Between 1955 and 1985, car ownership in WA grew faster than any other state, and freeways and highways began to determine the external morpholoy as the car became the dominant mode of transport
- Government incentives
Due to covid - a recovery bonus was announced by the WA government which would provide a $125 million stimulus package for the state’s home building sector, providing cash grants to buyers
The grant offered $45,000 of government assistance to eligbible buyers
Although the ‘Building Bonus’ scheme only ran for 6 months, more blocks of land were sold than ever before, 3,322 lots were bought in 4 weeks, concentrated in suburbs such as Alkimos and Ellenbrook
This type of government assistance encourages urban sprawl as it incentivies developers to continue to develop greenfield sites on the fringes of the city
Urban Sprawl - Impacts
Economic
Distance from employment locations
- This results in over-reliance on cars. For residents, the cost of transport to the city from the outer subrubs increases as many of the greenfield developments lack adequate public tranpsort links, leading to 68.7% of people to commute via private vehicle.
Longer commutes lead to congestion, increased fuel costs, increased pollution and health issues as well as loss in productivity
As roads become more congested, buisnesses are also impacted as congestion costs the economy about $2.5 billlion per year in lost productivity
Social
Lack urban amenities
- Greenfield developments often lack urban amenities(the degree of provision of infrastrutcure and services essential to creating a liveable urban space)
The houses all look the same and a lack of greenery reduces the attractiveness of the area
Environmental
Land degradation
The use of greenfield sites causes land clearing of large areas of remnant vegetation on the Swan Coastal Plain, with only 29% of original vegetation remaining in the metro area
This causes habitat fragmentation as urban sprawl clears habitat and poses risks to fragile ecosystems and threatens many of the state’s unique flora and fauna such as the Carnaby’s black cockatoo, who has seen a 50% reduction in numbers over the last 45 years due to fragmentation or destruction of their breeding and feeding ground.
Planning Strategy: METRONET
One of the State governmetn’s key priorities to deal with the challenge of transportation in WA, is to achieve the efficent movement of people while intergrating with land use opportunities, through the project = METRONET
This project includes a total of 72 kilometres of new passenger rail and up to 22 new stations. The project also includes the development of ‘station precincts’, which refers to the area generally within one kilometre of each station (approx. 10-15 minutes)
METRONET - Environmental
FAL
The Forrestfield-Airport Route introduced by METRONET is located in close proximity to five of the most congested roads in Australia.
Therefore, the new rail line will play a key role in reducing road congestion on these roads as the project estimates 15,000 cars will be removed from the raods, reducing carbon emissions and time spent travelling by vehicles, which will also positively contribute to the reduction of photochemical smog
The FAL aims to use at least 20% recycled content (concrete, aggregate, steel, asphalt) during construction. Additionally, stations will provide provisions for electric vehicle charging and the urban heat island effect will be minimised with hard landscaping materials
Features of Project
- The project also incorporates water sensitive urban design measures into planning of stations including smart monitoring systems to detect water leaks and reduce water consumption by about 11%
The installation of rooftop solar at bus and rail stations also support the state government Climate Policy Action. A 274 kW solar energy system will be installed at Forrestfield Station, producing the same amount of energy of electricity as used by 56 households
METRONET - Social
The project will improve socio-spatial inequality to the eastern suburbs that have previously lacked transport connections; residents have not experienced the same development that occured in north-south region along Mandurah and Joondalup trail
This will encourage resididential development in the area while also creating communities that have a sense of belonging
Cultural heritage
- The FAL places a strong focus on enhancing cultural heritage in the project design by recognising the Whadjuk Noongar people as the traditional custodians of the land.
Extensive consultation was undertaken with the FAL Aboriginal Stakeholder Gorup on matters related to Aboriginal Heritage and Engagement. This engagement will continue for the life of the project, with $15 million allocated as the minimum spend with Aboriginal buisnesses. Story leaves have been incorporated as part of Redcliffe station and Aboriginal artworks included at Airport Central Station
METRONET - Economic
The METRONET project will support economic growth by connecting people abd buisnesses through providing access to jobs
Positive
As construction is one of Perth’s main areas of employment, these projects will also contribute positively to providing thousands of local jobs. For example, a manufacturing and assembley plant built in Bellevue to support the building of new trains will create more than 200 additional jobs
Also provides these employees of the airport an affordable mode of transport to work for a $5 one way fare. With extension to the eastern suburbs, it will connect the existing and new centres of Belmont and Forrestfield with the rest of the city and threfore boost employment
negative
A negative however is that projects like METRONET require large investment in public transport
This cost is often borne by taxpayers and people using the services, and economic returns take a long time. However, consideration has been given to try and ease these impacts. High Wycombe was originally propossed to have a at-grade (same level) car park but this was changed to a multi deck car park. The new design frees up eight hectares of land for future development and improves access for passengers as they can park 300m from the station
Site of Perth
Perth is sited on the Swan Coastal plain which is gently undulating and ranges in sea level of 0-60 ASL
Generally the coastal plain is stable and well drained, however there are minor areas of unstable dune systems and poorly drained wetlands
The interdental swales run along the western side of the plain parallel to the coast and include Lake Joondalup, Lake Monger and Bibra Lake. The coastal geology is predominantly lime stone providing interesting features in various places along the coast line
For example, Mettams pool in North Beach. The eastern half of the plain is flatter and only reaches 20-25 m ASL
Situation of Perth
Perth is situated on the South West coast of Australia in WA.
The latitude and longitude of Perth is 31* 57’ S 115* 51’ E
As one of the most isolated cities in the world, Perth is situated 2,700 km west of Adelaide, its closest neighbouring capital city
Perth’s Central Business District (CBD), and original point of growth, is situated 14 km upstream of the Indian Ocean and 17 km upstream or north east of the port of Fremantle
Ext. Morphology of Perth
Perth’s ext morphology can be broadly described as semi-stellate in shape becoming more rectangular over time due to the urban infill taking place between the original corridors
The 1970s Corridor Plan largely created the original semi-stellate shape of Perth as it aimed to develop equal growth of the city along four major corridors, Joondalup, Midland, Armadale, Rockingham
The Perth Metropolitan area has a compact core, which radiates out from the original settlement. The Swan-Canning river system divides the urban area and encourages the semi-stellate shape with the four corridors branching off the rivers. The four main corridors include the northwest Along Mitchell, Albany, Great Eastern and Kwinana Fwy
Internal Morp: Central Business District (CBD)
This is the core of the metropolitan area
- The main functions of the CBD are commercial and administrative with limited residential. However, new apartments and high-density living are becoming popular and younger professionals
- Due to the high levels of employment in the CBD, the city has a high daytime population with a commuting workforce and a lower population at night
- The location of the CBD is influenced by historical factors, as it is the location of the original settlement which was established by Captain James Stirling.
- There is high land value within this zone due to a high degree of land use competition. This high land value means that land use is maximised and density is high which can be seen by the number of high-rise buildings within this zone
Internal Morph: Inner Mixed Zone (IMZ)
The IMZ of Perth has the largest level of mixed-use functions which include residential, commercial, recreational, entertainment, transport etc.
High accessibility, ability for expansion, cheaper land values and overheads, less problems with parking and associated costs
- Invasion and succession ensures that this zone is dynamic and constantly changing
- Due to the changing nature of the zone, it can also experience a process of urban blight (occurs when land owners are reluctant to renovate their property due to the potential for future invasion
- In West Perth, there has been aggregation of medical and mining offices
Waste management challenge - Perth
Environmentally:
Leakage of toxic chemicals into the environment as become a concern in the waste management industry. Which can have a detrimental effect on ecosystems and food chains, as well as human health through the contamination of ground water
Socially:
Causes inconvenience to people living nearby waste end facilities due to: odour, traffic noise, and the attraction of feral animals and pests to the site. This decreases the amenity of the area and can in turn, influence real estate prices of surrounding suburbs. This has been the case in Perth’s northern suburbs, home to Tamala Park, which is one of the regions largest landfill sites servicing 500,000 people. 200 garbage trucks running daily creating noise pollution and traffic congestion
Economically:
Illegal waste disposal activities have significant economic impact which is borne by taxpayers, who must collect and dispose of the waste. The City of Baldivis has the highest rate of illegal dumping in the metropolitan area, with 114 reports over three months in 2021, which has a cost of $4000 per week to taxpayers
