So long, Farewell, Auf weidersehen...Good night.

Some Final Thoughts and a Summary


This will be my 26th and final blog for this Sustainable Development course.

I have actually enjoyed writing about Sustainability issues more than I ever thought I would. It is because these issues are evolving and gathering steam in our current lifestyle, and you cannot help but be interested and even a little disappointed in how they have been approached by Governments, organisations and individuals.

I want to summarise some of my thoughts and elaborate on my what I believe is one of our biggest issues.  I know that some of the topics I covered were similar to my Group Project for this semester, however I ensured that I did my own specific research and analysed other aspects of traffic congestion.


A summary:

• While high rise living is becoming more popular in Sydney and Australia, it will never be as popular as living out of the city, out of the busy city and in leafy suburbia. However, space and cost has become a huge issue and this has prompted the Government to utilise its considerable resources and flex its muscles. 'Planned Growth Areas' and urban renewal projects are just some of the changes that will dictate how Sydney will look like in 30 years. 
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• Cars are not the answer to our traffic problems.
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• The push for Green Buildings is encouraging. Yet new developments and projects such as Green Square, Barangaroo and others need to put more on the table than being 'Green' and sustainable. They need to be integrated into the historical and cultural area, they need to offer employment and they need to make the lives of the community better.
• 
  
• Cities such as Vienna show us that anything is possible in creating liveable, loveable cities where the environment and people can live sustainably. 
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• Technology has the potential to solve a number of our sustainability problems, yet we must not get carried away. Bridj, the car sharing service that I researched, is one such example of an amazing invention by a young entrepreneur.
• 
  
• Smart Cities are our future, it is only a question of when they will be implemented. They have the potential to help Cities in so many different ways. Traffic, infrastructure, connectivity will all be improved. 

Our group project was on Traffic Congestion in Sydney's CBD and it was this area that I was particularly interested in.

I discussed cycling, public transport and walking as alternatives to driving. I came to the conclusion that we cannot rely on cars as our saviour. They have been our downfall.

Urban sprawl would never have worked if we did not have the Automobile. We rely on cars to go further and further, so we can live further and further away from our work and our community. They are behind so many of our issues.

This blog and my research has taught me that we need to push for new alternatives, new ideas and to constantly challenge our Governments and people in positions of power to ensure that we create a sustainable future in our cities and our in our lives.

Green Square

Urban Renewal: Green Square

As I discussed in my last couple of posts, urban renewal projects are becoming increasingly prevalent in Sydney. 

The largest urban renewal project in Australia is currently being constructed in Green Square, close to Zetland and Waterloo.

Planning for the project actually started in the 1990s, and it finally commenced construction in 2008. It is truly a monumental project, with the mixed use precinct to house an extra 50,000 residents, create 22,000 new jobs and a total site area of 278 hectares.

As it is an urban renewal project, I want to take an in-depth look at the history of the site and why it was chosen for urban renewal.

History of Green Square

The Green Square area has an industrial history dating back to 1815. 

The first industries to appear were grain mills and woolwashing. At the end of the nineteenth century the industries multiplied and manufacturers such as joiners, founders and engineers came in. 

By 1943, Alexandria contained 550 factories, and was ‘the largest industrial suburb in Australia’. 

However, the downturn in secondary industry from the 1970s ensured a steady decline in demand for industrial factories. 

As a result, the suburbs of Green Square have begun to change. 

The new residents of the area reflect its changing industrial environment.

Although still dominated by manufacturing, the industries include wholesaling, public administration and storage. 

So Why Green Square? 

Green Square is very close to both the City centre and the Airport, lying approximately halfway. 

The industrial background of Green Square(as given above) shows that many of these buildings are old and redundant. 

The ability to use the prime land to house Sydney's growing population, while at the same time bringing in new and sustainable infrastructure is a perfect scenario. 

What will they do? 

The project encompasses a number of inner city suburbs, including Beaconsfield, Zetland, Roseberry, Alexandria and Waterloo.

At the heart of the area the NSW Govt, in conjunction with Mirvac, will be the Green Square Town Centre, which will form the residential, retail and cultural hub of the community.

There will be a number of residential and commercial towers that will bring new businesses into the area, as well as house a large residential population.


Sustainability 

Most importantly, Green Square will be a trendsetter in green standards. The entire project is being constructed around the concept of 'Green Living', which will utilise recycled water, energy efficiency, green lands and cycling and walking paths.



Thoughts? 

Green Square is a magnificent example of the renewal of an old, underutilised area. It will breathe new life into the often-maligned inner city areas of Sydney and will hopefully create a new standard in green living that other new developments will strive to follow.

It is a Public/Private partnership between the NSW State Govt and Mirvac as a developer. While this keeps costs low for the tax payers (as per Barangaroo) there are issues of profitability.

However, the renewal of Sydney's inner suburbs looks like it will be a sustainable, green success.



There was so much information that I used for this, so please have a look through some of these sites and discussions:

http://www.greensq.com.au/home

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/green-square-traffic-problems-20140726-zu832.html

http://www.be.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/upload/pdf/cityfutures/cfupdate/GS_Pilot_Survey_Report_FINAL.pdf

http://sydneyyoursay.com.au/green-square

http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/120281/histories-of-Green-Square.pdf

http://www.scottcarver.com.au/cms-next/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new.phps

Barangaroo!

Sydney's Rejuvenation: Barangaroo 

Barangaroo is the jewel in Sydney’s crown. I want to explore this large-scale project in greater detail to see how urban regeneration and renewal has been utilised and how it can create a more sustainable built environment.

What was Barangaroo?

Barangaroo, which is on the waters of Sydney Harbour, was a former shipping yard/wharf area for Sydney's sea trade. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, shipping technology and the inability to put in a freight rail to the wharf made it unsustainable and unfeasible as a modern port facility.

Thus, in 2003 the NSW State Govt announced that the wharves at Barangaroo would become a new urban precinct.

The Process

In 2005 the State Govt announced a Design competition, which gained international recognition. Lend Lease was appointed as the Developer in 2009. Construction began around 2011, with the entire precinct to be finished by 2023. 

What will it be?

Barangaroo will be a 22 hectare financial, residential and retail precinct. The site is divided up into 3 different areas;

1.       Headland Park

2.       Barangaroo Central

3.       Barangaroo South

Headland Park

The park will be a large promenade on the waterfront. It will cover around 6 hectares of the site and provide another green area within the Sydney CBD which lacks open space and parks.

Central Barangaroo

Will involve a mixed-use site with public spaces, cultural and civic components in conjunction with commercial development.

The designer for Central Barangaroo is prominent Chicago architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Barangaroo South

The South precinct will be primarily consist of 3 iconic office towers, that will be built along with residential units. There are a number of major firms that are moving into the these office towers, including KPMG, PWC and Westpac. 




Discussion 

Barangaroo is still currently being constructed and finalised, so the final impact will not be known for another 10-15 years.

Personally, I think it is a great project. It has turned a underutilised piece of land and reshaped it into not just a purely commercial precinct but a multi-use one for an entire community and populace.

Further, the new infrastructure will be cutting edge and will be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly (which is further enhanced by the 6 Star NABERS rating the Office buildings have been given).

Are there any real negatives? There has been a small amount of community backlash about Sydney's heritage, yet it is hard to argue that the new use will not be more beneficial than leaving an historical, unused wharf.

There has been greater backlash in regards to the privatisation of public land, with Lend Lease capitalising on the development. However, it ensures that the State Govt. does not have to use tax payer dollars.



Urban renewal is an initiative that is divisive, yet is obviously beneficial when put in place correctly and with the proper planning.

I want to continue to explore Sydney's urban renewal projects, with Darling Harbour Live next.


More info on the backlash generated by the Barangaroo development can be found here:

http://theconversation.com/barangaroo-development-interests-counter-the-public-interest-10837

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/03/17/criticism-mounts-over-barangaroo-development

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/barangaroo-will-resposition-sydney-as-a-global-city-20150524-gh7m0u.html

Renewal, Regenerate, Rebuild.

Urban Renewal: What can it achieve?

I have had a little bit of a lull in my blog writing, mainly due to the influx of Uni assignments that are all due within days of each other.

For my last couple of posts I thought I would briefly explore the concept of Urban Regeneration and Urban Renewal, which are proving to be very popular and successful in a number of Australia’s major cities.

So what is Urban Regeneration and Renewal?

Essentially, it involves the rebirth or renewal of urban areas that are inner city suburbs or areas that are facing decline.

Sydney has been a prime example of urban regeneration. Currently there are multiple projects that are under construction that are focused on urban renewal and regeneration.

Barangaroo was a former port facility for Sydney Harbour and is being transformed into a brand new waterfront, mixed-use precinct. Darling Harbour Live will rectify the mistakes of a past renewal project and will further link the CBD and Pyrmont. Green Square is a former industrial area that is being transformed into a sustainable urban community, and the list goes on.

These projects are long-term and require huge amounts of funding, man-power and organisation. So what are the benefits of these urban renewal projects for a City?

Specifically,

• It can help rejuvenate areas and suburbs with new infrastructure and an influx of workers, residents and infrastructure
• Creates jobs
• Put in place more sustainable and modern infrastructure and technology that will be more envioronmentally friendly
• Creates more housing opportunities, with affordable housing a priority

The Western Corridor of the Sydney CBD will see enormous benefits from Barangaroo and Darling Harbour Live with a new community and sustainable infrastructure in place. However, there are some potential drawbacks of these large, long-term projects.

The negatives are:

• Can change and disturb historical elements of a community
• Can cause division amongst the local populace (such as the Pyrmont/Ultimo revitalisation)
• Funding issues
• Scale of development can mean it will be too influential on the surrounding areas (which backfired for the 1980s Darling Harbour renovation which was a failure)

However, it is important to note that the majority of these projects are doing fantastic things to neglected, inner city areas in Australia.

I want to specifically explore a number of these projects that are currently occurring in Sydney. These are Barangaroo, Darling Harbour Live and Green Square.

By looking at these Urban Renewal projects, I can gain a greater understanding of their influence and what they will bring to Sydney.

More info on Urban Renewal can be found here: 

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4242313.htm

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2012/05/31/do-existing-residents-see-the-benefits-of-urban-renewal/

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/hkhousing/pdoc/UrbanRenewal95.htm

KFC, McDonalds and the Built Environment

 Obesity and the Built Environment

While I have been recently discussing Smart Cities and their future benefits, I stumbled upon an article that had a very interesting argument in terms of the influence of the built environment on people’s health, and what can be changed to make people healthier.

The article in question has found a correlation between communities that lived in purely residential areas (think of a number of suburbs in Sydney that are well away from the CBD and other town centres) were ‘more weighty’ (bigger, fatter, heavier) than communities that were in proximity to residential and commercial areas.

What does this mean?

It means that people who lived in suburbia were spending more time driving, commuting and moving around in cars than people who were able to walk or ride a bike to their work place, due to its proximity.

This is intriguing because it puts more emphasis on the influence of the Built Environment on the health of communities and individuals.

It also ties in with my discussions on high-rise living and its implications. This study effectively states that a high-rise community located in Pyrmont, or Wooloomooloo (in close proximity to the CBD) would be healthier and less likely to be overweight than a suburban community that lived in Mosman, or Balgowlah, who were forced to drive everywhere.

Isn’t that interesting?

This argument has also gathered greater impetus because of the number of obese people in Australia. Urban sprawl, technology and private cars have all contributed to sedentary, non-active life styles.

The article proved that where you are living will clearly have a impact on your health, as people who lived in sprawling cities were forced to drive everywhere, and were less active and healthy as a result.

How can we, as representatives of the Built Environment,  make our communities healthier?

1.     Firstly it would be to create community hubs with commercial and retail options that were closer to residential areas. This would allow easier access to walk. 

2.     Introduce incentives that discourage people from driving their cars into work.

3.     Introduce greater quality and healthier food options in local communities (less fast-food, more healthy alternatives)

Personally, I had no idea that the built environment can have such an impact on the way that we function, and the way that we operate.

I am beginning to understand that communities and populations are shaped by our Built Environment. If a community has a number of parks, ovals and healthy food options that are all accessible, they will most likely be healthy and fit. Comparatively, communities that are subject to no open spaces and endless junk food options will struggle to stay healthy.

For this particular situation, it is about finding a balance between high density, inner city living and maintaining open spaces.

The article in question is here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3062-2004May30.html


And further info can be found here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1247493/

http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/1/129.abstract

Songdo: The Smartest City

Songdo, South Korea 

'A Planned Smart City' 

After the introduction to Smart Cities in my last post, I wanted to explore one of the world's first custom built Smart Cities in Songdo, South Korea. 

Songdo has been labelled as the World's Smartest City and the City of the Future.

So what have the South Koreans done and why? 

Songdo is a city that has been built from scratch on reclaimed land, some 65km away from Seoul. 

It is a private real estate development, and when finished will have 80,000 apartments, 50,000,000 sqm of office space and 10,000,000sqm of retail space. 

It will house around 50,000 as residents, with a further 50,000 commuting to work. 

The project was intended to show the world the technological prowess of Korea and create a sustainable city. It has cost nearly $35 billion and is due to be completed in 2017. 

Tellingly, 40% of the city is slated to be 'parkland', which ties into the sustainability aspect of Songdo. 

As far as Smart Cities go, it is exceptional. 

Songdo has been inundated with sensors, which monitor temperature, energy use and traffic flow. 

These sensors allow you to understand when your bus is due, and provide current updates on the surrounds. 

Other innovations (that are nearly all world firsts for cities) include; 

• charging stations for electric cars 

• water recycling systems that uses recycled water to flush toilets 

• waste disposal system that automatically sorts waste according to its danger to the environment 

• internal monitoring systems within buildings that provide information on any maintenance or issues 

This all sounds amazing, however it is not quite perfect. 

The city is only half full. A number of articles that I read described a visit to the city as very 'quiet'. 

While the city has been beautifully created, planned and constructed with sustainability in mind, it needs citizens! 

Personally, I think it is a great idea with fantastic innovation. Putting these innovations into place in other established cities is another challenge in itself. 

There are a number of cities such as Chicago and Barcelona that have implemented a number of Smart initiatives that are becoming very successful. I want to investigate these cities to see how they have worked and what they have done. 

For those who are interested about Songdo (it is interesting), check out these pictures and articles: 

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/22/songdo-south-korea-world-first-smart-city-in-pictures

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23757738

http://www.theurbandeveloper.com/songdo-paves-the-way-for-the-smart-cities-of-the-future/

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/songdo-south-korea-the-city-of-the-future/380849/

Intelligent....Thinking Cities?

The Smart City






I've finally moved on from my discussion of transport options, mainly because I've exhausted most of them but also because there are so many other aspects of sustainable development that I want to cover and explore in this semester.

What has been popping up lately has been discussions of Smart Cities. One of our lectures earlier in the year was in regards to Smart Cities yet I didn't really understand how they could be useful for sustainable development.

However, after more research and realisation, I have changed my mind (I hope you are reading this Arvind).

So for the next couple of posts, I want to explore the phenomenon that is the Smart City. What are they? What are they doing? Will it be implemented in every city? And most importantly, how can it impact our sustainability?


Firstly, we need some context on cities and why they are morphing to become 'smart'.

Rural to urban migration is becoming increasingly more prevalent across the world. It is estimated that 70% of the worlds population will be living in cities.

This influx of people will pose enormous problems for infrastructure, transport and resources.

Even Sydney is predicted to increase its population by nearly a million people in the next 30 years.

These statistics have forced governments to react and introduce changes that will ably support the requirements of an excess of people.

So the Smart City template is one that a number of countries and cities are turning too. Essentially the Smart City is (as defined by Anuj Puri on this blog website ---->>>>> http://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/green-living/what-are-smart-cities/article6321332.ece:

"A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. The IT infrastructure allows feedback to be given automatically, creating a highly connected, intelligent city"

While that is a broad term (which is expected in this field), what should we expect from a Smart City?

Here are some of the broader expectations (and some of my expectations) for a Smart City:

1. Smart Parking, with systems in place to alert people of free parking 
2. Integrated transport systems: A public transport systems that provides information in real time, and is adaptable to every need. 
3. Traffic Management: Traffic response systems that manage traffic flow and congestion 
4. Lighting: Smart lighting that adjusts the light depending on its surrounds 
5. Waste Management: Efficient waste collection 
6. Maintenance: More streamlined systems in place to alert the necessary bodies of damage to areas of the city, buildings or even people 
7. Collection of Information: Information that is tied in together, to enable users to access with greater ease and in greater depth 

 I think that the above characteristics are merely scratching the surface of what a Smart City is and what it can be.

To further my involvement in Smart Cities, for the next blog I will look to discuss a case study in the City of Songdo, South Korea, which was constructed and built to be a Smart City.

To read up on what a Smart City is, and what is not, check out these articles.

The Guardian article is very very interesting, and will be worth an entire blog!

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/17/truth-smart-city-destroy-democracy-urban-thinkers-buzzphrase

http://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/green-living/what-are-smart-cities/article6321332.ece

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246019/bis-13-1209-smart-cities-background-paper-digital.pdf