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| http://abcdunlimited.com/ideas/suburbia.html |
In looking at density of cities, it is hard to pick what is 'right'. But there is certain areas of Brisbane that I've lived that I think nail what we should be doing more of or less of, depending on the results.
In the suburbs there is no amenity. You have to drive everywhere, and I think this is because of the blobs of zoning rather than mixing them up. There is no employment locally, and at 8am every morning there is a mass exodus from the neighbourhood; increasing the likelihood of crime ect.
Currently I live in a rural area, in a town of about 100 or so people. There is a handful of jobs in the local area, enough to support a few families. Farms are vast but are almost solely operated by the owning family. I have to drive to do almost any shopping; and its not a short distance either. I would love any mass transit, but as it stands while my local train station has 2 lines, they are only for the use of coal trains. There used to be a train to Ipswich, but it is replaced by a rail bus once an hour to Rosewood, and then if it shows up, a train from Rosewood to Ipswich. If I want to get to Brisbane, I need 2 Trains, a bus and over 2 hours. It takes 1 hour to drive and I can walk from a park. And while I drive I almost always have a passenger along for the ride.
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| http://property.mitula.com.au/property/for-rent-greenslopes-australia |
Yet there once upon a time I lived at Stones Corner; a wonderfully multi-density festooned urban landscape full of amenity. I could walk to a selection of super-markets, local shops, take-aways, 24hour shops, bus stops, train stations and a bike path to the city. I walked everywhere. There was a massive local park to go running in, and while the block size by today's standards is minuscule weighing in at 400sqm's; I had over 20 productive fruit tree's, more than a dozen chooks, a dog and 4 adults. All this within a 100sqm house that was built cheaply about 100 years ago but incorporated smart design using light weight materials and cross-ventilation. It was heaven.
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| http://favim.com/image/44789/ |
So in having a small yard and smaller house, I am able to fit 10 times the density of outer suburbia and a myriad of employment and amenity all within walking distance. We had it right a hundred years ago; so what happened???
I think the loss of sensible development is due to councils letting money-driven developers to make all the decisions. What happened to governments governing???
What happened to density???
