Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas Paper Presented to RAPI (NSW) 2001
1 Annual State Conference Port Macquarie Amanda Raleigh Senior Planner, GHD Stephanie Barker Senior Planner, DUAP (previously with Liverpool City Council) Sebastian Smyth Senior Transport Planner, GHD Summary The Developing Sustainable Communities (Stage One) project, undertaken by GHD for Liverpool City Council, forms one of the important steps in planning of three significant release areas (total area over 1,500 ha) located in the Liverpool Local Government Area. The areas, known as the Hoxton Park release corridor, include: Edmondson Park (the composite site); Prestons/Yurrunga; and Hoxton Park Aerodrome. The overall vision for the project is represented by the project title, which is to develop more sustainable communities in the new release areas. Liverpool City Council, together with other Local and State Government agencies, is working to ensure the development of the corridor will focus on: smart growth principles; and sustainable development. In pursing the above, Liverpool City Council commissioned GHD to prepare an Urban Development Framework. The project focused on undertaking relevant investigations and setting in place guidelines to ensure the planning and development of sustainable communities, satisfying objectives according to four critical dimensions: transport and access; natural environment; built environment; and community. The outcome of the project is a strategic (or structure) plan - the Urban Development Framework.
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
1.
INTRODUCTION
Unless we change the direction we are going, we may end up where we are headed Liverpool City Council initiated the Developing Sustainable Communities project in 1999. This was in response to a strong desire, promoted by both Council and the State Government, to avoid the environmental, social, economic and accessibility concerns associated with release areas developed in the past. Prior to the Developing Sustainable Communities project, a significant amount of work was undertaken by Liverpool City Council to prepare for new housing and associated infrastructure in the new release areas of the LGA. The Liverpool Urban Strategy, undertaken in 1998, put in place a broad strategy for future development of the release areas. The Urban Strategy contributed to the preparation of the Liverpool Structure Plan. Both these documents, together with a number of other studies, reports and planning documents, provided the context and direction for current planning in the Hoxton Park release corridor. GHD was commissioned to undertake Stage One of the Developing Sustainable Communities project in December 1999. GHD undertook investigations and set in place guidelines with the aim of ensuring the planning and delivery of sustainable communities within the Hoxton Park corridor. Key investigations included transport and accessibility; community needs; establishing possible development scenarios and a preferred approach for the area; infrastructure needs and staging. The results of this work provide the strategic and technical framework for future planning and development of land within the Hoxton Park release corridor. 2. FOCUS OF THE PROJECT Liverpools population will continue to grow at approximately 5% per annum, with an estimated population, in 2020, of more than 200,000 inhabitants. That growth will mean additional pressure on housing and other infrastructure (like public transport) in the Liverpool City Council and neighbouring Local Government Areas. In 1993 Council resolved to advise the RTA and the (then) Department of Planning that it will not facilitate urban growth on a scale which is not matched by adequate transport infrastructure and services. As a result, appropriate transportation planning is a key concern for this project. Collarboration between and consultation with all relevant stakeholders (including government agencies) played a critical role in Councils approach. Three levels of support allowed for the successful development of a The focus for GHDs approach to the project was to put in place a planning framework to ensure development occurs in such a way that it meets the planning objectives of Council and the State Government, while taking advantage of the effects of (in terms of urban form), and potential accessibility benefits provided by, significant regional transport infrastructure proposals: Liverpool-Parramatta Transitway (the Transitway); the Western Sydney Orbital (WSO), and proposed works to road network; and rail infrastructure proposals (including the proposed link to the Second Sydney Airport from Glenfield with a possible link to Leppington in the shorter term).
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
3. COUNCILS APPROACH Based on the magnitude of development proposed, Council secured the assistance of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, the NSW Premiers Department and other key agencies whose mission is to promote sustainable urban development through a whole of government approach to planning. A state level development coordinator was appointed and compliemented by a local government counterpart. Together they established a three layer support framework for the project and were able to ensure continuity throughout the project. The three layers compised: strategic level senior representatives from the key agencies kept the project on track (Strategic Inter-Agency Group) inter-agency officer level to identify opportinties for greater integeration (External Release Team) local level Council officers provided support for the other two groups, faciliated workshops and undertook community conulatation (Internal Release Team) Councils overall approach to the project involved three steps: 1. Project initation including previous planning studies, developing a vision for the project, forming action teams and establishing a commitment to integrated planning and doing things differently 2. Integrated Planning the basis for the Developing Sustainable Communities (Stage One) project GHDs commitment to integrated planning was a key factor in our engagement to undertake the study for Council 3. Presentation Converting the results of the GHDs work to information that paints a picture and is widely accessible. 4. UNDERSTANDING SMART GROWTH
New smart growth is more town-centred, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses. It also preserves open space and many other environmental amenities. But there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Successful communities do tend to have one thing in common - a vision of where they want to go and of what things they value in their community - and their plans for development reflect these values. Why Smart Growth: A Primer by International City/County Management Association with Geoff Anderson, 7/98.
As part of the project, GHD undertook research into planning approaches to achieve the sustainability objectives established at the outset. As a result of this research, in conjunction with the Council project team, we identified that Smart Growth approaches, increasingly emphasised in the US, would be an appropriate direction for both this project and future masterplanning. This coincided with a visit to Australia by Donald Chen, director of the Washington-based Smart Growth America Coalition and one the main proponents of the US Smart Growth movement, confirming that it was an appropriate time for Sydney Councils to embrace this approach. The Developing Sustainable Communities project, and current and future Smart Growth Masterplans, provides the opportunity for Liverpool to be a leader in implementing Smart Growth in the Sydney region. The Smart Growth movement in the US developed as a reaction to the impacts of uncontrolled suburban growth in American cities. At its most simplistic level, Smart Growth is the opposite of poorly planned sprawl in fringe areas. It aims to reduce the impacts of sprawl, achieve sustainability through better planning, and improve the quality of life for residents.
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
Smart Growth America (a coalition of over 60 agencies promoting Smart Growth in the US) define Smart Growth as growth that protects open space, revitalises neighbourhoods, makes housing more affordable and improves community quality of life. The Smart Growth movement embraces the key concepts of a wide variety of movements from the last few decades, including ecologically sustainable development; sustainable or livable communities; new urbanism; and transit orientated development. A wide range of means of achieving Smart Growth are promoted, ranging from Smart Growth criteria matrices used to assess new development proposals; to community and developer education, and regional development strategies. 3.1 Smart Growth in the Hoxton Park Release Corridor Local and State Government want to ensure - by adopting smart growth principles - a sustainable development approach in the Hoxton Park Release Corridor that: plans for public transport and encourages development along transit corridors (making it easier for people to use public transport); encourages development which results in compact, pedestrian, bicycle and transit friendly communities (making it easier to walk, ride a bike or catch a bus or train); offers mixed uses (residential retail and office facilities will be close to each other improving opportunities for local employment); and provides a clear and predictable direction for future development decisions so that residents, investors and developers can be certain about the future shape and form of the area. 5. HOW DO YOU A DEVELOP A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY?
The key to achieving a sustainable community is to address issues in an interconnected manner and ensure that all the key dimensions of the planning process are well balanced and strongly integrated throughout the process. Integrated (or comprehensive) planning could be considered a necessary prerequisite for sustainability, sustainable development or Smart Growth. Achieving this requires a departure from the way planning historically occurred. Formerly, planning tended to emphasise an output - a plan - that depicted proposed land uses and related infrastructure. Now planning is increasingly driven by a focus on obtaining and integrating relevant inputs and achieving real outcomes for the community.
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
6.
GHDs APPROACH
GHDs approach to the project involved the following: planning a community with greater access to an efficient network of public transport and non-motorised travel opportunities (such as walking and cycling); developing an integrated computer based information system - an Environment Baseline System to provide an interactive information base; analysing the planning and policy context; providing for social and community planning needs; ensuring that awareness of market and development trends informed the project; analysing the urban form and urban design potential and needs, and producing a number of development scenarios; establishing infrastructure and services requirements; and determining potential traffic and transport implications. The study area called for an urban design/urban form concept that is distinctive, respects the intrinsic values of the environment and responds appropriately to the design and implementation requirements of a new form of higher density, sustainable development. Based on the studies undertaken during the project, three options (development scenarios) were considered and evaluated and a preferred urban form for the study area was recommended. An Urban Development Framework was prepared to represent the preferred urban form for the study area.
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
7.
THE ROLE OF INTEGRATED TRANSPORT PLANNING
The transportation planning for this project was based on the following assumptions: If well-planned transit lines are established in the earliest stages of development, then they will seed transit oriented development. If established in the context of good urban design, transit oriented development is likely to assist in achieving the aims of sustainability and quality of life. If transportation and land use are successfully integrated, the aims of accessibility and more sustainable transportation will be achieved. This will be the natural result of residents and visitors free choice to exploit the transportation opportunities available to them. This link between context, choice and behavior can already be seen in places throughout Sydney. The fundamentals of integrated transportation planning are fairly straightforward, and work at many levels: Transit links should be established along likely desire lines of future development. Trunk transit lines with high levels of service have a more beneficial effect on urban form, structure and design than dispersed routes i.e train for key centers, light rail (if possible) or otherwise busway for transit corridors. Land uses with highest levels of travel demand / generation should be established along transit lines. Urban structure should be focused on the transit lines. Applying these principles to a real situation, and balancing them with the many other issues that affect the evolution of a community, that poses the greatest challenge to urban planners. The key transportation elements of the Developing Sustainable Communities Project are: An extension of the planned transitway from Hoxton Park Road to the proposed Bardia town centre - This would link to the developing transitway network in Western Sydney (and the destinations it serves) and would provide a highly accessible mode within the Edmondson Park and Prestons Release areas. The proposed Edmondson Park Railway line This would provide a point of interchange between the CityRail and transitway network and reinforce Bardia as a key transit node. This would provide the necessary dynamic to seed a mixed use, high density town center in the Edmondson Park area.
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
Reduce the attractiveness of travel by road - Traffic modeling for the project was based on the premise of travel demand management. In practical terms, this meant that improvements to the road network are only made after congestion levels have been reached. Not only does this reduce the potential to induce travel demand by road, but it delays the need to invest in expensive road works, and increases the relative attractiveness of transit. Integrate urban form and transportation promote non-motorised transport - This recognises that the success of transit-oriented development rests as much in the attention to urban design quality as it does in the transit infrastructure itself. This includes providing street layouts and alignments that promotes pedestrian and cyclist accessibility, the efficient operation of local feeder bus services. Minimising the negative impacts of private vehicles in areas of highest people activity. 8. THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
The project team suggested that the proposed development of the Hoxton Park Release Corridor should broadly involve: Edmondson Park - The focus will be on providing a balance between commercial and residential development. Higher density development will centre around a public transport node (the town centre, also known as Bardia) and on land that adjoins the possible extension to the Liverpool-Parramatta Transitway. More traditional densities for residential development will be applied for the balance of the land. Development should be encouraged around the centre at a density of up to 50 dwellings per ha. On the balance of the site, a minimum density of 15 dwellings per ha, with a minimum of 20 dwellings per ha on land along the possible extension of the Transitway. Development of the centre should involve a strong mixed use/commercial core/employment node. Prestons/Yurrunga - The focus will be on encouraging a mix of commercial and residential development. Employment areas will be located on land that can access and take advantage of the proposed extension to the Transitway and the Western Sydney Orbital. Residential uses are proposed for the remaining areas of the site, reflecting nearby residential uses. Development should be encouraged at a minimum density of 15 dwellings per ha, except in mixed use areas along the Transitway, where a minimum density of 20 dwellings per ha will apply. Hoxton Park - The focus will be on encouraging a more traditional level of density for residential development. This area has minimal access to significant public transport links and provides an attractive area for lower density development. Development should be focussed on the southern sections of the site. A minimum density of 15 dwellings per ha will apply. 9. HOW WAS THE PREFERRED DEVELOPMENT FORM OF DEVELOPMENT REACHED?
During the initial stages of the study, a broad desirable urban form was identified and developed in the context of: using public transport and land use as the key tools to create a sustainable, livable community; an urban form strongly oriented towards integrated land use and transport planning to minimise private vehicle dependency (providing opportunities for transit orientated development) and the need for appropriate housing densities to support this infrastructure; RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
the determination that the most likely public transport scenario was the extension of the planned Liverpool - Parramatta Transitway south past Prestons and into Edmondson Park with the potential to establish a railway interchange at Bardia along the proposed rail link; providing appropriate services and physical infrastructure up front and the development of an urban form which could be staged to enable this to occur; providing a best practice example of how development in the outer areas of Sydney should occur; and the nature of the market and development trends in outer areas of Sydney. Three alternative development scenarios (options) were developed in the context of the desired urban form outlined above for consideration and testing. These were intended to represent three points along the spectrum of the wide range of possible options (broadly high, medium and low in terms of the level of market change proposed), with the spectrum varying according to intensity of development, and the provision of transit infrastructure. The main difference between the options was the intensity of development at Edmondson Park influenced by different options in the provision of transit. Summary of proposed options compared to the existing market
Option Existing Market 1 2 3 Proportion low density 80-90% 30% 60% 93% Proportion med-high density 10-20% 70% 40% 7% Indicative population levels 68,000 53,000 48,000
The proposal to increase densities to the level discussed during the project (options 1 and 2) represents a significant change to the urban form and density currently being developed in Western Sydney. Based on the input of Council, comments received from representatives of the development industry, the objectives of the project, and likely infrastructure requirements of the different options, it is recommended that Option 2 (the middle density option) be the preferred scenario for further development and investigations. This involves approximately 40% of dwellings provided at medium to high densities (ie >20 dwellings per ha) which is a market shift from low density development of approximately one-third. This market shift was considered to be achievable, being half as great as that which would be necessary to achieve the highest density form of development practicable (ie Option 1). The traffic/transport model developed calibrated during Stage One was used to determine the implications of the three options. Recommendations in terms of infrastructure needs (transport, water, sewage etc) associated with the preferred option, and the staging of development, were also established.
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
10. 9.1
PROJECT OUTPUTS Urban Development Framework and Supporting Reports
To accompany the Urban Development Framework, the GHD project team produced the following outputs: Part A - Project Summary This document provides a summary of the overall project, including objectives, approach, context, planning requirements and key outcomes. Part B - Background Reports The background reports provide a summary of the outcomes of investigations undertaken as part of the project. Detailed reports are provided in relation to the following key components: Transport planning Urban form and development scenarios Infrastructure services and staging Social and community planning Development of the Environment Baseline System (project GIS) and supporting Excel spreadsheets Part C - Urban Design Guidelines The purpose of the Urban Design Guidelines is to recommend design principles and strategies to implement the preferred urban form and guide the masterplanning process. 9.2 Smart Growth Plan
The final step in the process was converting the outcomes of the GHD project teams work (the Urban Development Framework) to the Smart Growth Plan (ie the presentation step) by the Council project team. The aim of this step was to assist in wide communication of the outcomes, through the use of artists impressions, diagrams, simplified maps and guiding principles. The urban development framework provides the technical basis for the Smart Growth Plan.
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
Developing Sustainable Communities Achieving Smart Growth in Liverpools New Release Areas
11.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
The Developing Sustainable Communities (Stage One) project built on the outcomes of previous studies, providing the framework and direction for urban development in the Hoxton Park Release Corridor. Detailed masterplanning of the main sites within this area is the next step in planning for future development of the area. The Developing Sustainable Communities project confirmed the view that planning for this area should ensure that development embraces Smart Growth approaches. Masterplans for future sites, including the masterplan for the Southern Hoxton Park Aerodrome site (currently being prepared by Council) will be the key tool in ensuring this happens. 10.1 Key Issues The desired market shift will not be achievable unless the key parameters identified during this study are committed to and implemented very early in the release program. In general terms these include: upfront provision of critical infrastructure, public transport and community facilities (including retail facilities); masterplanning focussed on directing the design of development to achieve the objectives of the project, with a strong emphasis on achieving good access to facilities and services (including significant transit links) and promoting alternative forms of transport (eg cycling, walking); equitable cost sharing for higher density developments; and education directed at the benefits of Smart Growth and alternative forms of housing (ie market change).
RAPI NSW State Conference May 2001
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