I think there's a middle ground to be found here. Whilst recent
government policies of both sides have led to an inflated ponzi scheme
of an economy propped up by a housing bubble, and the Big Australia
idea is likely not compatible with the Australian environment, I do
think we need to densify our inner urban cores. However, I don't think
soulless skyscrapers are the answer: instead, we could build medium
density housing that tops out at three to seven storeys. Single-family
homes and suburbia is an extraordinarily bad use of land because the
density is so low, and it encourages the kind of sprawl that we
despise.
You're always suggesting we emulate Prague's transport network, Tony P,
so what do you think about emulating some aspects of their housing
policy? Vienna has a similarly high density without the need for
skyscrapers, and they also have a remarkably successful public housing
scheme. Stockholm has suburbs, but they're relatively dense and built
around mixed-use developments, with medium rise buildings surrounded by
public spaces, and they're well-connected to the rest of the city and
region by functional transportation. Ditto for Amsterdam and the
Netherlands: I find it incredible that within 15–20 minutes by train
from Amsterdam you're surrounded by green fields.
What solutions can we agree upon? We all agree that housing is in short
supply and prices are inflated, so something must be done. We also
agree that the current scheme has lots of toxic and corrupt elements.
So let's think of a viable alternative that produces benefits for
everyone, and not just the 1%.
Robbie
On Thu, 2019-05-16 at 13:19 +1000, Tony Galloway wrote:
> So, to demonstrate I’m not a “privileged nimby” I should sacrifice my
> hard worked for home to the greed of the spivs and the demands of
> their owned and operated bitch-whore government ?
> Fuck that !!
> When I bought my place in pre-Howard 1995 it was less than $170,000.
> Since then the lazy and corrupt business/developer lobby has
> perpetrated a population Ponzi scheme they laughingly refer to as an
> “economy" to artificially induce bogus, but nevertheless malignant
> growth that has inflicted nothing but environmental and urban
> degradation everywhere it has touched. I think I’m more than entitled
> to keep what I have. The last valuation I had - before the bubble
> burst - was an inflated and dubious $1.6 mil., a meaningless figure
> to anyone but a greed driven shithead as I’d have to spend even more
> to get something equivalent. I didn’t ask for or want what happened
> to house prices, but it’s my kids who’ll have to live with the
> consequences as they try to find their own accomodation in the
> future. I expect them to remain at home for quite a while yet.
> As for “nimbyism and privilege” I note the defecating criminal scum
> that inflicts this urban blight never live among it - they’re down in
> the Southern Highlands or up on the northern beaches or in some other
> sylvan glade, without an ugly concrete high rise in sight to trouble
> their panoramic views. They’ll never have to be evicted from a modest
> freestanding house to be forced into a vertical slum, never have to
> see the fabric of their community destroyed by egregious
> overdevelopment dictated by a government with no political skin to
> lose by letting it happen.
> And regarding the long commutes of 80km etc, that has happened
> because poor planning and pissweak/corrupt/incompetent government has
> allowed itself to be owned and operated by the “free” market
> carpetbaggers to do as they like, rather than direct them to to
> provide jobs where people actually live. If government can’t govern
> the powerful rather than the other way around it’s not worth a pinch
> of shit.
> And further, regarding these slums “encouraging public transport
> use”, it’s the provision of good public transport first and foremost,
> and not pandering to the demands of insatiable motorists in the first
> place that encourages PT use, which is different than building high
> density slums that then demand standee cattle car transit sewers to
> try to (unsuccessfully) avoid total gridlock and immobility.
> But on reflection, there is a place for all this rotten, corruption
> driven, jerry built vertical slum urban blight to exist - it can all
> be moved to Nowra. You can have it as a free add-on with Warren
> Mundine and his Jervis Bay nuclear power station.
> Tony
>
>
> > On 16 May 2019, at 10:20 am, Prescott lenkaprescott@...>
> > wrote:
> >
> > It seems to me that if there is something people want to attack
> > about this major urban development, it's the national population
> > policy that so far is bipartisan and doesn't look like changing
> > anytime soon. It's not an option to do nothing and allow the cities
> > to become dysfunctional. And it certainly ill-behoves anybody
> > already comfortably established with a residence (now typically
> > worth something north of a million $) relatively close to a city
> > centre to deny the opportunity for anybody else to have an
> > opportunity to live in proximity to their work as well, rather than
> > having to commute from 80 km out, as many service workers and
> > employees now have to do. That's the worst form of nimbyism and
> > privilege.
> > Property developers only build residential developments in respond
> > to demand and guided by the town planning strategies, they don't
> > lead the demand. There is a great shortage of housing in Sydney.
> > The logical places to build new and higher-density housing are
> > around transport/activity nodes, but this is tempered - justly - in
> > inner-city areas by the large conservation areas, so these
> > developments are relatively limited in such areas. This type of
> > development also encourages public transport use, I would think
> > that that aspect is something that should be regarded with favour
> > on a forum like this one.
> >
> > Tony P
> >
> >
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