Architect Philip Thalis posted the below Tweet showing the appalling downgrading of new housing developments from their planning application and artists impression:
Thalis shows a development in Sydney’s North-West, which promised the following urban utopia:
Promised housing development
Only to deliver the following dystopian trash:
Actual housing development
Thalis’ critique comes at the same time as the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission recommended higher towers, smaller homes, and fewer car spaces to “solve” the state’s housing crisis:
As reported by The ABC:
“Higher-density zones around train stations would double in size… The NSW productivity commissioner is also recommending design standards be relaxed to allow the construction of smaller apartments without access to parking, storage or direct sunlight”…
“The commission has also recommended minimum apartment size requirements be removed, to improve feasibility for developers and affordability for buyers”.
“Balcony size rules, storage requirements, and guidelines for “family-sized” units were also unnecessary, the commission found”.
The densification and degradation of Sydney’s (and Australia’s) housing stock is a direct result of explosive population growth:
It took Sydney 213 years to reach a population of 4.1 million in 2001. And Sydney’s population is officially projected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to hit nearly 8.4 million by 2071.
This 4.25 million population increase for Sydney would be delivered in only 70 years,
Such a population expansion, which is even more aggressive for Melbourne, will require huge volumes of high-density shoeboxes to be constructed quickly, which will inevitably compromise on quality.
Indeed, this is the exact scenario painted by the Urban Taskforce, which projected that Sydney’s dwelling composition will transform from majority detached houses with backyards to majority apartments:
Who in their right mind believes that the above will deliver an improvement in living standards for residents living in Australia’s major cities?
Clearly, the ‘Big Australia’ mass immigration policy endorsed by politicians, the media, and most economists are a one-way ticket to dystopia and high-rise slum living.
Who voted for this future?
