Illustration:John Shakespeare
Can we keep expanding our city?
grw If it came down to either having somewhere to live or being able to play cricket in my backyard,I know which one I would choose.
Stu Backyard cricket in western Sydney disappeared years ago when the standard house size became akin to that of a small castle.
Brad I’m not sure “the independent mayor” has seen any backyards of the newer housing developments south of Fairfield. Definitely no space for cricket there. It’s about time we grew up in this country and accept the inevitable – you can’t keep expanding the city.
CentrallyInclined Carbone doesn’t have to worry. At the current rate no families will be able to afford Sydney,so there’ll be no one playing in the city’s backyards anyway.
Ernie Dale Carbone is correct. A usable backyard is the only real offset for larger families stranded miles from beaches and cultural centres. Dual occupancy means long streets of cheek-by-jowl echo chambers with dwellings extended almost to the property lines. Forget the sunlit streets of single-storey terraces like Erskineville or Stanmore,or double-storey terraces broken by laneways or service paths as found in Newtown or Annandale – these are not what developers have in mind.
Illustration:John Shakespeare
Ethical developers:where are you?
Maria Bradley,CoogeePerhaps the NSW government should stop selling off public housing to developers and stop allowing affordable housing units to be demolished for luxury units. The housing affordability crisis isn’t a supply issue,it’s being fuelled by poor government policies.
Porter Relying on the private market to supply housing will not result in affordable homes. If the government wants to see more affordable homes being built,it needs to get involved. Requiring 5 per cent of new homes private developers build to be affordable will not do it.
Another Day Perhaps it’s time for housing,rather than being treated an investment to make money,reverts back to being a place to provide shelter and a home.
Elisabeth Goodsall,WahroongaUnless strict legislation is placed around the government’s plan for affordable housing at selected transport hubs,it won’t work. To be truly affordable and not just another windfall for developers,it requires a strict framework and regulation. It has to be fair to residents selling their homes who must receive the maximum market value. The prices for the “affordable” new dwellings must be capped. The quality of the build has to be checked by government certifiers to prevent slums of the future. Any ethical developers out there willing to really make a difference?
Peter Icklow,PymbleI have been an ethical developer for more than 50 years. If residents selling their homes “must” receive the maximum price,but the developer has to “cap” their prices then there is no margin for a developer to risk his money as the resident makes all the profit. If investors are to be locked out and negative gearing stopped,then who will supply the rental properties so badly needed? However,the main issue is the taxes levied on new houses. Taxes are almost 50 per cent of the cost of a new house. Housing affordability is a problem of cost,created by the governments’ tax grabs.
Illustration:John Shakespeare
Is the government eroding our living standards?
Geogh Swan More spin by government to try to adjust people to a lower standard of living. Erosion of living standards in Australia has been taking place for decades now. Clearing the trees and vegetation in Sydney’s north and replacing them with stacks of concrete coffins is just the latest “great” idea from the peanut gallery.
MIMBY (Maybe in my backyard,depending)Sydney needs medium density spread across greater areas of the city not high density housing in small enclaves. Planning needs to take a holistic view across the greater Sydney area rather than council-by-council if we are to avoid a city divided into high-rise and urban sprawl.
Wise Man Unfortunately this is the cost of two decades of high immigration intakes and unsustainable-overgenerous federal negative gearing-CGT concessions and bad state infrastructure planning.
Malcolm No one wants to build up. Ghettos in the making. Idiotic.
Illustration:John Shakespeare
Is it possible to live happily in an apartment?
marcus I lived in Europe in a typical 300-year-old six-storey apartment. It was also close to a river,parkland and forest. Local market square outside our front door. Many restaurants,four local bakeries,bike friendly. High density can be fantastic,but you have to do it right. Surely,we can do that?
Sal Two cliches come to mind:“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and “Everything is relative”. People are entitled to cherish where they currently live for its existing aesthetics. It’s probably why they bought there in the first place.
Mitch I often hear older generations complaining that younger people are so entitled. North shore residents refusal to accept their share of a growing Sydney is so entitled – that it could be where they learnt it from.