Asked what major improvements she would like to see in rapidly growing western Sydney,Lucy Turnbull told the Herald:“We’ve got to shift the way we conceptualise suburbia to be more climate change-resistant,more human friendly,more walkable,more cyclable,more medium density.
“If you think about,say,terrace houses in Paddington and Glebe,they were conceived and built long before there were planning regulations,but they are some of the most attractive,valuable property in Australia.
“So why can’t we relearn what we’ve somehow unlearnt with the advent of automobile dependence and[ensure] that green urban domain is better distributed throughout the city?”
Lucy Turnbull said planning controls in the growth areas of south-west Sydney in particular had discouraged the creation of environmentally friendly,medium-density suburbs similar to those in the inner city.
“We’ve got to flip what is business as usual on its head and create that medium density[housing],walkability to schools and shops,more tree canopy cover ... I’d really like the same amenity as you get in the inner city of the eastern harbour city to be adaptively transferred to western Sydney.”
The Turnbulls were speaking on the sidelines of the Ignite GWS Innovation Summit in Parramatta,where they were presented with awards recognising their contribution to cities policy.
Christopher Brown,the chair of the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue,said although the Turnbulls were “eastern suburbs bluebloods” from Point Piper,they had championed improvements for western Sydney.