Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Peter Seamer, Nero, $32.99.
There needs to be a change in the way we plan and build cities in Australia. That’s the clear message from Seamer, a former CEO of the Victorian Planning Authority, Federation Square and the City of Sydney.
Australia’s population is growing: it is projected to increase by 11.8 million between 2017 and 2046 – the equivalent of adding a city the size of Canberra every year for the next 30 years.
Most of this growth will occur in the major cities, and already its effects are being felt: inner-city property prices are skyrocketing, and the more affordable middle and outer suburbs lack essential services and infrastructure. The result is ‘inequality: while wealthy inner-city dwellers enjoy access to government-subsidised amenities — public transport, cultural and sporting facilities — new home buyers, pushed further out, pay the lion’s share of costs’.
How can we create affordable housing for everyone and still get them to work in the morning? What does sustainable urban development look like?
Seamer argues that vested interests often distort rational thinking about our cities. Looking to the future, he sets out cogent new strategies to resolve congestion, transport and expenditure problems, offering a blueprint for multi-centred Australian cities that are more localised, urban and equitable.
Seamer has written a realistic, distinct and legible account of the intricacy of Australia’s urban development. Thinking critically about cities is an urgent task in order to accommodate the estimated additional numbers, 75 per cent of whom are expected to live in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
