The extra $45 million boost to the Victorian budget, to be generated through increased parking taxes, could harm retailers and CBD businesses, according to consultancy firm Urbis.

The levy has jumped 130 per cent to its $930 per bay, per year rate after the congestion levy was introduced seven years ago.

It is set to increase to $1300 and vacancies will no longer be discounted.

State budget papers show the government was to earn in $48.1 million from the levy in 2012-13. This will jump to $93.5 million in 2013-14 and reach $100 million by 2016-17.

Urbis valuation and advisory director Roger Scrivener said the increase could be a costly problem for commercial car-park owners and tenants, if market forces restrict their ability to pass on the full increase to motorists. He said owners and car-park tenants could suffer from reduced net revenue, as was the case around St Kilda Road between 2006 and 2010.

The congestion levy was first introduced in Melbourne in 2006 to discourage people driving into the city. The revenue was to be funnelled into infrastructure.

“Parking rates around St Kilda Road were low when the levy was first introduced, so there was quite an increase on parkers when the levy was first added on, which the market took a few years to absorb,” Mr Scrivener said. There is competition in parking around the CBD, particularly on the fringe, so there is every chance owners won’t be able to pass it on to parkers.”

The levy applies to parking lots east of the CBD to Punt Road, to the edge of Fitzroy in the north, to Footscray Road in the west, Kings Way and Queens Road to the south and along St Kilda Road to the junction with Punt Road and the Nepean Highway.

After the state government announced the increase, Melbourne City Council’s budget was released to show a 37.5 per cent increase for on-street metered parking. From July 1, hourly parking fees in the CBD will rise from $4 to $5.50 an hour.

Mr Scrivener said there was little evidence CBD congestion was eased through increased parking levies.

“It hasn’t happened, there are a lot more people in the city. Even if people did decide to take the train instead of drive, the overall amount of traffic in the CBD has not fallen”, he said.

Studies compiled by Monash University’s Department of Civil Engineering to determine the levy’s impact has found it has had little impact on reducing congestion.

The report found most drivers do not pay for their own parking – it comes as part of their salary package.

 Please click here to view the Urbis report on the Melbourne CBD Congestion Levy Increase

The first ideas forum was a great success, with interesting robust debate on the future of consultation in the context of change to the planning system and to local government in NSW. Young practitioners learnt about the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of social media and new technologies, the traditional and emerging role of community engagement, and ways in which those new to the profession can grow and develop.

Urbis are specialists in community and stakeholder engagement. We’re proud to have supported this exciting industry event, and to have collaborated with co-sponsors Straight Talk and City of Ryde Council.

Notes and photos from the session, as well as details of our next event, will be available on the IAP2 website and Facebook page (‘Young IAP2’). To find out more about the IAP2 Young Practitioners Network, contact Suzie Hatherly at shatherly@urbis.com.au.

Property Editor for The Age
Owners forced to sell their properties to make way for the new East West tunnel should get independent legal and valuation advice, experts say.

The controversial first stage of the $6 to $8 billion east west road link – connecting the Eastern Freeway to CityLink – will tunnel under inner suburbs from a yet-to-be-finalised point near the intersection of the Eastern Freeway and Wellington Street in Clifton Hill.

Some industrial properties on the “preferred route” of the second, western, stage – from Melbourne’s Port to the Western Ring Road – will be compulsorily acquired but it’s unclear how many homes and businesses will be affected on the link’s eastern route.

Melbourne Linking Authority documents show tenders will be awarded in late 2014.

Affected property owners were likely to be given a “notice of intention to acquire” once preliminary planning is complete later this year and the government declares it a significant project, Urbis planning and valuations expert Brian Dudakov said.

At that point they are not allowed to lease or sell the property.

A second “notice of acquisition” two months later transferred ownership to the government.

Normally property owners got a reasonably amount of time, between ten months to a year, to relocate and find another premises, Mr Dudakov said.

Anyone forced to sell may also be entitled to compensation of up to 10 per cent of their property’s value depending on the length of time they occupied the land, the inconvenience suffered and their age.

Once they had receive an offer from the government, owners were also entitled – without prejudicing their rights – to take the money and argue for more later if professional advice suggest it was not fair value.

“It’s important for owners to understand their legal entitlements so they’re not disadvantaged,” he said. Owners should also continue to maintain the property after receiving a notice as it may affect its valuation.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/owners-affected-by-eastwest-tunnel-should-seek-legal-advice-20130508-2j8ek.html#ixzz2SlZAwM84

The Minister for Planning announced on Monday the implementation of the highly anticipated Commercial Zone reforms. The details of the new Commercial Zones have been released this afternoon, and will come into effect in all planning scheme across Victoria on 1^st July 2013.

The new zones are broadly consistent with the draft zones that were released for public comment last year, with only minimal changes between the final and draft versions. Implementation of the new zones will see greater flexibility for commercial and retail development across a wider range of metropolitan and regional locations, including opportunities for small supermarkets (up to 1800m²) to locate ‘as of right’ in a wider range of commercial and industrial locations. Please click here for a PDF copy of the Zoning Reforms.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee appointed to consider the new zones has broadly supported the Government’s approach. While the majority of the Committee’s recommendations have been adopted in the final zone package, several recommendations were not pursued, notably:-

• The proposed introduction of a new Commercial 3 Zone to provide for bulky goods retailing;
• The introduction of a requirement for a Net Community Benefit Assessment to be provided to support applications for new retail floor space in Commercial 1 Zones; and
• A maximum floor space of 1,500m² for as of right supermarkets in the Commercial 2 Zone.

Headline summary of proposed reforms:-

1.     Changes to Floor Space caps

• Floor area caps across metropolitan Melbourne removed in all Commercial zones;
• Floor area caps in Metropolitan Melbourne that sit in schedules to other planning zones and overlays (for example, the Comprehensive Development Zone) will be removed by December 2013;
• Floor space caps will be retained in metropolitan Growth Areas for new suburbs that are in included in an Urban Growth Zone (ie: where the commercial hierarchy is establishing rather than mature);
• Councils in regional and interface areas around metropolitan Melbourne will retain the ability to schedule in floor space caps for shop and office uses.

2.     Commercial 1 Zone

• Removes permit requirements for all retail uses (except for adult bookshop);
• Removes permit requirements for accommodation uses (subject to satisfying a 2 metre frontage condition);
• Is otherwise similar to the existing Business 1 Zone in its purpose and provisions.

3.     Commercial 2 Zone

• Allows a range of retailing uses as of right, including:

- Restricted retail premises (bulky goods);
- Supermarkets up to 1,800m², located within the Urban Growth Boundary and which adjoin or have access to a road in a Road Zone;
- Shop(s) with a combined floor area up to 500m² where adjoining or having access to a road in a Road Zone, and food and drink premises up to 100m².

• Allows a permit to be obtained for supermarkets greater than 1,800m² for land within the Urban Growth Boundary where accessible via a Road Zone.
• Office, Warehouse and Industry are as-of right uses, whilst accommodation is prohibited.

4.     Industrial zones

• Removes the 500m² default floor space area restriction for office, but allows Councils to specify a floor area cap for office uses in the schedule.
• Within the Industrial 3 Zone; allows as of right:-

- Supermarkets up to 1,800m² on land within metropolitan Melbourne with access to a Road Zone;
- Shop(s) totalling 500m² where adjoining or on the same land as a supermarket, and having access to a Road Zone;
- Convenience shops.

5.     Proposed Policy Changes

• The Ministerial Advisory Committee has recommended minor changes to the State Planning Policy Framework to support the implementation of the new zones. In particular, the Committee has recommended changes to Clause 17.01-2 in relation to  ‘Out of Centre’ development as follows:-

“Ensure that out-of-centre proposals are only considered where the proposed use or development is of net benefit to the community in the region served by the proposal or provides small scale shopping opportunities that meet the needs of local residents and workers in convenient locations”. (new addition in bold)

The State Government has not yet announced whether there will be changes made to the SPPF as part of the VC Amendment on 1^st July 201

6.     Key impacts of the reformed Commercial Zones include:

• Increased flexibility for supermarket uses to locate in a much broader range of locations;
• Flexibility for large offices to locate outside activity centres in industrial/business precincts;
• Potential reduction in the need for permit approvals and the complexity of permit applications;
• Potential enlargement of activity centre boundaries, with peripheral land previously zoned Business 2 or 5 now enjoying the same zone entitlements as the core Business 1 areas;
• Significantly enhanced flexibility for Business 2 and 5 land (new Commercial 1 Zone), given as-of-right shop allowances and abolition of floor space caps;
• Significantly enhanced flexibility for Business 3 and 4 zoned land (new Commercial 2 Zone) which now allow shop uses subject to a permit, and small supermarkets as of right;
• Removal of caps in shopping centres across the metropolitan area and in growth area locations not included in a UGZ.

The decline in manufacturing is a constant discussion in Australia and the emergence of 3D printing as a method of rapid prototyping and production of small runs has been mentioned as part of the future for advanced manufacturing.

Over the weekend, a step forward was achieved with 3D printing when a Texan group, Defense Distributed, successfully designed, printed and fired a gun, and last week a Princeton team printed a bionic ear.

Separating the ethics, 3D printing and open-source is growing fast

There are certainly ethical issues, particularly as Defense Distributed plans to make the blueprints available online.

From an economic perspective, this highlights the open-source nature of advanced manufacturing. It is commonplace for 3D printing designs to be shared freely. Indeed, even the designs to build the 3D printers themselves are free.

The economic model is that individuals or companies will then take those designs, produce them, assemble, market and sale.

On the other hand, most people see the development of an ear for a cyborg as a great advancement in science!

Mass manufacturing is still more efficient with injection moulding

While the design of complex prototypes is increasingly moving to computer-designed, 3D printed items, mass manufacturing is still more efficient once volumes pass a certain critical mass. Those mass manufacturing plants are much cheaper overseas than in the high-cost country that Australia has now become.

Implications for property

The further this technology develops, the greater the opportunities for high-value design within Australia, which can be undertaken in any number of property types.

On the other hand, it doesn’t provide any solace for manufacturing property in Australia. Even if we do become successful in developing 3D printing prototypes

In a recent analysis, Urbis town planners and GIS team considered a residential project within part of the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal area. We identified that the operations of the industrial uses are already encumbered by residential areas to some degree, and that there are no core industrial activities or actively operating “Scheduled Premises” within the precinct.

However, in our investigation area, there are a number of panel beating operations which have historically caused nuisance issues when located near residential uses.  The suite of planning controls in Fishermans Bend seek to manage this period of transition so that existing operations are not unreasonably affected by the incoming residential population. As occurs in many other inner locations, panel beating businesses have been able to exist with high density residential neighbours nearby during periods of urban renewal.

As far back as 2006, Jowett v Kingston CC [2006] VCAT 1143 provided guidance as to how this can be managed.  The Tribunal established that modern panel beating operations have very little impact on residents, with work mainly during business hours, little noise and ‘Lowbake’ spray booths operating very fast and minimising fumes which are discharged through stacks.

As a result, it is now possible to locate residential buildings abutting modern light industrial facilities within inner suburbs.  The days of 100 metre buffer distances to some land uses are long gone in these locations, and will increasingly disappear across metropolitan Australia.

Given that this change has taken place over many decades, it’s somewhat surprising that these issues still exist at all. But they do.

Obsolete industrial property and zones

Some of these inner localities have industrial areas that just aren’t efficient land uses any more. Urbis Economics reported on the example of Marrickville in this article last year and showed how fragmented land parcels restrict the ability to redevelop the land.

In other areas, there are substantial industrial zoned precincts where the former manufacturing functions are now obsolete and their proximity to residential land limits industrial redevelopment. One example is a 68ha Blackshaws Rd precinct in Altona North. In its current state, it is underutilised and site values for this land are low, delivering far lower rates and taxes to the Council than they would achieve on redeveloped land.

Whilst Hobsons Bay is a proactive Council that has undertaken a Land Use study to establish and identify redevelopment opportunities, many other municipalities lack their vision.

Refusals to change and old-thinking policy

One option to escalate regeneration in these areas is for State Governments to become involved in the local planning process as they have with the 240ha Fishermans Bend precinct and major redevelopments in the Western Sydney Employment Area and the disused container terminal at Barangaroo.

In contrast, some inner Councils are reluctant to rezone as they steadfastly believe they should attempt to retain industrial jobs when market demand has moved past this as a viable option.

In these inner locations, Industrial zoning doesn’t deliver on employment objectives because of the decline in manufacturing, and the lower employment generation for warehousing and logistics functions, which can only attract a workforce of around 20 employees per hectare.

The unfortunate reality is few old industrial jobs will return. This makes the draft Sydney Metropolitan strategy a little odd. The new policy notes the pressure of rezoning on established areas and requires proponents to “demonstrate a compelling argument that industrial land cannot be used for an industrial purpose now or in the foreseeable future as well as articulate what opportunities may exist to redevelop the land to support new forms of industrial land uses such as high-tech or creative industries”.

While it is laudable to want to generate jobs, Urbis does find it strange that policies like these continue in the face of clear market evidence to the contrary, especially when an element of retail is very likely to be developed on some of the land to be rezoned. Retail will generate substantially more jobs per hectare than the industrial zone that the Councils are trying to preserve.

The 3PL framework 

In a bygone era, companies managed their own logistics. Over recent decades this has been steadily changing and the use of third party logistics (3PL) to generate productivity improvements and cost savings has continued to grow.

According to IBISWorld, the Integrated Logistics industry is now worth over $100bn in revenue in Australia, and after recovering from a blip during the GFC, the industry is growing at over 3% per year.

With the recent growth in e-tailing, the requirement for large, modern facilities continues to grow. In addition, many large users such as Toll, DHL and Linfox are matching their accommodation requirements to the terms of their 3PL contracts. If they win an 8 year contract with a major chain, they will seek out a parallel 8 year lease on a warehouse or cold storage facility. Shorter term requirements invariably see the 3PL provider seeking existing premises, or consolidating their overall accommodation needs by reconfiguring their owned and leased property portfolio.

Yield, yield, yield

Yield is the name of the game at present. This is at least partly supported by the current strategy of many funds to pursue Income Returns because of increasing superannuation redemption exposure.

As a result, there has been a reweighting of portfolios over the past 18 months towards quality industrial assets at the expense of retail and even office.

This has created two (maybe three) tiers in the industrial property marketplace, with Institutions looking for prime grade properties and being prepared to accept yield compression as a result.

Build it so we can invest

The final theme is the continuation of vertical integration for some institutions that are both developers and funds managers. The business plan of many institutions which offer investment funds in this sector is to actively create assets for their own funds (assets are constructed with thin margins, within structures that deliver them healthy management fees down the track).

In recent years this “business model” lapsed somewhat, as fund managers sought to decrease debt exposure and renegotiate debt facilities. This competition for debt, even within the same institution, meant that development projects had to be fully commercially viable at practical completion, with an appropriate reward for the risk taken. For the first time in many years some institutional developers/investors were competing directly against private developers for tenant opportunities – the private developers working to the traditional business model of the end value meeting development cost + realistic profit.

However, over the past 18 months, developers such as Goodman, Australand and DEXUS are once again chasing and constructing product that goes to an associated wholesale fund. It is no coincidence that these institutional developers are in joint venture style arrangements with overseas pension funds who seek quality assets under management.

Recent research undertaken by Urbis on large industrial buildings developed over the past 10 years reveal strong demand from major retailers seeking costs savings and efficiencies from consolidated operations.

Investor appetite is strong

The level of activity in the industrial sector has increased recently as international investors including NPS of Korea, GIC, EPF of Malaysia, Canadian pension funds and Aviva all seek exposure to the “stable” Australian economy. In addition, a number of local market participants, in their own right or in partnership, have shown a strong appetite including Charter Hall, GPT, Goodman, Growthpoint, 360 Capital, Lend Lease and Dexus.

The appetite has been for prime or modern well let “passive” style assets, particularly large format, high quality and well-leased distribution facilities.  In contrast, there have been a number of secondary assets offered over this period with relatively few transacting. There remains a significant yield gap between prime and secondary assets.

Low vacancies have driven new developments supported by major tenants

A notable feature of the market has been the “speculative” new developments. Most of these have been secured by major tenants prior to practical completion of construction, and mainly by major retailers or transport businesses.

These new builds have been encouraged by the low prevailing vacancy rates for prime and modern stock, influenced by a high level of tenant renewals.

In contrast, the story for secondary assets is weaker.  There are higher vacancies and most occupiers are attracted by the operational efficiencies achieved in a new building. Secondary stock is now viewed by many as a short-term “overflow” solution.

Capital costs to upgrade secondary stock to achieve a long term lessee commitment are significant yet without that investment the risk of prolonged vacancies is naturally much higher.

Whilst the wider market has an expectation that secondary yields will firm and the yield gap between prime and secondary assets will close, there is limited transactional evidence to support this view at present.

Our analysis found that there is very substantial migration to the NSW and Queensland coasts.  This migration is so significant that it will continue to shape the economy of those areas for decades to come.

It also has major implications for housing choice, diversity and the infrastructure required to satisfy the preferences and requirements of older people moving to new locations.  These are of major interest to the property sector.

Finally, it is a challenge for older people who want to move dwellings.  It is very difficult to find appropriate housing within our major cities.  There is a lack of dwelling diversity which affects this group, and has flow-on impacts to urban planning.

Please find attached below the full Urbis report on Does Australia have the right housing for Older People?

We are currently in the process of working through the document and will in the near future be posting insights and information on the impacts and influence that this document will have on the NSW property landscape.

If you have any questions or are interested in speaking to one of our directors on how this may effect you please do not hesitate to contact and of the directors below.

Stephen White Director

Tim Blythe Regional Director

Peter Strudwick Director

John Wynne Managing Director

David Hoy Director

This is good news for the urban apartment market. As Urbis reported in Australia’s Embrace of Medium & High Density Housing, an important component of the migrant intake is renting age students, who in turn fuel the apartment sector.

This upturn is confirmed in the following chart, that the number of 25-39 years has indeed begun to increase again after a very slow couple of years.

This increase in net migration is due to shifts in government policy, which is the tap that turns migration on and off. It is encouraging that the government is supporting economic growth in this way, which will also benefit sectors such as retail and education, in addition to property.

Melbourne CBD to house more people than Sydney by 2016

Our analysis of population projections for the next 20 years shows that the Melbourne CBD area is set to nearly double the population in the Sydney CBD by 2031.

This only reflects the growth within the Hoddle grid, as shown in the map below. In addition, there is very significant population growth in Docklands to the west, Southbank and St Kilda Rd to the south, and Fishermen’s Bend to the south-west. Collectively, the expanded Melbourne inner area is expected to grow by nearly 100,000 people over the 20 years to 2031 and house nearly 190,000.

Sydney still the largest metro area

Despite the Melbourne CBD’s rapid growth, the inner Sydney area will still house more people than Melbourne. There are nearly 200,000 people living in the Sydney city area, which extends to the south, east and west.

This population is growing much more slowly than Melbourne’s at only 1.3% per year, but this highly dense inner Sydney city area (see map below) will still reach around a quarter of a million by 2031.

However, plot ratio controls have also had some downsides.  They have had the potential to result in homogeneous development outcomes, stifle innovative design and in certain cases to impact negatively upon the commerciality of developments.

In recognition of these limitations, many contemporary local government planning schemes, including the draft Brisbane City Plan, have abandoned plot ratio as a control and are instead relying on a combination of planning controls to dictate density on a site.  Some of these controls include setbacks, site cover, building height, car parking, landscaping and open space.

Mosaic in the Valley is a successful example of no plot ratio controls

Urbis recently worked with Leighton Properties on the Mosaic development in Fortitude Valley, where there are no plot ratio controls (and never have been).

The outcome delivered a commercially appropriate development. It has activation at the ground plane, generous public spaces at the ground plane, the development of a podium but not a dominant podium, light and air between adjacent buildings, and articulation of facades and vertical mix of uses.

Urbis is supportive of this approach to use a combination of planning controls, rather than plot ratio, as it allows for flexibility of design outcomes. It also allows the development community to be able to respond to market conditions and requirements more readily than under the traditional approach.

Women in the Planning profession celebrate International Women’s Day tomorrow with the message that the gender imbalance is disappearing.

PIA currently boasts a woman Chief Executive Officer, National President, 5 out of 11 Board Directors, 5 of 9 Executive team and women Presidents in some of its State/Territory Divisions around Australia.

PIA CEO Kirsty Kelly said while PIA hasn’t consciously set out to achieve gender balance, by its nature planning is focused on balance.

“Women are half of the population so it makes sense that we are equally represented in leadership roles,” Ms Kelly said.

But it wasn’t always so in planning. In 1978 a national survey showed women made up just 4.3% of PIA’s membership at a time when women made up 35.6% of the Australian workforce.

In 2002, women made up approximately 27% of membership. These statistics included Students, Graduates, Associates, Members, Fellows, Life Fellows and Hon Fellows members. Then by 2011/2012 the number of women members of the Institute grew to 35% – a steady increase of 8%.

International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th March each year to recognise women’s achievements throughout history. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.

The story for women in planning is further encouraging when statistics of the younger people in the profession are unveiled.

PIA figures show that in 2002 a total of 46% of first, second and third year graduates were women. That number has jumped to just over 50% for 2012/2013.

In its Gender Equality Blueprint 2010, the Australian Human Rights Commission identified ‘women in leadership’ as a key priority finding that women are “seen as having less leadership potential and their behaviours are evaluated less favourably”.

PIA would appear to be defying traditional perceptions of women in leadership with women taking leadership roles from within the Young Planners Group to the National President’s position.

The Age

Simon Johanson

Young women are driving a shift towards apartment living but baby boomers are not downsizing into similar high-rise homes, research suggests.

Members of the boomer generation that were expected to reject their traditional three-bedroom suburban homes, are instead buying apartments for their self-managed super funds (SMSF).

At the same time, their female children are taking to high-density housing – either as buyers or renters – with a gusto not shown by their more home-loving brothers, a report by research and planning firm Urbis says.

Only 4 per cent of 25-to-34-year-old females live at home compared with 22 per cent of similarly aged young men.

But the same group is by far the largest demographic in medium and high-density housing localities, census and other data shows.

In one recent Melbourne project where residents just moved in, 40 per cent of buyers were women under the age of 40, architects Rothelowman said.

The 78-dwelling Harvest building in South Melbourne’s popular Clarendon Street had a “disproportionally high number of young female buyers”, but their lifestyle choice was a trend noticed in other projects as well, senior associate Stuart Marsland said.

Mr Marsland said young, professional women gravitated towards inner eastern or southern bayside suburbs to be close to “mum and dad”.

Location, a building’s security, the quality of fittings and storage space, and access to shops and transport were also big factors in young women’s choices, he said.

“There has been a massive swing to young women making independent decisions about housing and making decisions when they are a couple as well,” Urbis report author Mark Solonsch said.

Thirty-year old accountant Susan Boulus rents a South Yarra apartment because of the lifestyle, facilities, and convenience to friends it gives her and her partner.

Affordability was also a factor, said Ms Boulus, but she is not planning to buy an apartment this year, rather a townhouse. “I don’t like body corporates,” she said.

The nationwide shift towards higher-density housing is becoming more pronounced.

“Over the past year, approvals for private houses are almost unchanged from a year ago while approval for private units [flats and apartments] are up 36 per cent,” Urbis said.

Young females make up about 30 per cent of buyers in residential developer Australand’s medium to high-density projects, residential manager Rod Fehring said.

That figure had risen over the past five years, he said.

But people older than 60 were unwilling to live in apartments, figures suggest.

“Including retirement and nursing homes, only 8 per cent of older people are living in apartments,” Mr Solonsch said.

“The trend over the five years to 2012 has seen a decline in older people living in high-density accommodation.”

But at the same time, SMSF’s investment in residential accommodation has shot up.

“The value of residential assets held by SMSFs has grown by $1.6 billion over the past year, and is now accelerating. SMSFs now hold $16.7 billion in residential assets,” the report said.

Yesterday’s release by the ABS shows that there are 106,000 discouraged job seekers aged 15 years or over.

This was a 17% increase from 90,700 in 2011, and is due to a rise in male discouraged job seekers (from 38,300 in 2011 to 50,200 in 2012).

Ageism is major contributor to discouraged job seekers

Of the 106,600 discouraged job seekers, the most commonly reported main reason for not actively looking for work was ‘Considered too old by employers’ (36%).

In fact, 47% of discouraged job seekers aged 55-69 years were discouraged because of their perception that they were considered too old, and 80% of those aged 70 years and over felt that way.

Given the importance of maximising the participation in the workforce among older Australians, this shift is a particular concern. In Game-changers: Economic reform priorities for Australia, the Grattan Institute identified that found that “Older people’s workforce participation” is one of the top 3 priorities for reform for Australia over the next 10 years.

Today’s results are based on a September 2012 survey. Australia’s economic performance has weakened since that time, which implies that this concern is even greater now than it was in 2012. The increase in discouraged jobseekers, particularly older people, impacts on a raft of downstream effects. It slows economic activity, impacts on the capacity for older people to invest and reduces the diversity in our workforce.

Regardless of which way you look at this result, it’s heading in the wrong direction. The only way to reverse this trend is for everyone to be aware of ageism, and to actively ensure that it does not occur. As the Grattan Institute reminds us, by having more older people in the workforce, this benefits us all.

Architecture Source

Kristen Avis

Work has begun on the landscape design of Victoria’s Peninsula Link.

Open for nearly a month, the 27-kilometre link has cut down the commute time between the Eastlink in Carrum Downs and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Mount Martha. Now that the link itself is up and running, work is commencing on the urban design and landscape architecture as planned.

The overall plan for the urban design and landscape architecture is the responsibility of the Southernway consortium Urban Design Team, made up of ARM Architecture and Urbis.

Urbis was appointed to develop an overall design for the urban landscape, including open space and structures as well as the integration of environmental values.

ARM Architecture undertook the design of underpasses, noise walls and bridges, adhering to Urbis’ overall design philosophy gained through extensive EES studies and site analysis.

Urbis design director Peter Haack says several design elements are united to tell a ‘story’ along the length of the road.

“The outcome is not a singular response, but rather a journey of different experiences which creates an integrated outcome, akin to the different chapters in a book creating an interesting read,” he says.

Art was integrated into the design to promote a sense of place and reinforce local experiences.

The design aimed for a seamless integration of the built forms with the natural landscape. Opting for a holistic design, the team’s approach was to integrate the engineering and functional design elements with the landscape and environmental aspects of the corridor.

Equal emphasis for adjacent communities, motorists and shared path users was a fundamental design principle used during development.

The project was used as a way to ensure that natural values were protected and enhanced in the area including the Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve.

Peninsula Link landscape highlights include:

Peninsula Portal

When exiting the Eastlink travelling north or heading back to the city, this represents the arrival into and departure out of the corridor.

Woodland experiences

Fauna corridors of quiet, healthy woodlands provide breaks from the urban form.

Cultural Landscapes

A selection of striking natural and built environments that will be of interest to Peninsula Link users in both directions. Includes references to Frankston and Cruden Farm.

Baxter

The transition from the urban to rural landscape experience occurs.

Green Rooms

Focusing on ever-changing views of the Moorooduc Plains, the journey transitions to the ‘green rooms’ where the landscape blends seamlessly into the properties south of Baxter.

Haack says the planting of 1.5 million plants and trees is yet to be undertaken and needs time to mature, but so far the project has been well received by users

However, the successful delivery of density, particularly as TODs (transit oriented developments) is vital to planning across Australia’s capital cities. So it is important to ensure that any potential tension that may arise between developers, residents and Councils is addressed and resolved appropriately.

Existing open space benchmarks are not necessarily relevant to our modern cities

The standard of 2.38 hectares of open space per 1,000 people, is often unrealistic in more densely populated areas, such as many of Sydney’s inner City suburbs. The benchmark is a very old ratio, developed in the UK and not based on evidence from modern cities.

In high density areas, it is not just about space – which is what benchmarks focus on; it’s about existing provision, quality and use, future flexibility, purpose and meeting different needs and requirements. People in higher density dwellings need greater access and quality open space and public realm – their backyard is the public domain. Higher density developments may attract a different residential profile than that of traditional greenfield subdivision sites. These residents have different requirements on how they want to use and experience open space and community facilities.

Flexible approaches to public space are more important than adherence to benchmarks

Due to benchmarks being out dated and rigid, best practice principles and case studies are often drawn upon to design well-functioning high density neighbourhoods. An example of this is co-locating a number of community and recreational facilities within a multipurpose hub or centre.

Connectivity is also an important consideration for high density development. Improving connectivity between open spaces and recreation facilities, including public transport, walking tracks and bike paths should be a key priority in the philosophy of open space provision in high density areas.

In addition, opportunities for social interaction and engagement should be maximised throughout the day and the night. Best practice is to co-locate community facilities and open space, and provide active recreation opportunities alongside traditional passive recreation facilities. This not only encourages engagement and activation, but also reflects key Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles.

Multi-purpose community facilities are an efficient option for higher density areas

Centralised community hubs are often a key asset to high density development. They provide flexible, multi-purpose space to respond to centralised demand. There is greater benefit in having multiple courts in a central location than single courts that can have limited capacity. Having multiple courts or uses at the one site can create long-term feasible facilities.

Other priorities and uses that may be considered within a multipurpose facility may include; schools, childcare, hospitals, community or medical services.

Communicate. Consult. Collaborate.

Resolving the existing tensions and restoring trust between the community, councils and developers is essential to deliver these important higher density developments. If high density is to be accepted it must be shown to be doing more for the community – not just contributions paid to Council which may not translate into immediately obvious assets.

A crucial insight from Urbis’ work in this space is the need for detailed research and analysis to inform discussions and consultation with the community, Councils and developers. Meaningful engagement through a wide range of community and stakeholder consultations is necessary to achieve a great outcome. Community engagement informs targeted provision and design and achieves a great community and commercial outcome.