The Future ?

When todays toddlers grow up and start earning a living, what sort of city do we expect Sydney to have become ?  One thing is absolutely certain.  It will have a lot more residents that it does right now.

One of the plans being put under the microscope concerns what is called the " Waterloo Social Housing Estate ".  We are hearing disparaging remarks that this will be the " ghetto of the future ". This estate will join the " Waterloo Metro  Quarter " which is a proposed large block around the metro station.  It includes 700 apartments over four blocks which will tower skyward between fourteen and twenty-nine stories.

Adjacent to this is the Australian Technology Park, a complex that will provide 10,000 jobs in the area and the existing Green Square development which will house 61,000 people, 22,000 of whom will have jobs in this area.  All of this is near Central station which will be the hub of the transport network that radiates to all areas of Sydney.

It makes sense to group people living close to a transport exchange that can get them to jobs anywhere in the city without the need to drive there in a car. Further job development is planned for the Central Station/Eveleigh corridor to create a " technology and innovation " precinct.  What the planners are trying to put together is a combination of attractive housing that provides easy access to a big choice of job varieties and also delivers a shopping and entertainment component to suit residents needs.

When people think of Waterloo they remember three big housing towers that became synonymous with a slum.  They quickly gained a reputation for unruly tenants and unreliable lifts that kept breaking down. They quickly became the destination for welfare housing tenants who were difficult to house and these towers had frequent visits from the police.  That address on a job application became an almost certain rejection.

The big difference is that this proposed development will not be government owned, but will be a mix of affordable social housing and private housing and it will be built to keep pace with demand over the next fifteen to twenty years.  It will be one of the highest density precincts in Australia but that should not detract from its appeal if standards are kept high and facilities keep pace with modern living.

A lot will depend on what image emerges as this development commences. Critics claiming it will become the " Ghetto of the future "  are not helping and this form of criticism can quickly form an image in peoples minds.  It will be very important that early residents portray satisfaction with life style and surrounding benefits and that will only happen if the promises made achieve reality.

This development needs to stick closely to its development timeline and the support functions be put in place early.  High density living is a necessity of the future and it can be achieved with strict adherence to the standards proposed.