Opinion: Time for Sydney to Grow Up
With space at a premium, Sydney only has so many housing options when it comes to absorbing a population that is growing by 60,000 to 70,000 people a year.
The recent floods earlier in 2022 were a sobering reminder that not all the land around Sydney should be built on.
With climate change likely to bring more frequent and more intense rain events, the NSW Government commissioned an independent expert inquiry into the preparation for, causes of, response to and recovery from the 2022 flooding in NSW.
Their report was delivered in July with a long list of recommendations that mainly focused on how to best respond to future events, as well as including recommendations on how planning could mitigate such disasters.
Limits to Sydney’s Spread
The report only emphasises that the limited space for new housing in Sydney is, if anything, shrinking.
The National Parks surrounding Sydney also provide a natural barrier to the geographical spread of the Sydney metropolitan area.
NSW Government Response
In recent years the NSW Government has, sometimes controversially, responded by rezoning areas of Sydney to allow for more high density developments.
As a result, developers are building more apartments along major road arteries like Parramatta Road where shops have become less viable as a lack of parking has limited access.
However, many Sydney families prefer to live in houses, ideally with backyards for their children to play in safely.
Expanding Existing Homes
With so much of Sydney’s housing stock made up of