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What constitutes a “quality neighbourhood”?
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An important part of any future housing strategy would be the provision of amenity and creating highly ‘liveable’ neighbourhoods. We want to know what you feel are the most important considerations in accommodating an increased population.
- Is it traffic concerns?
- Is it access to recreational areas and other community facilities?
- Is it the built form of housing in your neighbourhood (i.e. the height, the type of housing etc.)?
- Is it having vibrant and accessible commercial/shopping centres?
- Is it having good access to public transport?
This online discussion forum has concluded. You can still browse the site but the discussion area will no longer accept new comments or votes.
Comment 1 9 Mar 2010, 2:02 PM
A good neighbourhood and its attraction historically is centred amongst a square or social centre in which the community can meet and go about their daily lives with the amenties and infrastructure required to support such a lifestyle.
I believe the recent development within Dee Why is creating exactly this.It demonstrates how people wish to live their lives and offers various types and styles of accomodation.
The northern beaches and Warringah in particular has for too many years created a community for the wealthy, with their oversized blocks, that they are too lazy to maintain,
yet feel accomplished around their own welath, whilst others are simply priced out of the market as smaller affordable living is not freely available.
If Warringah went about reducing lot sizes for new dwellings, but also made amendments for exisitng dwellings to offer dual occupancy, this would go a long way to the contribution fo targeting the housing objectives.
Fundamnetally people want to live in a community where accessibility does not mean getting in the car.
Comment 1.1 11 Mar 2010, 11:21 AM
I'd like to echo Jussy's comments and take it one step further to say that a quality neighbourhood contains a diverse cross-section of the population. To accommodate this cross-section and to maintain some community identity people need to be able to afford to live where they are and to continue living there. This unfortunatly is not the case in Warringah and hasn't been so for a long time. Council needs to be working to change this or Warringah's destiny will be to become a municipality of wealthy old people whose children can't afford to live nearby and who can't get nurses or other carears to look after them. How many nurse aids or hospital cleaners can afford to live in Warringah nowadays? Not to mention young people.
Comment 1.1.1 13 Apr 2010, 10:23 PM
Hooray! I am not the only one that echo's these sentiments.
I work all over Sydney and I can't think of too many areas as underdeveloped as Warringah/Nthn Beaches.
I want to live here but simply cannot afford to live where I would like to on my salary, and while increasing dwellings near the beach gives me no guarantee it gives me a chance.
Comment 1.2 22 May 2010, 9:43 PM
Jussy,
I agree that the ideal neighbourhood should be based on a central social meeting place with integrated residential development to promote cohesiveness within the community.
However I believe that many people across all age groups would share this ideal and negative comments directed at older residents who have achieved life-long dreams through hard work are both inaccurate and devisive. It should be noted that many older people have had to struggle and go without to acquire an asset that represents for many, the greatest financial security in retirement and rather than 'being too lazy to maintain' as you put it, many more…
Comment 2 12 Mar 2010, 1:49 PM
Access to local shops and restaurants.
I like the lack of high-rise buildings which are a blight to any landscape and don't belong in Warringah, especially by the coast.
Good access to public transport is a must.
I like living in an area with predominantly "normal" family houses and having a friendly neighbourhood feel to it.
Comment 3 14 Mar 2010, 11:05 PM
A liveable neighbourhood to me is one where I feel free, safe and don't feel closed in.
Community hubs such as parks and corner shops or small scale shopping strips are needed.
A green community where there are lots of open spaces and trees. Row upon row of houses with a few shrubs planted out the front and on the median strip are an eye sore and make our neighbourhoods look more like concrete jungles.
The ability to reach major hubs like Dee Why, Warringah Mall and Warriewood Square within a maximum of 40minutes via public transport from anywhere on the Beaches would be an excellent neighbourhood. Our streets are too full of cars because there are no other options to get to where we need to go unless we live on Pittwater Road. Why would I want to spend 1.5hrs using public transport to get to work when I can be there in 20minutes by car?
Comment 3.1 22 May 2010, 9:50 PM
Couldn't agree more Drew. There is no point in increasing housing to accommodate more people without an integrated public transport system that is both cost-effective and reliable with off-road options including light and/or heavy rail links. Increasing bus services will merely add to the already unacceptable congestion on our roads.
Comment 4 17 Mar 2010, 9:29 AM
The rich powerful and the aged boomers are letting everyone else down. Anyone under 40 is experiencing worse living conditions than their parents.
Theyre squeezing us like rats in cage, ugly cheap quality units. Theres couples with 2 kids moving into totally inappropriate housing due to cost.
All you bastards in your nice safe houses in the richer suburbs...go ahead and make 'informed decisions' about our lives. YOU don't have to live in it yourselves, after all!
Comment 4.1 17 Apr 2010, 7:50 AM
We are not rich and powerful nor are we 'bastards' as you seem to believe. We are just ordinary people who have worked very long and hard over many years to be able to live in a nice, safe area.
Comment 4.2 22 May 2010, 9:52 PM
Mark, please read my reply to Jussy with regard to your comment about Baby Boomers. Hopefully it will put things in perspective.
Comment 5 17 Mar 2010, 10:01 PM
At the risk of repeating a sentiment I've expressed in a different part of the forum, I'd draw attention to the fact that providing amenity and creating highly 'liveable' neighbourhoods will inevitably reduce housing affordability by increasing the competition for housing. You really have to decide which of these you want, because you can't have both. However, I suppose knowing what constitutes a quality neighbourhood is important if you want to increase housing affordability, because it tells you what to avoid.
Comment 6 19 Mar 2010, 10:10 AM
One of the things I love about Freshwater is the sheer diversity of different styles of buildings. I'd love to see that continue. I'd like to see the council giving concessions to high density developments that provide gardens on top of buildings to break make the skyline less harsh. It would be good to see high density development that can coexist with nature. The good thing about having a garden on a roof is that it would be permanent and harder to circumvent.
On another note, it is good that the council is taking a leadership role in facilitating an optimal change rather than (as smaller councils don't / can't) trying to futilely obstruct development.
Comment 7 19 Mar 2010, 3:02 PM
There are many complaints about very large houses with very few inhabitants. Further, those very large houses use most of the area of the block on which they are built. Could some minimum ratio of building to land be insisted upon? Perhaps there is one already. Would it also be possible to require eaves of a minimum size, which would lower the need for energy guzzling air conditioners because of the shade provided by adequately sized eaves?
Comment 7.1 31 Mar 2010, 10:25 AM
There already exists a ratio of 40% that has to remain landscaped for a new build, however the owner is allowed to retain the original footprint of any existing building when doing "renovations".
The council does insist on new houses passing a series of efficiency checks (called BASIX) that means air conditioners are bad, and long eaves are good. They have to get so many points to pass, ensuring the house is environmentally sound.
Comment 7.2 22 May 2010, 10:05 PM
Hi Pythagorus,
Now that the State Government has given the green light for granny flats, many older people will be able to help out their kids or let out the extra space for extra income while providing an option for reasonable affordable accommodation.
Comment 8 19 Mar 2010, 5:04 PM
1. Good access to alternate transport options ( bus, walk, bike) - not having to use a car. Would be good to have more mini-bus options (like the Airport bus) to get around Warringah - rather than the big STA buses.
2. Good access to pleasant well designed parks/ usable open space with recreational favilities that encourage social get-togethers. More footpaths that link parks and community facilities.
3. Good shade trees along footpaths to assist walking as exercise/ leisure.
4. Shops that provide local services- this can produce less vehicle movements.
5. A range of housing types to choose from - single houses, townhouses, semis, granny flats, high rise (over shops and along main roads and transport corridors.
Comment 8.1 23 Mar 2010, 5:51 PM
That would be very nice if we could afford it. Surely there are some lessons to be had from the development of suburban Canberra, with its community units containing adequate public schools, with bicycle paths for both children and adults, relatively small shopping malls with goods entrances at the rear of shops, cafes etc., integrated medical centres and so on. However such development needs to be done on a large scale, not the piecemeal, vested interest way we currently allow private developers to proceed.
Comment 8.2 22 May 2010, 10:07 PM
Great priorities, arakoon!
Comment 9 22 Mar 2010, 9:35 PM
A quality neighbourhood is one that makes the best use of available transport and infrastructure.
Comment 10 16 Apr 2010, 5:41 PM
1. The transport on the Northern Beaches is in desperate need of an upgrade. The number of units have increased over the years, therefore more and more people travelling - we need a better transport system. The traffic would be less if the transport was better.
2. I dislike the amount of flats and units that are taking over the Northern Beaches. I don't think that living on top of each other, the lack of space and noise that they create is healthy for anyone. I lived in the UK for 15 years, densely populated areas are full of miserable more…
Comment 11 17 Apr 2010, 8:01 AM
Good public transport is essential and sadly lacking. This needs to be addressed urgently - before any further development of the Northern Beaches takes place. Roads such as Mona Vale (between Mona Vale and Terrey Hills) and Wakehurst Parkway are so inadequate. There is much discussion about how to go about increasing housing but little discussion about how to provide the services that will be needed. Shouldn't that come first?
Comment 11.1 19 Apr 2010, 1:53 PM
I totally agree. When looking at the opposite direction and the route into the City - say no more. Totally choked and inadequate. There should be a moratorium on high/medium density until our roads and transport can be upgraded. The infrastructure should come before the development.
Comment 12 23 May 2010, 9:02 PM
A good, quality neighbourhood is a very subjective thing to describe. Aside from safety, basic services and location to other things in our lives such as work, recreation etc. I think a quality neighbourhood can best be described as what suits the needs of a particular time in our lives.
I think what is important is that we have chosen to live in a particular area, suburb, street and house (assuming we are happy with our choice) because of the attributes that in the most part are already established in that location.
We can all acknowledge the development of additional attributes, both good and bad in an area over time is bound to occur however, a modification of the attributes of an area or suburb "by decree" alienates the people who have chosen that suburb and lifestyle.
Comment 13 24 May 2010, 6:23 PM
In the question its asked if its " having a vibrant.... shopping centre?"
I live in Harbord and the small range of shops here is perfect, I can get the essentials for day to day living but if needed, I can go to the Mall and immerse myself in its godless schlitz and crowds.
A quality neighbourhood is one where shops dont dominate the landscape, especially if the suburb is already 99% residential.
The current trend for councils to pass large shopping developments because they assist council s by adding to density levels with their "shop- top" units, will, more…
Comment 14 27 May 2010, 12:19 PM
Warringah is strangled by clogged roads and poor public transport. The majority of workers need to travel outside of warringah to their place of work.
A better community results when people are able to work & live locally & stop wasting frustrating hours in traffic.
Better transport & more local jobs makes for a better community - Shop top housing and selected high rise will provide opportunities for mixed use developments which will include more housing, more jobs, more shops and restaurants - all going in the right direction.
Robc
Comment 15 7 Jun 2010, 4:45 PM
In my neighbourhood of Allambie Heights most new houses are atrocious McMansions. The have zero environmental considerations, ie, no siting of the house in relation to aspect, sun/shade.
Most of the time the entire site is cleared and cut to make a level area for building with disregard to topography.
My neighbour has a north facing double garage! Hence a massive airconditioning unit outside our bedroom window. How on earth could council have approved that?
Housing needs to be affordable, ecofriendly and innovative. Building ugly energy draining McMansions only depletes the environment and creates visually unpleasant neighbourhoods. It must be remembered that "The Grass Castle" began to house the masses in the western suburbs.
Come on Warringah, you can do better than that.
Comment 16 15 Jun 2010, 5:54 AM
I don't believe there is a 'black and white' answer to this question - a community has all sorts of people with different needs. Some want a 'buzzy' place with night life and plenty of choice for entertainment, and will happily live in dense, high rise areas.
Others want more family friendly, quieter neighbourhoods with some sense of space - be it parks or gardens. They may accept poorer access to public transport as part of this.
Any plan needs to recognise a 'one size fits all' approach is not appropriate.
My concern is the proliferation of 4 storey unit blocks leading to a 'homogenisation' of suburbs where they all blend into one another - where does Dee Why stop and Warriewood begin? Planning policies need to reinforce and build clear communities with identifiable centres.
