How to make density work in suburban South East Queensland.

We're in a challenging period in South East Queensland, continued high population growth and the heavily-sprawl dependent pattern of existing development have combined to produce rapidly decreasing housing affordability as well as the double-whammy of traffic congestion and ever increasing petrol prices. You can also add in the 'affluenza' component here- ever bigger houses with more unused rooms for fewer people, more people buying gas-guzzling 4WD and large V8/V6 sedans, in which the back seats are forever empty. That's before we even start on the environmental and social consequences of this collective lifestyle.

Here's a brief overview of the situation:

Basic Facts:
1. Population is increasing rapidly- at least an extra 1 million people in 20 years.
2. Household occupancy is declining- more one and two-person households and fewer households with children than at any time in our history
3. Affordability is declining- Average wage cannot afford average mortgage.
4. Peak oil is already having an impact as petrol prices will continue to increase in Australia in the long run (as Australia imports greater proportion of it’s oil requirements).
5. The most inefficient way to move a person around in terms of the space they occupy whilst travelling is to put them in a car. Most cars have only one person in them, meaning that person occupies the lane space of the car, and half of the distance before and after them. Whilst travelling at 60 km/hr this represents nearly 40 metres in total, or approximately 120 square metres of road space.
6. You cannot build your way out of traffic congestion- increased capacity induces traffic demand to new capacity levels ahead of actual demand. Tolls cannot afford to pay for it, and governments can’t afford to borrow constantly to win traffic battles whilst losing the transport war.
7. Average house sizes for new dwellings have near doubled in terms of square metres since the 1970's- basic 3 bedroom, one bathroom houses are now the exception rather than the rule in new estates.
8. The current town planning arrangements, which in many cases are continuations of earlier plans lock up the greatest proportion of urban land in single-dwelling residential zones, creating an artificial shortage of residential land in urban areas.
9. Australian cities are amongst the lowest-density in the world, which makes public transport unviable, increases car dependence, increases the ecological footprint of each household (further to travel to meet daily needs, nothing within 5 minute walk of most houses, except more houses and maybe a park).

Incentives to achieve sustainable suburban densities by infilling existing low density sprawl can include:

1. Allow a basic dual-occupancy provision on modal lot size above an appropriate (deemed-to-comply) size.
2. For attached housing and units, work out your typologies, define optimal allotment sizes (for deemed-to comply), look to establish beneficial density bonuses for simple amalgamations: (1-2 lots, 2-3 lots, 2-4 lots, 3-4 lots etc). Measure density in persons per hectare- expressed as dwellings based on long term occupancy trends for dwelling types, rather than straight dwellings per hectare provisions.
3. Set accessibility benchmarks for density based on optimal ultimate service quality and frequency. For example:
a. within 200m of high frequency bus-service
b. 200m of a major public facility, such as an educational or health facility with a high employment (or 300m actual walking distance, if the lesser)
c. 400m of a neighbourhood centre with a high frequency bus service (or 500m actual walking distance, if the lesser)
d. 800m of a rail station or a Regional Activity Centre (or 1km actual walking distance, if the lesser).
4. Zone in advance of demand to allow site consolidation to occur, and to allow for sudden changes in demand (i.e. provide flexibility to market).
5. Base infrastructure investment on long-term financing with contributions reflecting this.
6. Do not expect to recoup all infrastructure costs directly, but examine the potential for increases in area-based rate income resulting from the creation of new titles, etc.
7. Take advantage of under-utilised road space when considering total parking demand- not every dwelling needs a parking space entitlement. Many older areas in Australian cities have many of these cottages and apartments, and still function.
8. Encourage pedestrian-friendly street development- wherever possible create rear lane access and ‘no back fences to the public domain’. The order of consideration within walkable radii of activity centres and transit is:
a. Pedestrians and cyclists
b. Transit passengers
c. Private vehicles (including parking).
This means no internalised developments- everything looks outwards to the street (not into neighbouring properties- especially backyards).
Where fronting access-restricted roads, service roads should be established at appropriate intervals, and property vehicle access on secondary frontages- make our main roads boulevards and not traffic-sewers.

Hopefully the new generation of town plans would start to incorporate these provisions that could make widespread consolidation of SEQ suburbs more palatable. Let's face it, current codes and outcomes are of a nature that would almost ensure opposition to increasing density, who in their right mind would want development typified by existing codes next door to them?