Sustainable living on the rise in Perth to help combat growing urban sprawl

Date: November 13, 2015

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Emma Young

Journalist

Peter Newman says sustainable living will be at the heart of a cleaner and greener Perth like these green views at KTP Hospital, in Singapore. Photo: Peter Newman

Sustainable living will be at the heart of a cleaner and greener Perth to combat growing unchecked urban sprawl, heat and waste, says a leading WA sustainability expert.

And with urban forest plans, cool roofs, tiny houses and green driveways all hitting headlines of late, it is clear householders and businesses are investigating sustainable living as a matter of urgency.

An example of modular construction: Stella Apartments at Cockburn Central. Photo: Joel Barbitta

Peter Newman, who spent 20 years at Director of Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute and has continued as sustainability professor at the institute since 'retiring' in 2007, believes Perth will soon leaning on four major pillars of sustainability.

Energy storage

Professor Newman said solar power was already a done deal in Perth, but the next big thing was batteries, or 'energy storage' technology.

The City of Fremantle is experimenting with "green walls' in an acknowledgement that "biophilic urbanism" is part of Perth's sustainability future. Photo: Jana Soderlund

"The utilities are a bit worried by that," he said. "It causes a change in the way they work. Houses will start going off the grid and then whole communities."

He cited the example of the Australian-first Gen Y Demonstration Housing Project, part of the White Gum Valley development. There, the medium-density strata building under construction will trial an approach using shared rooftop solar panels and battery storage technology to create a micro-grid for residents.

The building will generate and store its own power, and the tenants will pay any bills to a strata company that will manage and monitor the system.

Curtin's sustainability professor, Peter Newman

"But the planning system has to adjust because normally stratas don't allow solar panels or energy storage," Professor Newman said.

"What happens if one person wants solar cells on their roof and another doesn't? Even one person saying no can stop the whole process."

Light rail

Professor Newman said Perth needed a light rail system, with urban villages based around it, as the only way to stop urban sprawl.

"It's needed for transport in terms of congestion-busting, but most importantly it will create the amenity for higher density developments," he said.

"It enables them to be financed easily and people love to live and work near light rail.

"So instead of having to force people to live in higher density areas, light rail will create a market."

Modular homes

Professor Newman said modular construction made buildings cheaper and better designed.

"One example is the Stella building in Cockburn Central," he said.

"It's 12-storey, right next to the railway station, but it was built in 11 days because it was put together in modules. It's beautifully designed, a very attractive-looking building and there are significant reductions in cost, in time and in carbon ... there is virtually no waste.

He said modular designs left nothing to chance, because they had to be built in factories.

"It's very much more precise, but it's also got innovative use of materials and all that can be done because it's built in a factory – a very progressive approach."

Other examples included BGC's homes in Banksia Grove and Alkimos, and a handful of buildings in the Perth CBD including a new hotel being built on King Street and another next to Elizabeth Quay, by the Barrack Street jetty.

"It's another disruptive innovation, of course – it disrupts the whole industry," Professor Newman said.

"The system isn't ready for it. But when the system enables it, it will take off very quickly."

'Biophilic urbanism'

Simply put, this is how people can put a love of nature to work in greening dense cities filled with concrete and metal, materials impractical for a warming climate.

Professor Newman said cities all around the world were embracing this principle.

"We clearly need to stop urban sprawl and that means more density, more apartments, more infill and sometimes that has meant knocking down trees and gardens. Well that is not acceptable any more – you've got to build greenery into the building, on the top, on the side, throughout," he said.

"Singapore, for example, is now a biophilic city. It has policies that every new building has to replace the space it's sitting on with greenery – either on roofs, walls or balconies, and in some cases replace it two to three times. It's not so much a garden city as a city in a garden.

"This myth that we don't make enough room in the suburbs for planting trees in the street is appalling. You should see the tiny little bits of land they use in Singapore for planting trees. It's laziness by councils and developers not to require it."

He said the policy and legislation took Singapore a decade to design and implement, including scientific grounding, public subsidies, education for householders and so on.

But, it now had had a flourishing system, for about five years, and the benefits included a cooler city, acceptance of infill, cleaner air, higher property prices for green properties and improved stormwater drainage.

"The reality is that planning has to change," he said.

"The whole way we do density, involving strata titling, they have to manage it. At the moment, strata companies can look after the garden but that's about it.

"New subdivisions and new precincts need the greening built in from the start.

"Greening a suburb will mean that people around it will be living in a garden, and that's how people will accept the idea of infill."

Making it happen

"I am an optimistic person and my past involvement in these issues .has taught me that you can win if you are persistent – and I am persistent," Professor Newman said.

"Political backing comes when politicians see that ordinary people are taking these concepts on. We see that rail works in Perth. Patronage booms once you provide it. Solar took off, once people were given half a chance.

"The greening issue is one that is very much at the heart and soul of Perth – we are a gardening-oriented society and have been throughout our history. We like to create beautiful green areas. So this will not be difficult to do."

Professor Newman said he believed the movement towards more sustainable WA cities and suburbs would happen very quickly.

"We have plenty of strong leaders in our community. If the community is behind it, politicians will move."