2. PLANNING CONTEXT

Innovation Precinct

New Innovation precincts are emerging as new technologies emerge and transform existing industries. This innovation is helped through collaboration, by sharing knowledge infrastructure and services. This has led to a creation of hubs and clusters and lead to innovation precincts. (Barilaro,2018). Camperdown– Ultimo is an innovation precinct as well.

A metropolis of three cities has identified the Camperdown–Ultimo as a Collaboration Area. The actions and priorities outlined in the Collaboration Area Camperdown– Ultimo Place Strategy are in addition to those in A Metropolis of Three Cities and Eastern City District Plan. The NSW Government policies and the current legislation actions apply to all projects and precincts. The Camperdown place strategy identifies steps that need to be taken to get its plan to reality. (Greater Sydney Commission 2019)

Metropolis of Three Cities

A Metropolis of Three Cities conveys the unique geography, urban fabric, and growth ressures that need to be focused on so the region achieves the full potential. A Metropolis of Three Cities consists of objectives that will align infrastructure and growth and accordingly realign economic activity and access to all three cities:

• Eastern Harbour City – building on its economic strength and establish the city’s liveability and sustainability standard

• Central River City – prepare to invest in various infrastructure and services to improve amenities in the city.

• Western Parkland City – establish a management plan to develop the emerging new city.

The Camperdown–Ultimo Collaboration Area sits within the Eastern Harbour City plan. The Eastern Harbour city is the global financial capital for Australia with the Harbour CBD as its metropolitan centre. It is very accessible by a rail network and is serviced and established well, it has a large job and office market. The Eastern Harbour City aims to grow its business relations, attract skilled workers and make commuting faster by increasing the rail projects. “The Sydney Metro Northwest links Rouse Hill to Chatswood, Sydney Metro City & Southwest connects Chatswood to SydenhamBankstown” Sydney Metro West will give a provision of faster and frequent trips to and from greater parramatta. The CBD and Light Rail connects the Harbour CBD to the Randwick precinct (Greater Sydney Commission 2018).

Collaboration Area: Camperdown– Ultimo Place Strategy

The Camperdown ultimo collaboration area goes across from Camperdown to ultimo and includes Darlington and Eveleigh with most of Haymarket, as well as small parts of Glebe, Forest Lodge, Redfern, Newtown, and Surry Hills. (Greater Sydney Commission 2019).

The precinct has evolved and includes a mix of activities, this creates a innovation eco system with health and education systems supporting it. The precinct includes major Institutes like Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, TAFE NSW, University of Notre Dame, University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney. (Greater Sydney Commission 2019). The area thus adds value for students, researchers and practitioners making it a place for co-creation, convergence and disruption, a place for sharing ideas (Atkinson 2019).

The Collaboration Area is closing in to become a global city, it has been set up in an Urban environment and is close to the international airport, The harbour CBD, the darling harbour which is a tourism and entertainment area, with hotels and facilities for large conferences to take place. This give the innovation precinct a unique character within Australia. The collaboration area can facilitate sharing of knowledge across varied fields and reach great hights to reach its potential as an innovation precinct. (Greater Sydney Commission 2019)

Strengths

The precinct consists of three activity nodes – Haymarket, Camperdown, and Eveleigh, with three connecting axes – the Ultimo axis, Darlington axis and Surry Hills axis. It consists of different industry sectors like hospitals, universities, research institutes as well as start-ups that strengthen the area’s economy. Major assets include the heavy and light rail systems. The area also includes green spaces Victoria Park, Prince Alfred Park , Belmore Park, Camperdown Park, Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, Mary Ann Street Park, McKee Street Reserve, Peace Park, Hollis Park and Green Bans Park. These green spaces create an opportunity to integrate with Sydney’s green grid and increase tree cover as the connectors (Greater Sydney Commission 2019).

Weaknesses

Each of the nodes have a varied character that needs better connections to unify and strengthen them. In the above map there are several heat spots across the collaboration area (Urban Heat Island Effect). There is a lack of public transport systems between Haymarket and Camperdown, as well as roads with high level of traffic volume and a lot of congestion on these roads. The Ultimo axis has heavy vehicular traffic and lack of amenities for pedestrian and cycle movement. Whereas the Darlington axis has a lack of connectivity between Camperdown and Eveleigh. There is also a lack of accommodation for students and key creative workers who require affordable housing. There is a limited provision of open spaces and community facilities along with green cover as marked in the map below (Greater Sydney Commission 2019).

Aims (Greater Sydney Commission 2019)

The precinct has a few aims to improve liveability conditions for the community:

1. Connectivity: to integrate the collaboration area with things beyond its edges and improve local transport systems within the collaboration area.

2. Liveability: to provide affordable housing and places for healthier and culturally rich lives that are connected and welcoming to communities. Give a provision of good infrastructure to foster community relations.

3. Productivity: support the functioning of employment lands, and create a competitive health, research, education, and innovation space at an international scale.

4. Governance: establish a place first approach, that is collaborative.

5. Sustainability: Create a resilient area and provide open and public spaces of high quality that will link to the Greater Sydney Green Grid.

Objectives

There are priorities and objects listed down in the strategic plan of metropolis of three cities, the Camperdown Ultimo Collaboration strategic plan adapts objectives from the metropolis of three cities that will in many ways help to reduce the urban heat island affect for the area:

Objective 30 (The metropolis of Three cities):

Increase in Urban tree canopy cover. Urban tree cover provide shade and help in reduction of temperatures, it will reduce the heat island effect as well. Urban heat island effect is mainly due to increase in hard and dark surfaces, or man-made infrastructure, like roads and roofs and cause an increase in temperature around them. Increase in tree canopy also leads to improvement of air quality, waterways, and health. A 10% increase in the tree canopy along streets will contribute to the public domain and make walking and cycling more appealing to the people. It will also lead to the increase in property values (Greater Sydney Commission 2018)

Objective 32 (The metropolis of Three cities):

The Green Grid links parks, open spaces, bushland and walking and cycling paths, a network of green areas, which are of high quality including local parks and playgrounds. It will connect public transport centres and spaces of green infrastructure- including footpaths, cycleways, waterways, streets and other transport routes. This will lead to keeping the region cooler, make the lifestyle of the communities healthier by providing better places for cycling/walking and support ecological resilience (Greater Sydney Commission 2018).

Objective 38 (The metropolis of Three cities):

Extreme heat waves have a huge impact on human health. They are a cause for many deaths in Australia. People who work outside including children and senior citizens are vulnerable to the extreme heat. Increase in heat increases the use of air conditioners and puts pressure on infrastructure, contributing to greenhouse gasses and air quality. Heat island effect can be reduced by use of cooler building materials lighter coloured roofs and paving. Also the increase of tree cover and urban vegetation will provide shading as well as reduce the ambient temperature.

Priority 9 in the Camperdown–Ultimo Place Strategy is adapted from A Metropolis of Three Cities and the Eastern City District Plan

Priority 9 aims to enhance open and public spaces that can integrate with the greater Sydney green grid. With an increase tree canopy cover and vegetation to encourage health and activity. The areas requiring an increase in tree cover include: “Broadway and Parramatta Road,City Road,Harris Street and the Powerhouse Precinct the Johnston’s Creek Green Grid cycling and pedestrian connection to Bicentennial Park.”(Greater Sydney Commission 2019).

Sustainable Sydney 2030

There are other documents as well by the city of Sydney that are trying to achieve sustainable goals that will help improve livelihoods and mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Sustainable Sydney 2030 is a strategic plan that conveys the vision of the community with the commitment of the city for a sustainable and resilient city by 2030 and for the future generations (City of Sydney 2017).

Sustainable Sydney 2010 is a plan for a Green, Global and Connected city.

Green: Parks, gardens and trees add to the greening of the city, and will create a positive impact on the environment.

Global: Exchange of knowledge, links, partnerships and economic orientation at a global scale to create an open-minded attitude and outlook

Connected: Connecting people physically through pathways- walking cycling and public transport. Also connecting them virtually through an online network, providing them with a sense of belonging in the city (City of Sydney 2017).

Greenhouse gas emissions per person in Australia are one of the highest in the world. The city of Sydney has set a target to limit global warming to increase only by 1.5°C. thus it is necessary that there is an increase in the use of renewable energy to reduce emissions. Buildings need to keep pace and improve their performance to control carbon emissions. The city of Sydney is in constant danger of intense and extreme weather of heat waves, storms, and floods. Strategies to green the city will mitigate the urban heat island effect, improve ecological health of urban regions and increase the amount of biodiversity in a given area in turn improving the health and well being of citizens (City of Sydney 2017).

The following aims in Sustainable Sydney 2030 relate to the mitigation of the Urban Heat Island Effect:

Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

There is a need for improvement in energy efficiency, new as well as old buildings need to be efficient in reduction of greenhouse gasses. This will reduce the impacts on temperature and stop the increase in hot spots in the city (City of Sydney 2017).

Tree Canopy Cover

Canopy threes need to be planted where necessary- streets, public and private lands. Creating spaces for enjoyment by the community. Trees further benefit to reduce ambient temperatures and the effects of heat. The number of native plant and animal species will also increase (City of Sydney 2017).