2006 Brisbane
INFLOW/OUTFLUX odit feinblum
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The correlation of population to local resources is being overlooked by developed nations wishing to maintain their dominance in the global economy. Australia, with about 20 million residents, the size of a hypercity, has net emigration of 50,000 a year, and announced a target of 130,000 to 140,000 immigrants in 2005–06, including 97,500 economic stream immigrants. Less than 10% of total immigration, and only a small proportion of refugees, are undocumented boat arrivals. Australia is addressing the global issue of migration by specifying the type of migrant the country will accept, and the government held a Skills Expo in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Chennai, India, to attract educated immigrants. It is the unauthorized arrivals that have generated the greatest controversy as Australia pours all its efforts into cultivating a society with a strong knowledge base poised to succeed in the world market. Brisbane, an emergent world city, with a population of 1 million, has become a center for new arrivals from abroad and from within Australia. The city is absorbing 100 newcomers a day and has launched a campaign to encourage rapid growth as the city vies for a strong economic position globally and within Australia. The acceptance and encouragement of large populations in Brisbane is dually problematic. The city is in a constant state of flux in regards to water, and Brisbane’s hydrologic patterns are erratic, with drought cycles occurring in uncertain periods. Moreover, many of the visas granted in Australia are temporary, bringing up the universal issue for any migrant, skilled or unskilled, that of uncertain legal status. The challenge to provide a limited environmental resource as well as a political rubric and paradigm for incoming masses can define a new type of infrastructure. This infrastructure will be embedded with policy and connect people rather than pipes to a resource reevaluating the notions of permanence in the shifting urban landscape. 1 Population comparison 2 Advertisement from Queensland Government 3 Identity Shifts: population 4 Sequenced housing network DENSE AREAS
MEDIUM DENSITy
ExISTINg CATCHMENT
SEQUENCED HoUSINg NETWoRK
5 Brisbane population statistics 6 Breakdown of current water use in SEQ 3
town Manhattan…unmatched anywhere on the East Coast.” The recent development boom has demonstrated the viability of this approach and validated the strategic importance of the region as a new primary focus of suburban residential growth. It also demonstrates that “growth” takes many forms—not just houses and subdivisions. Urbanization is also about infrastructure—about energy and water—and these two essential lifelines of New York City have had increasingly dramatic impacts on the Upper Delaware.
Additionally, the case studies show that the negative long-term local economic impacts of residential subdivision can be substantial. On average, in the five towns where the subdivisions are located, residential development costs each town $1.26 for every dollar in tax revenue collected. By contrast, commercial, agricultural, and open spaces produce a tax gain of $.50 for each dollar in tax revenue collected2. After reading the case studies, readers may be encouraged to learn more about their local regulations and zoning restrictions and to become advocates for their communities, their families, and their own personal and environmental health.
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PROPOSAL CU 83
The western Sullivan County subdivision case studies considered in the Citizen’s Guide—Lake Diana Properties, New Turnpike Homes, Eagle’s Nest Estates, Delaware Ridge Estates, and the Chapin Estates—are illustrative of the nature of the public review and approval process2. They are diverse, representing five different town governments, and they range in scale from 8 to 177 lots. They reveal the value of an accurate and comprehensive approval process for the proper evaluation of environmental impacts and public participation. All demonstrate the importance of general public knowledge of development proposals, especially at a project’s inception, since there are difficulties and disadvantages of incorporating public input late in the approval process. The case studies also demonstrate some of the weaknesses in local town law in terms of providing sufficient criteria for informed decisions on the merits of any given project proposal and show the importance of considering projects in their cumulative context rather than as isolated parcels distinct from their surroundings.
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In addition to residential development pressures, the Upper Delaware River itself has been increasingly affected by the demands of the New York City water supply in recent years. Mismanagement of water resources, including excessive drawdown and storage, has created ecological damage in lakes and reservoirs. There have been one 500-year and two 100-year flood events between 2004 and 2006, due in part to ill-timed water
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