SMART CITIES
HOW WILL THE WE AEROTROPOLIS LO The man who has been tasked with leading the design of Sydney’s first 22nd Century City, the Aerotropolis, has outlined his vision for the CBD to be built on the doorstep of the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.
T
roy Harvey, the Executive Director of Planning and Development at the Western City & Aerotropolis Authority, wants Sydney’s third city to have a modern and lively feel, along with plenty of green space. “The Aerotropolis is not all going to be glass box high-rise development or an industrial park. It is going to have a contemporary urban feel. There is going to be vibrancy, activity and space for both residents and workers,” Mr Harvey said. “We are also working to make sure the Aerotropolis has those things that make a city centre great. A quiet place for a coffee and plenty of quality open
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June 2020 // Issue 15
spaces. At the same time, it needs to be of a scale so people have the ability to walk or ride a bike.” The master plans for the Western Sydney Aerotropolis are still coming together, but Mr Harvey already knows exactly what he does not want the city to look like. “My KPI number one is to not build a business park. Our success will be defined by our ability to open the place up with the right types of commercial development and the right types of residential development, feathered with cultural facilities and educational buildings,” Mr Harvey said. Finding that right mix of commercial, retail and residential will be what
ensures the Aerotropolis becomes a vibrant city and not just a place people come to work from 9 to 5. “We want to create a 24-hour economy that doesn’t just shut at 5pm. To do that, the city will need the right retail spaces, the right recreational spaces and the right density,” Mr Harvey said. “We are looking to get the ‘feel’ of the city centre right by significantly enhancing areas of the existing landscape amenity. We will do this by building on those existing natural features such as the tree canopy and creeks. This will ultimately create the overall vision of the ‘Parkland City’.”
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