Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning
Assessment 2 PLAN9063 Strategic Planning and Design Individual report- Accessibility to open green spaces SID- 490204054 Introduction Open green spaces are a significant indicator of liveability and sustainability in urban areas ("Sydney Green Grid", n.d.). The Government Architect NSW has ascertained a web of high-quality open green space that links major town centres, public transit hubs, and major dwelling areas in Greater Sydney. Called the Sydney Green Grid, it is an essential component of the Greater Sydney region and the five districts ("Sydney Green Grid", n.d.).
Greater Sydney Commission considers the green open spaces as a crucial socio-environmental infrastructure for a sustainable, efficient and resilient city ("GREATER SYDNEY REGION PLAN A Metropolis of Three Cities – connecting people", 2018). Studies have been conducted over the past few years to understand the physical and mental health benefits of urban open green spaces and it has been found that the provision and access to open green spaces can help people live longer, recovery from ailments faster, improve physical activity and help socialise (Ives, Oke, Cooke, Gordon & Bekessy, 2014). The liveability and sustainability of all the three cities within Greater Sydney will be in alignment with the vision of the Greater Sydney Regional Plan to provide Green Grid network for the enhanced landscape.
At the local level, the city of Parramatta, has been considered to study the issue of quality and access to open spaces. Parramatta has a wide range of green open spaces; ranging from parks, to sports grounds to bushland and is also considered as the valuable asset for the Westmead Innovation District and the Greater Parramatta Olympic Peninsula ("City of Parramatta Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement", 2019).
The issue and its examination The accessibility and the quality of the urban green spaces differs noticeably across the Parramatta Local Government Area as historically, parts of City of Parramatta LGA were under the jurisdiction of other councils and hence took different strategies to deliver and maintain green spaces and parks. The communities have also influenced and shaped the open spaces in Parramatta LGA ("CITY OF PARRAMATTA Parks & Outdoor Recreation Network", n.d.). Parramatta has restricted capacity to supply new urban green spaces, except for the renewal areas in the bigger precincts within the Central River City ("City of Parramatta Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement", 2019). The access time to the open green spaces within Parramatta is highly variable – as there is a lack of systematic plan and design for walkability connecting the dwellings to these spaces, and also the prevailing bike lanes are fragmented ("City of Parramatta Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement", 2019). Northmead, Westmead, Camellia, Granville, Melrose Park and Rydalmere are some
of the areas that have been identified to have poor 400 m accessibility to the open green spaces from the dwellings. ("CITY OF PARRAMATTA Parks & Outdoor Recreation Network", n.d.) Management of open green spaces is a concern expressed by the communities in Parramatta and the Community Strategic Plan 2018-2038 for the City of Parramatta is implementing the vision and objective of the Central City District Plan (CCDP) and Greater Sydney Regional Plan (GSRP) by providing green spaces and making use of upgradation of open green spaces as one of the key performance indicators ("City of Parramatta Community Strategic Plan 2018-2038", n.d.). The Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement for the City of Parramatta presents a 20 year vision to make Parramatta Liveable and more sustainable by linking the existing local green areas with that of regional Green Grid. The council prioritizes the provision of diverse use of open green spaces by improving the green spaces to cater to the needs of the present and the future population ("City of Parramatta Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement", 2019). The Parramatta LGA will consider the place-based planning and implementation strategy set by the Central City District Plan (CCDP) Planning Priority C17 which aims to deliver high quality open spaces with quality, quantity and distribution as the main elements to form the green infrastructure that improves the health of the people in different neighbourhoods and enhances community cohesion of the River City. Utilizing the existing thirteen percent of the open spaces and urban renewal in Parramatta, will help us in understanding the green space performance of the Sydney Green Grid network that will be measured by CCDP and GSRP ("Delivering high quality open space | Greater Sydney Commission Central City District Plan", 2018). New opportunities are being explored to provide new open spaces within 400 m of the dwellings and 200 m in high density housing areas ("Delivering high quality open space | Greater Sydney Commission Central City District Plan", 2018). The Central City District Plan will execute the strategic plan of the Greater Sydney Regional Plan through objective 31 which is responsible for enhancing and improving the accessibility to the urban green spaces in Greater Sydney. The green infrastructure envisioned for the three cities in Greater Sydney includes parks, playgrounds and national parks. The performance of the open green spaces will be measured through the working of the Greater Sydney Green Grid. The principle of quality, quantity and distribution is the basis of developing the green infrastructure which is being implemented at the local level through community engagement. The Greater Sydney Commission has come up with innovative ways for diverse utilization of the existing open green spaces thus complying the 40 year vision for the metropolis of three cities in Greater Sydney.
Discussion and Conclusion: The Greater Sydney Commission has identified the priority areas within the Greater Sydney region and has divided the implementation of strategic plans for the five districts that will again be addressed by the local councils through Local Environmental Plans, Local Strategic Planning Statements and community strategic plans. The green spaces mentioned in the statutory and non-statutory documents could include any public open space, sports grounds and anything open or prohibited for public use ("Government of Australia NATIONAL CITIES PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK Final Report", n.d.). This could either overestimate or underestimate the amount of publicly-accessible green space in a city ("Government of Australia NATIONAL CITIES PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK Final Report", n.d.). The documents leave us thinking with more questions like, how will the access and the quality of urban green spaces be measured and on what basis is 200m and 400 m considered to be walkable distance to the open green spaces?
Word limit- 1034 (excluding reference) Reference (APA 6th Style): •
Government of Australia NATIONAL CITIES PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK Final Report. Retrieved from https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/national-cities-performanceframework/files/National_Cities_Performance_Framework_Final_Report.pdf
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GREATER SYDNEY REGION PLAN A Metropolis of Three Cities – connecting people. (2018). Retrieved from https://gsc-public-1.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/greater-sydney-regionplan-0318.pdf
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Ives, D., Oke, D., Cooke, D., Gordon, D., & Bekessy, S. (2014). Planning for green open space in urbanizing landscapes. Retrieved from https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/25570c73-a276-4efb-82f416f802320e62/files/planning-green-open-space-report.pdf
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City of Parramatta Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement. (2019). Retrieved 22 May 2020, from https://oursay-files.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/production/fm/osp-ug73/lsps_lhs/draft-lsps_-_exhibition_copy.pdf
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Sydney Green Grid. Retrieved from https://www.governmentarchitect.nsw.gov.au/projects/sydney-green-grid.
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CITY OF PARRAMATTA Parks & Outdoor Recreation Network. Retrieved from https://oursayfiles.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/production/fm/osp-ug-73/cis/12._draft_cis__parks_and_outdoor_recreation_network.pdf
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City of Parramatta Community Strategic Plan 2018-2038. Retrieved from https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/sites/council/files/2018-09/community-strategicplan_0.pdf
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Delivering high quality open space | Greater Sydney Commission Central City District Plan. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.greater.sydney/central-city-districtplan/sustainability/city-its-landscape/delivering-high-quality-open-space
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Greater Sydney Commission Central City District Plan. (2018). Retrieved from https://s3-apsoutheast-2.amazonaws.com/shared-drupal-s3fs/master-test/fapub_pdf/central-districtplan-0318.pdf
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Searle, Glen. (2011). Urban Consolidation and the Inadequacy of Local Open Space Provision in Sydney. Urban Policy and Research. 29. 201-208. 10.1080/08111146.2011.576650. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232852089_Urban_Consolidation_and_the_Inadeq uacy_of_Local_Open_Space_Provision_in_Sydney/citation/download