If we really want affordable housing, a big part of the answer can be found in the thin air above our railway lines.
Federal and state governments now acknowledge housing affordability as one of the most pressing issues faced by Australian cities. It is also certain to be a key election concern, with the Greens firing the opening shot with a controversial $12 billion housing policy. But the urgency to find solutions is leaving good options out of the discussion.
As an alternative, the state government should be releasing development rights to build over-rail corridors within five minutes’ walking distance, or 400 metres, of a rail station. Rail corridors themselves are a massive state government land asset, which are by definition adjacent to public transport.
Development over rail follows a simple sequence: a prefab land deck is built over the rail infrastructure, minimising disruption and allowing quick after-hours construction without affecting train schedules. Residential apartments can be constructed on top using modular techniques, facilitating rapid assembly and potential disassembly. Prefab housing modules could be stacked to create diverse housing types, from towers to courtyard housing.
Bates Smart tested density scenarios in Sydney, with Newtown Station representing a low-rise community and Burwood Station a high-rise community. We applied the floor space ratio of the adjoining neighbourhood to ensure contextual fit plus the state government’s bonus provision of 30 per cent for delivering affordable housing on land within 400 metres of a rail station, resulting in 613 units in Newtown and 1532 units in Burwood.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Homes on steroids: how Australia came to build some of the biggest houses on EarthMy family of four lives in a home that 90 years ago housed a family of 11. How have our ideas of enough changed over the years?
Read more »
US to build temporary Gaza aid port as Palestinians grow hungrierThe port would increase the amount of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the war-battered enclave by “hundreds of additional truckloads” per day.
Read more »
US military ship sets sail for Gaza to build port for humanitarian aid deliveriesThe US has dispatched a ship to build a temporary port in Gaza to supply vital humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, US authorities say.
Read more »
US dispatches aid ship to Gaza after Biden vows to build pierThe logistics support vessel is “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies”, the US Army said.
Read more »
Pure imagination: Tasmanian premier vows to build world’s largest chocolate fountain if re-electedLiberal Jeremy Rockliff commits $12m and says ‘chocolate experience’ at Claremont would be ‘the greatest thing to happen to tourism since Mona’
Read more »
US to build temporary Gaza aid port as Palestinians grow hungrierThe port would increase the amount of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the war-battered enclave by “hundreds of additional truckloads” per day.
Read more »