Planning for better communities

By knowing how our communities are planned, what makes them great places to live, work, study and enjoy, and the opportunities that exist to make positive changes, we can all contribute to a better future, writes Dan Norton.

As we go about our daily lives, most of us give little thought to how our neighbourhoods, suburbs and cities have been planned before they are constructed. Why there’s a playground on that particular corner, or a shopping centre at the end of that street.

The fact that we don’t often think about it is testament to good urban planning – understanding the community and its needs; setting out where there should be residential growth; what amenities (such as retail, education and health and community services) are needed in the surrounding areas; and how to preserve and protect our landscape.

However, in recent years there have been concerns and questions raised – with the Committee and in other forums – about issues such as mobility, accessibility and connectivity, including infrastructure and costs.

These are implications of a lack of cohesive, collaborative urban planning that can have social and environmental consequences through disconnected communities, increasing pressure on scarce resources and services, degradation of our environment and climate risks, and access challenges to already stretched essential amenities and services.

Tasmania’s Regional Land Use Strategies plan up to 25 years ahead, setting the direction for how land use change, growth and development in our regions will be managed. They are designed to implement the state’s planning policies in ways that are appropriate to each region, and guide local strategic planning and the preparation of planning schemes in the local government areas.

The Southern Tasmanian Regional Land Use Strategy (STRLUS) was first declared in 2011, with minimal updates and changes in the past 13 years. In that time there have been significant changes in our population, demographics, land use and economy that are important to explore in how we’ve gotten to this point.

The STRLUS released in 2011 forecast that by 2035, Southern Tasmania would have an indicative planning population of 327,036 and 138,700 dwellings.

However, in 2023^ the Southern Tasmanian population was already at 298,589 and the number of dwellings 138,532, with an estimated 27,665 more dwellings needed in the next 23 years.

While our population growth is predicted to slow and hit an estimated 342,066 by 2046, it still shows that the 2011 plan vastly underestimated how quickly our region would expand.

The STRLUS State of Play report, released on 23 September 2024, shows that in the past 10 years:

A quarter of new dwelling approvals in the Region were in Clarence;
Together, Kingborough, Brighton and Sorell made up more than a third of new dwelling approvals; and
Inner city areas (Hobart City and Glenorchy) accommodate only one in five new homes in the region.

The impacts on our communities of increased development in previously untouched urban areas, and a lower number of denser, multi-faceted developments utilising land that is already connected to services and amenities, include:

The Socio-Economic Index of Advantage and Disadvantage based on the 2021 Census shows that disadvantage generally increases with distance as you travel out of the Hobart metropolitan area, particularly to the west and south. This is attributed to lower incomes, less access to services and facilities, lower educational attainment, and a lower skills base.
The STRLUS State of Play report shows that the availability of social infrastructure providing essential services to support liveable communities such as education, sport, arts and culture, and health and wellbeing significantly reduces as you travel out of the CBD.
Without reliable, accessible alternative forms of transport, and with essential services such as medical centres and schools located further away, residents of urban areas must use private vehicles, reducing the ability to easily access these services and adding to the carbon footprint.

The impact on our environment, and the subsequent increase in risk from natural disasters such as bushfire, flooding and landslides from heavy rain, cannot be underestimated.

Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (RECFIT) research projects that in the next 75 years there will be an increase in extreme weather events such as frequency and intensity of storms, coastal erosion and inundation, longer fire seasons and more days of high-range fire danger, an increase in summer temperatures and more heatwaves, an increase in drought conditions in some parts of the state, and river flooding in some catchments.

We have already seen an increase in extreme climate and weather activity in the past 10 years, including significant bushfire seasons, unprecedented marine heatwaves and prolonged droughts.

The State Government’s TasAlert website enables you to map the natural hazard information for where you live, including bushfire, coastal erosion and inundation, and landslide. A quick search shows a large amount of Greater Hobart’s bushland areas listed as bushfire-prone or at risk of the impact of bushfire (smoke and embers) – an alarming amount of which is increasingly seeing residential development.

People living in more urbanised areas are also seeing the impacts of increased temperatures. Menzies Institute for Medical Research^^ shows a 9 per cent increase in deaths in Tasmania during low-intensity heat waves.

University of Tasmania research** shows that LGAs such as Glenorchy are at high risk of heat-related deaths due to low levels of tree cover, higher use of brick and concrete in construction, and higher levels of social vulnerability due to socio-economic factors and population age. The research also shows the presence of trees in neighbourhoods can reduce air temperatures by as much as 10 degrees and over roads by up to 20 degrees.

When you consider Tasmania has a greater proportion of elderly people, a greater proportion of those living with a chronic health condition, and the highest proportion of those living in disadvantaged regions, when compared to other Australian jurisdictions*, it is vital that we find a balance where we can have liveable neighbourhoods, vibrant communities, a growing economy and an environment more resilient to risk.

By knowing how our communities are planned, what makes them great places to live, work, study and enjoy, and the opportunities that exist to make changes for a better future, we can all contribute to this balance.

As the Committee for Greater Hobart, we will be hosting a forum of members, business leaders, stakeholders and the community to discuss key challenges for the region and opportunities and aspirations for the future. We will use this to provide feedback into the STRLUS process. All Southern Tasmanian residents can engage with the process and have input via https://www.shapingtasmania.com.au/

^Source data: Remplan/ABC Census of Population and Housing 2021

*Sources: ABS, Department of Health The State of Public Health Tasmania 2018.

^^Source: Assessing mortality associated with heatwaves in the cool climate region of Tasmania, Australia, authored by Sharon L. Campbell, Nicolas Borchers-Arriagada, Grant J. Williamson, Fay H. Johnston.

**Source: A rapid assessment method and policy framework for improving heatwave resilience in Tasmania’s major cities, authored by Jason Byrne, Agustina Barros, Sebastian Rossi, Roxane Bandini-Maeder, Alex Bandini-Maeder, Bradley Johnson, H-Y Phan, Gabrielle Priest, Bethany Cox.