The Northern Territory Government’s 2030 Strategic Plan established a target for Darwin to be one of Australia’s most affordable cities to live in by 2020. In order to progress towards this ambitious target new solutions will be needed that deliver economic prosperity, accommodate Darwin’s growth and move beyond the lingering problem of housing affordability.
A key component of any affordability strategy will need to be to an up to date comprehensive Metro Plan that brings together not only land use, but also infrastructure and transport planning into one publicly available planning document.
A Metro Plan would provide the private sector with the confidence it needs to invest in a significant increase in Darwin’s housing stock and community infrastructure. COAG has recently agreed that by January 2012 Commonwealth Government financial support for infrastructure will also be linked to a city’s long-term plan for growth.
The key elements that a Metro Plan would need to bring together are:
1. Population: population growth and demographic change.
2. Land use: land use including the identification of growth centres and areas suitable for increased residential density or urban infill.
3. Infrastructure: planned road and essential services infrastructure.
4. Land release: planned and sequenced release of greenfield residential and industrial land.
5. Climate change: plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and respond to the impacts of climate change.
6. Public transport: targets for public transport patronage and identification of future public transport corridors.
7. Community space: public open space and community facilities.
8. Urban design: urban design that is uniquely Darwin.
The Northern Territory Government is working on separate plans for land use, transport, climate change and infrastructure. These are all separate pieces of a bigger puzzle that need to be put together into one plan that the community can relate to and discuss.
Until a plan such as this exists for Darwin, the interconnected issues of population growth, land release, residential density, public transport, car parking and housing affordability will continue to challenge governments’ ability to manage the growth of Darwin effectively.
