Planning expert warns high-density living is making life in Adelaide harder

Adelaide is losing trees and gaining heat and gridlock as reurbanisation closes in on once sprawling suburbs, the state’s planning commission chair warns.

Adelaide is losing trees and gaining heat due to reurbanisation.

• The big squeeze: Our most subdivided suburbs
• Adelaide property subdivision: Interactive map shows urban infill

Higher density living is causing significant tree loss, worsening traffic congestion and impacting existing residents, says the architect of planning reforms aimed at improving the quality of new housing in Adelaide.

State Planning Commission chair Michael Lennon said loss of mature trees, meagre landscaping in new developments, increased traffic on existing streets and loss of privacy are among “significant” concerns raised with his office about the “reurbanisation” of Adelaide’s established suburbs.

“There is significant community concern about the quality of infill and our expectation is those proportions of new development taken up by infill will only increase and may increase substantially … driven by household choice,” he said, citing Adelaide’s ageing population and shrinking family sizes.

“The things people are concerned about is impact on local traffic, our local streets inevitably through infill have caused traffic movements to be more restricted than they have in the past.”

He said a serious issue for Adelaide was the loss of vegetation and green canopy.

“Our understanding is over the last 10 years, leaving aside parks, public spaces, footpaths in private redevelopment around 30 per cent of vegetation is lost through renewal,” he said.

“The vegetation that’s brought in the end (of subdivision and redevelopment) is a fraction of what was there before.

“When you think about a hot dry place like Adelaide which is getting hotter this is a serious question. This is something we can do something about.”

The commission has this week released new planning design guidelines to combat the negative impacts of urban infill.

Among solutions, out for public consultation, are:

DEEP root zones in new developments to allow for planting and growth of mature trees;

OPTIMISING planting areas next to public spaces;

ENSURING buildings are compatible with neighbouring buildings and use “appropriate” materials;

LIMITING the height or extent of solid walls or street-facing fences;

ENSURING consistency with any existing established streetscape and frontages;

MINIMISING garages or carports facing “primary” streets and;

MINIMISING the number and width of vehicle crossovers on footpaths.

Mr Lennon said it was also anticipated that more controversial suburban developments could go through a voluntary design review process, to ensure the best outcome for neighbourhoods.

This would be based on the current model available through the government’s Office for Design and Architecture for major CBD projects.