Brisbane apartment glut causing canyon effect in inner city

THE glut of high-rise apartments being built in inner Brisbane is literally casting a giant shadow — and the effects could have long-term consequences.

High-rise apartments in West End.

• Units drive down approval numbers

AREAS of inner Brisbane can expect to be permanently cast in shadow and suffer “canyon effect” under the council’s urban renewal plan, says a planning authority.

Griffith University’s Dr Tony Matthews said it’s inevitable that the number of high rise apartments popping up around inner Brisbane would cause massive changes at ground level.

The lecturer in urban and environmental planning said the most likely change was “canyon effect” which is synonymous in major cities dominated by high rise buildings.

Canyon effect includes wind tunnels, loss of light and microclimatic changes where there is extreme heat or cold at ground level between tall buildings, he said.

“The development pattern in Brisbane at the moment, with clusters of tall buildings in specific areas, means you can get a canyon effect,” Mr Matthews said.

“That’s where entire streets become flanked by tall buildings and you get very little light penetration, often times it gets very warm or very cold, and you get wind tunnelling.

“All of those consequences are very likely to happen in some places for sure.”

Brisbane City Council’s Urban Renewal Plan, which started in earnest in 2014, includes approving clusters of apartment buildings within proximity to major transport hubs.

In recent years there has been a heavy concentration of high rise apartment developments in Fortitude Valley, Newstead, the West End and the CBD.

Suburbs such as Lutwyche, Chermside and the Gabba have been flooded with multi-level apartments as well and more are being built.

Mr Matthews said the reason behind the Urban Renewal Plan was sound but questioned if the apartments being built were ever going to attract families.

“There is a planning concept called Transport Orientated Development (TOD) and that has been a planning priority … for more than a decade and … is well used in North America, Britain and Canada, so that actually makes perfect sense,”: he said.

“Apartments are not generally understood or used by Australians for family living like they are in places such as France and Germany … where it is a common model and we are not designing to meet those needs and we are failing in two ways.

“We are not addressing the cultural reluctance of apartments and the idea that you can raise children in apartments, and we are not delivering the kind of stock that would encourage embracing that type of residential living.”

A Brisbane City Council spokeswoman said effects such as shadowing and the creation of wind tunnels are considered during the approval application for each development.

Local residents are also consulted on the impact of new apartment buildings, she said.

“Council also considers a number of environmental impacts of development proposals during the assessment process, including potential shadowing and wind effects,” she said.

“Council also has a range of Neighbourhood Plans across suburbs in the inner city, to provide residents with the chance to provide feedback on the future of their local area, consider infrastructure requirements and assess environmental impacts.”

According to a 2016 study by Queensland University of Technology Property economist Dr Lyndall Bryant, up to 50,000 units would be coming on to the market within a few years.

“The scramble towards building as many high density apartment buildings … I find that a bit questionable.”

Mr Matthews said it’s time to slow down the rate of approvals and construction because of an oversupply.

“The scramble towards building as many high density apartment buildings … I find that a bit questionable,” he said.

“There’s already been research already published that suggest there is already an oversupply of apartments in Brisbane’s CBD and I’m inclined to agree with research that the supply of apartments in Brisbane’s CBD has overshot demand.”

He also said apartment living was not as attractive as it could be either because some complexes were “gouging” residents with hefty management fees.