Bradfield Oration: Grand plan for multi-generational living in Sydney
SYDNEY’S booming population means it will be common for children, parents and grandparents to all be living under one roof within the next 15 years.
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SYDNEY’S booming population means it will be common for children, parents and grandparents to all be living under one roof within the next 15 years.
“Multi-generational living is the way of the future. And one way the government is planning for this is medium density housing,” said NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts.
The number of people in NSW is expected to jump by almost 30 per cent to just under 10 million in the next twenty years.
Young people are living in apartments close to the city. In inner-city Waterloo and Beaconsfield the number of people aged from 15 to 24 has doubled according to data crunched by the NSW Department of Planning.
Older generations are continuing to live in traditional freestanding homes in the suburbs — and staying in them longer than ever before.
Mr Roberts said that left a gap for a new type of housing for the state’s 2.2 million people. “What’s missing are the low-rise medium sized homes, like terraces, dual occupancies and townhouses. This gap in our housing market has become known as the ‘Missing Middle’,” he said.
Mr Roberts said a competition earlier in the year had shown the possibilities of using space, light and smaller blocks to create the “missing middle” of NSW housing.
“These are not high-rise buildings. They fit within local character and have the added benefit of generally being more affordable because it requires less land area.
“Now and in the future for our kids, for our parents and for our grandparents, we need to diversify housing.
“Well-designed medium density is how we will accommodate multi-generations living under one roof.”
In NSW over the next 20 years the biggest increase in people is not down to immigration but people simply living longer. The number of 65-year-olds in NSW is due to increase by almost 70 per cent.
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A baby boom in the 80s and 90s has led to a jump in the number of women having babies now - up from 85,000 15 years ago to 100,000 today.
People retiring now were born in the 1950s when the average male expected to live to 67 — today the average male life expectancy is over 80. “In some parts of Sydney it’s much higher than that,” said Mr Roberts.
“While that’s testament to our healthcare services and more healthy and active lifestyles keeping people living longer, it certainly shapes the next 20 years and defines what services we will need.”
Greater Sydney Commission chief executive Sarah Hill said research showed that Sydneysiders were not against growth but wanted reassurance that the right infrastructure was being put in place.
“That means jobs, more housing choices and the many benefits that do come from sensible density changes. Look at many of the established inner city suburbs where shops, restaurants, schools and transport are within walking or cycling distance,” she said.
It also meant asking questions that planned for an ageing population. ‘Where do you want your children or grandchildren to live?’ Do you want them nearby for when you are old and need support? Where do you want them to find good jobs?” she said.
“We have already bought a house so won’t have to live with my parents.”
These are exactly the problems facing Jess Hansen and husband Dan as they struggle with $175-a-day childcare charges for their one-year-old son Hayden.
“We want to have another child and I just don’t think it will be worth bothering to go out to work with those kinds of charges,” said Ms Hansen, who lives in Naremburn on Sydney’s lower north shore.
Instead she and her husband are considering a move back to Newcastle to be near her parents and occasional child care fees of just $100 a day. “We have already bought a house so won’t have to live with my parents,” she said.
But as house prices continue to rise future generations may not be in such a strong position. The Department of Planning expects 180,000 new homes to be built across Sydney in the next five years.
They include 1600 in Haymarket, 4200 at Mascot, 3400 at Zetland and 2900 at Rosebery and are expected to be targeted by young singles and couples. Unlike their parents, they are expected to stay in the area and, in many cases, in their apartments as they start young families.
Justin Douglas, NSW Chief Demographer, said data showed young people were moving into apartments near the heart of the city.
“People are more likely to compromise big homes and backyards on the fringes for smaller properties with less of a commute to work in the city, so they can get home earlier and spend more time with their families,” he said.
“Young families and singles who would rather be closer to the CBD, either Sydney or Parramatta, will flock to areas where there are medium-density homes, being townhouses, duplexes and terrace houses.
“Areas where this is prevalent are Ryde, Sutherland and Canterbury.”