Big Ideas for Western SydneyIt is all too easy to focus on the myriad of challenges that Western Sydney faces today and in the immediate future, and hence fail to look over the horizon and take a longer-term perspective. However, it is by lifting our eyes that we can make the transformative changes that are often required to really change long-term outcomes.

This paper is not a fully defined business case for change. It is a prompt for the community to ask what longer term things to which we should be turning our mind. What is our next Sydney Harbour Bridge that will transform the next phase of Sydney’s growth?

The ideas suggested here are provided to set a partial vision for what we might want Western Sydney to look like in, say, 2050.

Rather than get bogged down in the here and now, we have assumed that what is already in the infrastructure pipeline, or is reasonably likely to be in the pipeline in coming years, gets delivered. This may include, for example:

• the full Western Sydney airport, aerotropolis and supporting industries

• rail connections to the east (possibly fast rail) and north-south rail connections.

Assuming that, trends we are already seeing will only accelerate:• digitisation and the evolution of

complementary services

• the sharing economy

• population growth

• the internet of everything

• distributed energy distribution.

To elicit ideas PwC held a co-design session with a range of stakeholders with interest in Western Sydney and/or a view on the evolution of Australian society and the economy over the horizon (see Appendix A). The Minister for Urban Infrastructure, The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP opened the session to provide context for participants about the government’s aspirations for Western Sydney. While informed from this discussion, the views presented in this paper should not be attributed directly to any individual.

The collective focus of our participants was to push the boundaries and to generate ideas that are ‘just short of ludicrous’. This is because what we consider as ludicrous today often turns out to be normalised or mundane in the future.

#bigideas4WesternSydney

Making liveable, doable.Cities generic graphic

These would be one-stop-shop communities. By definition these are walkable and connected communities, reducing the dependence on the car.

Accompanying these concentrated hubs needs to be more accessible communal and green outdoor public spaces.

However, this should not be the only model of urban development. Indeed, there is an equity argument that the West should not just be a high rise environment.

Build walkable communities

With continued population growth, the push for new urban sprawl at the edge of Sydney needs to come to an end.

The historic pattern of development, with apparently never-ending suburbs of free-standing houses lacks density and hence:• is expensive from an infrastructure

perspective, undermining the goal of housing affordability

• does not promote walkable communities, with attendant costs related to

- health (eg obesity)

- social dislocation

- car-induced pollution and pinch point congestion.

In this light, it is time to rethink the way that new developments should be prosecuted. In particular, we should cease to allow the construction of new suburbs of freestanding houses. This will necessitate a significant change for Sydney’s house construction industry.

This should not mean that all new development in Western Sydney should be traditional high-rise towers.

Instead, we should have development in an integrated fashion with two dominant forms.

It is time to acknowledge that the ‘great suburban dream’ needs to morph into the ‘great urban dream’.

First, we should be encouraging ‘skycities’ over major new transport hubs. These will comprise multi-function highrises that contain:

residential accommodation

social/communal spaces

drone landing access

mass transit access

retail and commercial spaces

medical facilities

schools

So, second, centralised high rise development should be complemented by new medium density housing models (possibly akin to those in many European cities).

The key here is to design communities rather than individual buildings. They should include a mix of housing models: • public housing

• social housing

• traditional rental properties and ‘build to rent’ accommodation

• owner occupied.

Walkability is the key. With a lower incidence on vehicle ownership (possibly supplemented by further development of the car as a service) there is a significantly reduced need for car parking (in any case, the millennial trend is to not purchasing a car, reliant on a vehicle as a service, whether driverless or not).

As such, there is a need for integrated planning so that there are schools and some shops within a walkable distance from residents.

This combination of ‘skycities’ and medium density development provides the capacity for Sydney’s population to grow, but with greater emphasis on accessibility and community.

Western Sydney already has a number of:• major rivers - the Nepean River,

Parramatta River, Duck River, South Creek and the George’s River

• lakes - the Penrith Lakes

• reservoirs - the Prospect Reservoir.

A vision of a new Western Sydney could involve investment to emphasise these

The Water CityWater, in the form of the Sydney Harbour and Sydney’s beaches, is synonymous with Sydney’s persona and reputation. Sydney’s West should add inland waterways as a third iconic water reference.

and new water environments.

Water is a precious commodity, and it is one that we should protect and celebrate. This can be done in a number of ways.

First, we should celebrate the existing rivers and waterways (e.g. the Nepean and George’s Rivers). Making these rivers accessible and clean provides recreation and tourism opportunities for residents and tourists.

Second, we can increase amenity and provide a point of distinction by creating waterways (artificial lakes, canals) throughout Western Sydney. These can provide, in different contexts:

There is also likely to be a need to reserve the corridor between Western Sydney Airport and Kingsford Smith Airport for future infrastructure corridors of various types, we could consider making it broader and integrate into a canal that could be used for transporting people and/or freight.

Third, while somewhat artificial, we should emphasise the proximity to water be encouraging ‘inland beaches’ akin to the Brisbane Southbank and Cairns beaches. This will provide additional leisure opportunities for the people of Western Sydney.

While it might seem strange to emphasis water on the driest continent, water can be sourced from:• recycling, for new developments but

possibly also Sydney generally

• better capturing rainfall.

This approach emphasises Western Sydney as being an ecologically sustainable city that looks to the World Environment Heritage of the Blue Mountains as its philosophical anchor.

Habitats for animals

Transport options for people

Leisure spaces

Historically rural land in Sydney has been threatened by urbanisation, meaning urban sprawl into potential farmland has been relatively unchecked. Instead, planning tends to focus on whichever use has the greatest economic value so that agricultural land is allowed to be rezoned for houses or other higher-value land uses. As a result, large portions of areas that currently grow Sydney’s fresh produce are earmarked for release for housing development.

However, the continued demand for land in Western Sydney puts local food production at risk. If development continues as it has then Sydney stands to lose more than 90% of its current fresh vegetable production. Indeed, total food production could drop by 60% and the city’s supply of food from within the basin could drop from 20% of total food demand to a mere 6%.1

Agriculture and food processing are labour-intensive, providing significant local job opportunities, with around $5 billion in value generated in Sydney.2

However, there are concerns about compatible use, with the noise and other externalities associated with farming and food production often not sitting well with new residential developments.

The development of the Western Sydney Airport, and the need to quarantine residential developments away from the airport itself to protect the airport’s 24-hour status, provides a unique opportunity to protect food production in Sydney:

As food supply chains evolve and become increasingly disintermediated, there is potential for clustering and aggregation of food manufacturing and value-add processing to be established near the airport. A dedicated food precinct near the airport could offer significant efficiencies to companies, from cutting down transportation, and by offering proximity to and collaboration with other parts of the supply chain”.3

Such a precinct, with a new connection to the Inland Rail, should be a hub for emerging developments in food supply, including:

• capital intensive farming - the South Australian Sundrop Farms points to a possible evolution in farming, whereby technology is used to drive cleaner production and enhanced farming outcomes. In this case, a solar tower 24,000 mirrors beam sunlight to the collector on a 127 metre high tower, with the thermal energy powering 20ha of adjoining glasshouses, which in turn produce about 350 tonnes of tomatoes each week.4

• ‘vertical farms’ - related to ‘capital intensive farming’, vertical farming is the practice of producing food in vertical environments (e.g. stacked layers) using indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture technology. While a more expensive form of food production, vertical farms yield more crops per square metre than traditional farming or greenhouses do, and also use less water, grows plants faster, and can be used year-round. Importantly, vertical farms are more efficient forms of agricultural land use and can, in theory, be built anywhere

• food gateway - the development of the new Western Sydney Airport provides the generational opportunity to create a point of physical control to enable verification/certification for Australian produce at the point of export, in the form of a controlled quarantined physical presence. This will facilitate Australian exporters to protect the providence of their products and so to ensure that premium prices for ‘brand Australia’ can be maintained in overseas markets.

While Australia no longer rides the sheep’s back, it would be a significant loss for Sydney if agriculture is pushed out of the Sydney basin. Designation of locations around Western Sydney Airport for agricultural lands and food production is a necessary precondition for maintaining and enhancing Sydney’s status as a foodie hub.

Good food is a characteristic of the good life that Sydney-siders enjoy, and much of the fresh vegetable produce consumed by Sydney-siders comes from the Sydney basin.

Protect and enhance the Sydney foodbowl

1. http://www.sydneyfoodfutures.net/interactive-maps/2. Edge Land Planning 2015, Sydney Peri-Urban Network: Issues Paper]3. PwC 2017, Liverpool: the gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis, available at https://www.pwc.com.au/agendas/cities/liverpool-sydneys-aerotropolis.pdf4. Sue Neales, ‘The future of farming’, The Australian, available at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/weekend-australian-magazine/this-is-the-future-of-farming/news-story/99fd0a207d8b6aa0768c32fd61b3d00e

The following people attended the co-design session, designed to identify ideas and priorities for Western Sydney in 2050 and beyond. Each attended in a personal capacity, and hence the views in this paper should not be directly attributed to any particular individual.

Attendees at the co-design session

Winton Anton Cameron Brae Group

DJ Belton PwC

Matthew Benns Daily Telegraph

David Borger Sydney Business Chamber Western Sydney

Kate Bryant PwC

Craig Butler Penrith City Council

Liam Butler Western Sydney University

Chen Cai Data 61

Joseph Carrozzi PwC

Andrew Conolly Futurist

Kristen Cusack PwC

Emma Davies Greater Sydney Commission

Michelle Englert PwC

Kiersten Fishburn Liverpool City Council

Chris Gantt Celestino

Rick Graf Billbergia

Craig Heraghty PwC

Arthur Ilias Lend Lease

Tim Johnson Sydney University

Bruce Macnee Liverpool City Council

Stephen Mahoney Destination NSW

John Marinopoulos PwC

Rachel Merton NSW Department of Industry

Rachel Pagitz Penrith City Council

Greg Robinson Sydney University

Les Roelandts Northropp Grumman

Stephen Scheeler PwC

Nathan Schlesinger PwCMichael Sharpe Advanced Manufacturing

Growth Centre James Sherrard PwC

Leena Singh Western Sydney Local Health District

Jeremy Thorpe PwC

Domenic Vitocco Vitocco Group

Chris Watts Sydney University

Rubal Wallia PwC

Greg Whiteside Lend Lease

Tim Williams Committee for Sydney

Jasminah Woodhouse PwC

Appendix A

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