The following three-part listing reviews the extent to which layout designers
can be effective in providing focus and sociability through amenity open-space
provisioning.
1 Turning to advantage the fact that contractors are obliged statutorily to sequest
(with local authorities becoming the eventual community guardians) as much
as 40 per cent of the raw land for access, utilities and reserves provisioning.
Treat this as a composite handover where road takings are minimized, and
community amenity space is enlarged and integrated. The ideal trade-off is
lessland consumed for access and utilities, and betterland provided for
actively used amenity spaces – thus with some overall reduction of the total
extent of public land allocation and an overall increase in land residentially
occupied. The issue here, as in much of suburban provisioning, is one of
quality.
2 Give up on backland reserves (except for delineations along coastal, lake and
larger river littorals and prominent ridge lines), concentrating on integral-to-
the-community reserves as outlined in ‘green street’ recommendations, ideally
with some floral and fruiting varieties.
3 Foster a leafy ambience, particularly by encouraging carefully positioned
medium-to-large tree planting, along with the promotion (including some
minor alleviation of land taxes as a community payback?) for private
landowners who covenant the protection of tree species in backdrop-pockets.
Trees and shrubs set within flexi-block layouts soften and subdue hard-edged
suburban housing, and enhance property resale values.
Overall, in the particular context of amenity space provisioning, the most impor-
tant open space design and social objective, is the location of actively used (soccer
mum’s and frisbee dad’s) neighbourhood
space, integral and connected to commu-
nity schools, corner stores, local library and
the like.
At the time of rural-to-urban crossover, the
tensions between local governance and
developer-providers linger on to haunt
the communities served, unfortunately as
irredeemable and everlasting mistakes.
This beleaguering effect includes the provi-
sion of mindlessly curvilinear layouts
superficially marketable at the time of
sale, but exhibiting irrelevance as they
mature. Part of the answer is purposefully
orthogonal – not necessarily gridded –
arrangements, providing a clear within-
the-neighbourhood sense of structure and
Urban Growth Management 237Excellent indoor–outdoor New World detached
dwelling living, in parts of nineteenth-century inner-
city Sydney,Auckland and Melbourne, accommodates
families with children, childless couples and retired
people, with easy access to public transport, schools,
medical centres, and local shops – on plots which
average 150 m^2.