Top Urban Macro-Development Trends in Construction
Urban Macro-development is actually a relatively new concept in Australia. It’s now the major planning issue in Australia’s big cities, with good reason. The demand for space, services and infrastructure is intense, and these developments require a lot of expert planning. Construction companies in Queensland are meeting the challenge with new technology, local design, and good planning concepts.
Urban macro development, explained
Urban macro development is the generalized term for the development of the whole urban system. In Australia, that’s a highly diverse process, quite unlike anywhere else on Earth. Recent studies show Australia is one of the most urbanized countries in the world, but urban population density is among the lowest.
Types of urban development terminology include:
- Low density: The typical Australian suburb, full of houses rather than apartments.
- Medium density: A mix of apartments and housing.
- High density: Mainly apartments.
- Urban sprawl: The growth of urban areas, and consolidation of urban areas into single masses.
- Infrastructure: The life support systems for urban development, like water, power, communications, and roads.
- Environmental plans and planning policies: These include state, Federal and local environmental plans and planning policies, governed by legislation. These plans govern permissible land use.
- Acronyms:
- LEP: Local environmental plan
- REPP: Regional Environmental Planning Policy
- SEPP: State Environmental Planning Policy
These environmental plans are major issues in urban development at all levels. Developments must comply with the requirements of these plans and policies, which have the force of law.
The construction issues in macro development
Public concern about urban sprawl and infrastructure is driving a new approach to construction. That fact, as well as commercial demand from developers for compliant constructions and solutions to the issues, has helped evolve new design and construction concepts, including a lot of environmentally friendly initiatives.
Construction issues have been a big part of the debate in booming southern Queensland and for home builders on the Sunshine Coast. Queenslanders and migrants to Queensland understandably want to maintain their lifestyle, and aren’t too enthused about urban sprawl. Nor are Queensland developers, who have nothing to gain from a Sydney-like sprawl and related expensive infrastructural horror stories which actually cost them money.
The result has been a demand for better quality construction in concert with high standards of urban planning. Rather than uncontrolled building as in the past, the consensus among planners, environmentalists and builders is to create working solutions that don’t compromise principles and lifestyles.
Macro development and redevelopment- Rebuilding Australia, and creating the solutions
The economics of redevelopment and rebuilding are showing signs of both meeting the needs of Australia’s long suffering housing market and dealing with the old problems which have plagued urban sprawl. Better quality housing is providing good quality of life, and meeting demands for ecologically sustainable building practices.
The new designs and new construction concepts are also better suited for modern technology. A new house or modern block of units are better propositions in planning terms, achieving sustainable population densities, not creating infrastructural overloads. This reduces the impact on demands for revenue for services, saving consumers and local authorities money. It’s a “win-win” result.
