THE CHALLENGE FOR GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY IN PROVIDING WELL-DESIGNED, ACTIVE OPEN SPACES WILL LIKELY WORSEN AS FINITE LAND SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED.
The Department of Sport and Recreation recently released a report on the provision of active playing reserves in Perth- Peel.
The study mapped 139 suburbs and looked at the various uses for our public open space including active (ie sports fields), passive (playgrounds etc), conservation and stormwater functions. They analysed the impact over time the impact of changing policy settings since the Stephenson-Hepburn plan of the mid 1950’s including the requirement for ten percent public open space, the introduction of bush forever sites and, more recently, water sensitive urban design (WSUD).
The impact of the policies is quite startling with active open space (playing fields) falling from 15 percent to 6.24 percent of all open space. The big change is the increase in conservation areas which have risen from 21.47 percent to 28.15 percent of all public open space.
The study estimates a shortfall of active open space of up to 495ha by 2031 (including space for support facilities such as club rooms, spectator areas, parking etc). In land value alone that could run close to half a billion dollars.
This is not just an outer metropolitan area issue. Whilst the percentage of active open space in older suburbs is higher, the increasing population density may put pressure on the existing sporting fields. Older suburbs currently have around 7.272m per person of active open space which is higher than the 6.52m per person recommended however the report goes on to estimate a shortage of around 237ha for playing fields and support facilities in the inner suburbs by 2031 if government urban infill targets are achieved.
The challenge for government and developers is meeting the needs of conservation and water management whilst providing passive and active playing areas and still delivering an affordable housing product. Every square meter of land that is consumed for a non-residential purpose is included in the cost of the land that is sold. This means the higher the allocation of open space, regardless of the purpose, the bigger the impact on housing affordability.
The challenge doesn’t just stop with meeting the conflicting demands of housing affordability, conservation and a healthy community, we also face a massive challenge in the provision of sufficient fit-for-purpose water for establishment and maintenance of the grassed areas required for active playing space. Gains have been made with irrigation and drought resistant grasses however delivering green playing space is not going to be easy.