tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/developers-25821/articles
Developers – The Conversation
2023-09-25T21:14:55Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214178
2023-09-25T21:14:55Z
2023-09-25T21:14:55Z
Ontario’s Greenbelt is safe for now, but will the scandal alter Doug Ford’s course?
<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/ontarios-greenbelt-is-safe-for-now-but-will-the-scandal-alter-doug-fords-course" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-stag-and-doe-integrity-commissioner-1.6974058">extraordinary reversal</a> on his decision to <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-to-cut-greenbelt-land-to-make-way-for-at-least-50-000-new-homes-1.6139646">open the Greater Toronto Area’s Greenbelt for housing development</a> flows from two colossal political miscalculations. </p>
<p>The first was failing to recognize the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontarios-greenbelt">Greenbelt, established by the previous Liberal government in 2005</a>, had acquired an iconic status in the minds of residents of the region. </p>
<p>The Greenbelt was based on earlier <a href="https://escarpment.org/planning/niagara-escarpment-plan/">Niagara Escarpment</a> and <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/oak-ridges-moraine-conservation-plan-2017.pdf">Oak Ridges Moraine conservation plans</a>, both adopted by Progressive Conservative governments. It was deeply embedded in municipal plans throughout the region.</p>
<p>Over time, the Greenbelt <a href="https://www.greenbelt.ca/learn">became a symbol</a> in Ontario of efforts to protect prime farmland and key natural heritage sites from the region’s sprawling urban growth. </p>
<p>The government, however, refused to let go of the idea of opening the Greenbelt to development despite a <a href="https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/Greenbelt_en.pdf">complete lack of evidence</a> that the land was required to meet the region’s housing needs. </p>
<p>According to the province’s integrity commissioner, it then allowed a “<a href="https://www.oico.on.ca/web/default/files/public/Commissioners%20Reports/Report%20Re%20Minister%20Clark%20-%20August%2030%2C%202023.pdf">madcap process</a>” to unfold around the actual removal of lands, which turned out to offer the potential for billions in profits to well-connected developers.</p>
<h2>Ford’s future now in doubt?</h2>
<p>The second blunder was to try to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-doug-ford-doubling-down-amid-ontarios-greenbelt-scandal-212917">double down</a> on the Greenbelt removal decision in the aftermath of harshly critical reports from both the province’s auditor general and integrity commissioner.</p>
<p>Even after the resignations of the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/steve-clark-resigns-greenbelt-1.6956402">housing minister</a> and his <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-housing-amato-resigns-1.6944225">chief of staff</a> at the height of the scandal, Ford wouldn’t back down. </p>
<p>It took more than a month of a series of damning and embarrassing news reports — leading to the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/kaleed-rasheed-resigns-greenbelt-ford-1.6973107">resignation of yet another cabinet minister</a>, Public and Business Service Delivery Minister Kaleed Rasheed — for Ford to relent.</p>
<p>But the political damage suffered by the government through this period is starting <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/pc-support-is-sliding-as-greenbelt-fallout-continues-poll-suggests/article_7911f9cc-a1ae-5a45-bc57-e4838747e306.html">to seem profound</a> and the fallout is certain to continue:</p>
<ol>
<li> <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/rcmp-probing-ford-government-s-handling-of-the-greenbelt-1.6530698">The RCMP</a> is considering an investigation into the Greenbelt deal-making;</li>
<li> Rasheed has <a href="https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/politics/cabinet-minister-resigns-exits-pc-caucus-after-giving-watchdog-wrong-info-about-vegas-trip-with-developer-7575532">admitted to misleading</a> the integrity commissioner under oath during inquiries into the Greenbelt decision; </li>
<li> The auditor general is planning a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-82-here-and-now-toronto/clip/16002583-auditor-general-bonnie-lysyk-breaks-findings-greenbelt-report">follow-up</a> audit on the whole episode;</li>
<li> Freedom-of-information requests from the media, and leaks from other sources, are likely to lead to further revelations in the weeks and months to come.</li>
</ol>
<p>Although the next provincial election is nearly three years away, the Greenbelt scandal has raised <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/doug-ford-can-t-save-himself-even-by-sparing-the-greenbelt/article_23efd9de-cef6-53b9-a591-bcbaeeca340f.html">serious questions about the viability</a> of Ford’s own future as premier.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-fords-greenbelt-scandal-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-his-years-in-power-211629">Doug Ford's Greenbelt scandal: The beginning of the end of his years in power?</a>
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<h2>Greenbelt is out of the woods</h2>
<p>Ironically, one almost certain outcome of the entire episode is that it’s probably ended any possibility of Ford’s intention to dismantle the Greenbelt.</p>
<p>The political fallout so far almost ensures no politician in Ontario will make similar moves against the Greenbelt for a generation or more. </p>
<p>The Greenbelt scandal has also vividly illustrated how badly the province has mishandled <a href="https://thepointer.com/article/2023-04-24/experts-say-pcs-proposed-bill-97-is-a-sprawl-inducing-full-frontal-assault-on-ontario-agriculture">housing and development issues</a>. </p>
<p>The province’s land-use planning system — including the Greenbelt and growth plans for the Greater Toronto Area — was once the subject of <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/86986/ontario-celebrates-second-major-award-for-growth-plan">international acclaim</a> for how it managed intense growth pressures while protecting farmland, housing affordability and natural heritage areas. </p>
<p>The Greenbelt debacle has demonstrated how that system <a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-ford-at-5-years-selling-out-ontarios-future-to-please-the-well-connected-207194">had degenerated</a> into an instrument wielded by the province to serve the wishes of well-connected developers.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-ford-at-5-years-selling-out-ontarios-future-to-please-the-well-connected-207194">Doug Ford at 5 years: Selling out Ontario's future to please the well-connected</a>
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<h2>Undoing the damage</h2>
<p>A complete <a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-ford-reverses-greenbelt-plans-construction-would-never-have-provided-affordable-housing-214138">overhaul of the land-use planning system</a> is now needed to undo the damage done by the Ford government, restore the system’s credibility and address the province’s housing needs effectively. <a href="https://theconversation.com/has-ontarios-housing-plan-been-built-on-a-foundation-of-evidentiary-sand-198133">Evidence backed by expert research</a>, reason and basic democratic principles of transparency and accountability all need to be returned to the system. </p>
<p>Although the Greenbelt appears to be safe for the time being, attention now needs to turn to the government’s handling of the redevelopment of existing urban areas, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eft5FOlUZmg">a theme Ford highlighted</a> in his speech reversing the Greenbelt removals. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Eft5FOlUZmg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Doug Ford announces his Greenbelt reversal at a news conference. (CTV News)</span></figcaption>
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<p>So far the government’s approach to “<a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/transit-oriented-communities">transit-oriented communities</a>” — ideally communities developed within a short distance of transit lines — has been to declare these areas free-for-all zones where the development industry can do as it wishes. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/giving-developers-free-rein-isnt-the-solution-to-the-gtha-housing-challenges-176128">Predictably</a>, the results of that approach in <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-developers-propose-taller-towers-for-torontos-midtown/?utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links">midtown and downtown Toronto</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ministerial-zoning-orders-1.6421555">Richmond Hill, Markham</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mississauga-lakeview-village-mzo-1.6844018">and Mississauga</a> have been an overwhelming focus on high-rise condominium developments, a lack of infrastructure and services of all forms, no mixing of uses (for example, significant new employment locations) or housing types, no attention paid to affordability and significant losses of existing affordable rental housing to “redevelopment.”</p>
<p>This is the polar opposite of the “complete communities” and urban development centres envisioned in the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/growth-plan-greater-golden-horseshoe-2006">2006 growth plan to guide urban redevelopment</a> that accompanied the announcement of the Greenbelt.</p>
<h2>Challenges ahead</h2>
<p>The province has trampled on efforts by municipalities and communities to support more development along transit lines. The Ford government has apparently been intent on dismantling the <a href="https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6813">growth plan</a> as well as the Greenbelt.</p>
<p>The challenges facing the Greater Toronto Area are multi-dimensional and complex, including:</p>
<p>— <a href="https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/social-innovation/Programs/Affordable_Housing_Visual_Systems_Map_Oxford.pdf">Housing needs</a>, particularly at the lower end of the income scale;</p>
<p>— Structural economic transitions and <a href="https://ppforum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/JobPolarizationInCanada-PPF-April2021-EN.pdf">increasingly polarized</a> labour markets;</p>
<p>— <a href="https://trca.ca/climate-change-impacts-gta/">The impacts</a> of a changing climate;</p>
<p>— A <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-staff-report-says-toronto-faces-an-unprecedented-financial-crisis-and-the-time-is-now-for-all-orders-of-government-to-step-up-to-fulfil-their-roles/">fiscal crisis</a>, particularly for the city of Toronto, driven in large part by <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-mayors-slam-ford-download-1.5117718">provincial downloading</a>.</p>
<p>The Greenbelt fiasco has been an enormous distraction from these challenges — and it remains doubtful that the Ford government can significantly change its approach to governance to address them effectively.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Winfield receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He was involved in the development of the original Greenbelt and Growth Plans, including serving on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on the implementation of the Places to Grow plan. </span></em></p>
The Greenbelt fiasco has been an enormous distraction from the challenges facing the Greater Toronto Area — and it’s doubtful the Ford government will significantly change its approach.
Mark Winfield, Professor, Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211629
2023-08-17T19:34:17Z
2023-08-17T19:34:17Z
Doug Ford’s Greenbelt scandal: The beginning of the end of his years in power?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543110/original/file-20230816-17-r4v3zi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1908%2C7454%2C3035&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a news conference in Mississauga, Ont., on Aug. 11, 2023, two days after a scathing auditor general report into the Greenbelt.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/doug-fords-greenbelt-scandal-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-his-years-in-power" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The findings of Ontario’s <a href="https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/Greenbelt_en.pdf">auditor general</a> on the provincial government’s decision to remove 7,400 acres from the Greater Toronto Area Greenbelt came as no surprise to those who have been closely following Premier Doug Ford’s approach to planning and development.</p>
<p>Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk determined:</p>
<p>— Well-connected developers were given direct access to ministerial staff and the opportunity to rewrite planning rules to suit their own interests;</p>
<p>— Normal decision-making processes and planning rules were bypassed;</p>
<p>— <a href="https://theconversation.com/has-ontarios-housing-plan-been-built-on-a-foundation-of-evidentiary-sand-198133">Overwhelming evidence</a> that indicated there was no need to remove land from the Greenbelt to meet the region’s housing needs was ignored;</p>
<p>— Decisions were made to provide billions of dollars in benefits to private interests that won’t enhance housing affordability in any way.</p>
<p>All of this is part of a wider pattern of behaviour for the Ford government over the past five years.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in a yellow suit with thick brown hair speaks into a microphone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543109/original/file-20230816-29-jhk1op.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543109/original/file-20230816-29-jhk1op.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543109/original/file-20230816-29-jhk1op.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543109/original/file-20230816-29-jhk1op.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543109/original/file-20230816-29-jhk1op.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543109/original/file-20230816-29-jhk1op.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543109/original/file-20230816-29-jhk1op.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk speaks to the media during a news conference regarding her report on the Greenbelt on Aug. 9, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey</span></span>
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<h2>Par for the course</h2>
<p>The Greenbelt controversy is the culmination of a series of troubling government <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qqljI_mBx4&feature=share">decisions and legislative</a> changes since Ford was first elected in 2018. </p>
<p>These have included the widespread use of <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/ministers-zoning-order-ontario-explainer/">ministerial zoning orders, known as MZOs</a>, to override local plans and city council decisions in favour of development interests. </p>
<p>In addition, developers have been invited to rewrite the planning rules — all mandated by municipalities and communities to facilitate and manage urban growth via existing provincial policies — to suit their own interests. </p>
<p>There are examples throughout Toronto and its bedroom communities — including in <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-developers-propose-taller-towers-for-torontos-midtown/?utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links">midtown and downtown Toronto</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ministerial-zoning-orders-1.6421555">Richmond Hill, Markham</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mississauga-lakeview-village-mzo-1.6844018">and Mississauga</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1515901681770409989"}"></div></p>
<p>The roles of <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-strips-conservation-authority-powers/">conservation authorities</a> and local governments in decision-making have been systemically marginalized, and <a href="https://www.osler.com/en/resources/regulations/2022/forget-everything-you-thought-you-knew-about-planning-approvals-in-ontario%E2%80%A6">planning rules related to both built and natural heritage conservation sites</a> have been shredded. </p>
<p>Meantime, the costs of the infrastructure needed to support private, for-profit development <a href="https://www.amo.on.ca/sites/default/files/assets/DOCUMENTS/Submissions/SC_HICP-LTR_AP_AMO_Submission_Bill%2023_More_Homes_Built_Faster_Act_20221116.pdf">have been transferred</a> to local and provincial taxpayers.</p>
<p>The province’s land-use planning system — including <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/greenbelt-plan-2017">the Greenbelt</a>
<a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/place-grow-growth-plan-greater-golden-horseshoe">and growth</a> plans for the Greater Toronto Area — were once the subject of <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/86986/ontario-celebrates-second-major-award-for-growth-plan">international acclaim</a> for their management of intense growth while farmland, housing affordability and natural heritage areas were protected. </p>
<p>Now that system has been transformed into an instrument wielded by the province to overcome any objections to the wishes of developers.</p>
<h2>Policy failure</h2>
<p>The result has been a predictable picture of policy failure — a <a href="https://marksw.blog.yorku.ca/2022/11/07/doug-fords-more-homes-built-faster-act-bill-23-and-the-future-of-the-greater-toronto-region/">development boom</a> defined by the construction of single-use high-rises, mostly condominiums, in urban areas and sprawling low-density housing in the suburbs. </p>
<p>That trend has been escalated by the removal of the 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt.</p>
<p>This model of “<a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/04/20/ontarios-top-down-approach-to-urban-growth-is-reversing-progress-on-many-levels.html">tall and sprawl</a>” development has done next to nothing to improve housing affordability, particularly for those at the lower end of the income scale. </p>
<p>In fact, in some areas, this industry-driven model is leading to <a href="https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/social-innovation/Programs/Affordable_Housing_Visual_Systems_Map_Oxford.pdf">significant losses</a> of existing affordable rental housing as they’re displaced by investor-owned condominium developments.</p>
<p>The same <a href="https://theconversation.com/ontario-election-4-ways-doug-ford-has-changed-the-provinces-politics-182660">basic principles</a> evident in the government’s handling of the Greenbelt and housing files can be seen across a range of files, from <a href="https://marksw.blog.yorku.ca/2023/07/11/ontario-turns-rational-energy-planning-on-its-head/">energy</a> to <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/doug-ford-s-private-health-care-plan-is-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-medicare/article_e5c55c28-3df9-5540-9240-4108eb938a5b.html">health care</a>. </p>
<p>The Ford government engages in a casual approach to decision-making that regards normal governance processes as delay-inducing red tape. It tends to respond uncritically to whatever its favoured economic interests tell it to do. </p>
<p>That tendency was highlighted in Ford’s recent Greenbelt news conference, when he seemed to define good governance as saying “yes” to whatever business lobbyists ask for.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IHhSXZihai4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Doug Ford holds a news conference hours after the Ontario auditor general released a scathing Greenbelt report. (CPAC)</span></figcaption>
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<p>Perhaps even more disturbing is his apparent blindness to the meaning of <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-the-buck-stops-nowhere-as-doug-ford-dispenses-with-ministerial/">ministerial responsibility</a> or accountability in a system of democratic governance. Both Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark claim they didn’t know what the minister’s chief of staff was doing on the Greenbelt file. </p>
<p>Those claims are either admissions of catastrophic failures in management and oversight or an attempt to mislead the legislature, the auditor general and the public.</p>
<h2>Stonewalling</h2>
<p>So far, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2254543427510">the government has stonewalled</a> on the auditor general’s key recommendation — that the removal of lands from the Greenbelt must be re-evaluated in light of what the government itself admits was a <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2742646">flawed decision-making process</a>. </p>
<p>But the political and legal fallout from the auditor general’s report seems destined to continue for some time.</p>
<p>A further report into the controversy from the Ontario legislature’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/housing-minister-chief-staff-integrity-commissioner-1.6932582">Integrity Commissioner</a> is on the horizon. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1691754944582324368"}"></div></p>
<p>Lysyk has already committed to a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-82-here-and-now-toronto/clip/16002583-auditor-general-bonnie-lysyk-breaks-findings-greenbelt-report">followup</a> audit.
<a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/08/12/news/environmental-group-green-party-call-police-investigation-ford-government-greenbelt">There are also calls</a> for an Ontario Provincial Police investigation into the Greenbelt decisions. A variety of potential procedural <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/greenbelt-stop-ford-ontario-1.6933082">and legal challenges</a> are under consideration. </p>
<p>Whether the entire episode will prompt the government to reconsider its evidence-free, friends-with-benefits approach to governing remains an open question. So does the question of whether the political and legal fallout will be substantial enough to mark the beginning of the end for Ford’s government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211629/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Winfield receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
He was involved in the development of the original GTA Greenbelt and Growth Plans, including serving on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on the Implementation of the Growth Plan. </span></em></p>
Ontario’s Doug Ford government engages in a casual approach to decision-making that regards normal governance processes as nothing but delay-inducing red tape.
Mark Winfield, Professor, Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/208011
2023-07-12T20:27:04Z
2023-07-12T20:27:04Z
Transportation apps can help people with disabilities navigate public transit but accessibility lags behind
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536142/original/file-20230706-29-yjq5bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5760%2C3837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Smartphone apps can make public transit more accessible.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Smartphone apps have become commonplace tools for travel and navigation. As technology becomes more integrated into transport networks, apps will continue to be indispensable. But many of those apps <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-022-10182-x">remain inaccessible to those with various disabilities</a>.</p>
<p>Many people with disabilities rely on public transit as many <a href="https://www.aapd.com/transportation/">do not have a driver’s licence</a>. Planning trips, getting to and from transit stops successfully and navigating transit systems is important. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci2020045">My research has shown</a> that smartphone app technology can encourage inclusion by helping people with disabilities better navigate transport systems. </p>
<p>In the United States, <a href="https://data.census.gov/table?q=disability&tid=ACSST1Y2021.S1810">13 per cent of the population</a> lives with one or more types of disability. Developing apps and other mobility tools can increase their ability to access employment, education, health care and other services.</p>
<h2>Apps and accessibility</h2>
<p>My research, conducted in the U.S., found that one of the ways transportation-related general audience apps aim to address the travel needs of people with disabilities is by including accessibility features, such as text-to-voice conversion. These features increase ease of use for non-disabled people as well. </p>
<p>Despite the availability of technology, many apps remain inaccessible, including for cost and lack of mandatory requirements and regulations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a man sitting at a bus stop holding a cane and speaking into a mobile phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536920/original/file-20230711-19-wuzfy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Text-to-voice technologies can make apps more accessible for everyone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The cost factor</h2>
<p>Transportation smartphone apps, which require the use of location-based, real-time information are complex and require more time and cost to develop. The way app development processes are currently set up, the cost of developing apps with accessibility service features is more expensive than those without such features.</p>
<p>The cost of developing an app depends on the quality of the app and the number of features it includes, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40250-5_13">with additional features resulting in higher costs</a>. It could also take a long time depending on the complexity of the app.</p>
<p>While having additional features such as accessibility services can give apps the opportunity to reach more users, the cost can be a deterrent, especially for entities without the association with big companies such as Uber and Lyft.</p>
<p>There are various <a href="https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/#:%7E:text=Deafness%20or%20hearing%20loss,a%20wheelchair%2C%20walker%2C%20or%20cane">types of disabilities</a> and corresponding needs. The inclusion of features that address multiple disabilities in one app might also add to the complexity and cost. </p>
<p>Recognizing the challenge posed by responding to multiple disability needs in advanced communications services and equipment, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — that implements and enforces communications law and regulations — states that “<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/accessibility-advanced-communications-services-and-equipment">every feature and function of every device or service does not need to be accessible for every disability</a>.”</p>
<h2>Operating system providers</h2>
<p>Developers distribute apps on Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS operating systems via their app stores, Google Play and the App Store, respectively. <a href="https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/accessibility/principles">Android</a> and <a href="https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/resources/">iOS</a> provide accessibility guidelines, resources and codes for the developers. </p>
<p>Apple and Google also provide built-in accessibility features such as text-to-voice conversion options — an app that offers a voice option for real-time transit information is accessible to a person with visual impairment.</p>
<p>While Apple has <a href="https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/">more accessible</a> services than Google, Google makes clear that the company’s built-in features <a href="https://codelabs.developers.google.com/codelabs/developing-android-a11y-service/#0">do not meet all disability needs</a>. Google encourages app developers to use its available technology to create additional accessibility features for their apps. </p>
<p>However, we found that many of the transportation-related smartphone apps that we reviewed in our study were without accessibility features. Part of the problem has to do with the fact these guidelines are suggestions, rather than mandatory requirements to which developers need to comply.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a young man in a leather jacket looks at his phone while waiting at the bus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536927/original/file-20230711-23-t4o50g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apps can extend transportation opportunities, and increase people’s ability to attend work, school, health care and other services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Regulating recent advancements</h2>
<p>When the U.S congress passed the <a href="https://www.ada.gov/">Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)</a> in 1990, it was meant to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in various areas including transportation, services and telecommunication. As it currently stands, the ADA does not specifically apply to recent technological advancements such as smartphone apps. </p>
<p>There is no specific regulation that pertains even to website content other than an application of “<a href="https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/#fn:1">general nondiscrimination and effective communication provisions</a>.” </p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Justice encourages the use of technical standards such as the <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)</a> to make websites accessible. WCAG also lacks specific standards for smartphone apps, but it provides <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-accessibility-mapping/#wcag-2.0-and-mobile-content-applications">comprehensive guidance that does not set requirements</a> on how to apply their existing website standards to smartphone apps. </p>
<p>WCAG makes clear three things: (1) Not all guidance applies to smartphones; (2) Informative guidance does not address all disability needs; and (3) Mobile devices have different accessibility challenges compared to other devices.</p>
<p>When it comes to information and communications technology, the FCC has a mandate to develop and implement regulations. Under its consumer guide, it outlines general accessibility requirements. One of the requirements states that, if achievable, <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/accessibility-advanced-communications-services-and-equipment">manufacturers must make their hardware and software, including apps, accessible</a> to people with disabilities. </p>
<p>While the FCC guide mentions apps, the conditional nature of the guide and the lack of specificity on what is achievable weakens the requirement.</p>
<h2>The future of accessibility</h2>
<p>Whether due to the high cost, lack of operating system mandatory requirements, government regulations or specific technical standards, current conditions present a challenge to accessibility of apps. </p>
<p>As a result, the ability of people with disabilities to use apps for transportation is negatively affected. It is inevitable that disability-related regulations will catch up to app technology and the world of apps will move towards more specific accessibility requirements. </p>
<p>In the meantime, developers would benefit from using available resources provided by Apple and Google, and using WCAG guidance to make apps accessible. It may also give them the opportunity to contribute to making a more inclusive digital environment.</p>
<p>This may help developers avoid potential <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90293399/ninth-circuit-court-dominos-pizza-website-is-bound-by-ada">ADA-related lawsuits, fines</a> and expensive accessibility retrofitting, which may end up being more expensive than the initial cost of adding accessibility features.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mahtot Gebresselassie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Transportation apps can make public transit more accessible for riders with disabilities. But many apps remain inaccessible due to the cost of adding features and the lack of regulations.
Mahtot Gebresselassie, Assistant Professor, Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/207194
2023-06-13T17:29:47Z
2023-06-13T17:29:47Z
Doug Ford at 5 years: Selling out Ontario’s future to please the well-connected
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531407/original/file-20230612-63747-qi3v54.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C239%2C4000%2C2413&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends a conference in May 2023 in Etobicoke, Ont. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The initial political success of the Doug Ford government in Ontario <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2022/doug-ford-political-durability/">has been attributed</a> to its ability to connect with those who have seen themselves as the losers in the province’s economic transition from a manufacturing and resource extraction-based economy to one based on services. </p>
<p>The government’s political survival through last year’s provincial election, despite <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ontario-can-recover-from-doug-fords-covid-19-governance-disaster-159783">its bumbling</a> handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been attributed to a <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2022/06/09/the-inside-story-of-how-doug-ford-beat-the-ndp-and-destroyed-the-liberals-in-the-ontario-election.html">range of factors</a>. They include the inability of the opposition parties to offer compelling alternatives and deeper shifts in the province’s political culture.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ontario-election-doug-fords-victory-shows-hes-not-the-polarizing-figure-he-once-was-183885">Ontario election: Doug Ford's victory shows he's not the polarizing figure he once was</a>
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<p>Ford’s Progressive Conservatives <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2022/06/03/18-of-ontario-voters-handed-doug-ford-a-majority-government-whether-thats-a-bad-thing-depends-who-you-ask.html">received a thin second electoral mandate, with less than 18 per cent of the ballots of eligible voters</a> and more than 400,000 fewer votes than in 2018. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the government has doubled down on <a href="https://theconversation.com/ontario-election-4-ways-doug-ford-has-changed-the-provinces-politics-182660">key themes</a> that emerged during the pre-pandemic period of its first mandate.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-ford-continuing-to-turn-his-back-on-the-people-despite-new-faces-121547">Doug Ford: Continuing to turn his back on 'the people' despite new faces</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Three pillars</h2>
<p>That pre-pandemic phase was characterized by:</p>
<ol>
<li>A deeply reactive, uncritical and, at times, increasingly authoritarian approach to governance.</li>
<li>An agenda that was defined by responsiveness only to certain types of well-established interests.</li>
<li>A casual approach to eliminating provincial revenue streams and embedding long-term costs and liabilities.</li>
</ol>
<p>The Ford government’s willingness to use the power of the province <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-developers-at-doug-fords-daughters-wedding-only-deepens-the-trouble/">to benefit those well-connected</a> has been most evident around land-use planning and development. </p>
<p>The province’s land-use planning system, including <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/greenbelt-plan-2017">the Greenbelt</a> <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/place-grow-growth-plan-greater-golden-horseshoe">and growth</a> plans for the Greater Toronto Area, was once the subject of <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/86986/ontario-celebrates-second-major-award-for-growth-plan">international acclaim</a> for its management of intense growth pressures in the region while protecting farmland, housing affordability and natural heritage areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Signs urge Doug Ford to keep his hands off the Greenbelt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531408/original/file-20230612-220125-4wmdp7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531408/original/file-20230612-220125-4wmdp7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531408/original/file-20230612-220125-4wmdp7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531408/original/file-20230612-220125-4wmdp7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531408/original/file-20230612-220125-4wmdp7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531408/original/file-20230612-220125-4wmdp7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531408/original/file-20230612-220125-4wmdp7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Signs voicing opposition to the Ontario government’s plans for the province’s Greenbelt are seen outside homes within the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, part of the Greenbelt area, in May 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A succession of <a href="https://thepointer.com/article/2023-04-24/experts-say-pcs-proposed-bill-97-is-a-sprawl-inducing-full-frontal-assault-on-ontario-agriculture">housing bills and policy changes proposed and adopted</a> over the past year have completed the system’s transformation into an instrument wielded by the province to overcome any objections to the development industry’s wishes.</p>
<p>Another striking feature of the re-elected Ford government has been its tendency to eliminate provincial revenue streams while entrenching long-term costs. The full impact of this conduct has been masked in the immediate post-pandemic period by <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-budget-2023-ford-1.6788370">buoyant provincial revenues</a> and the extent to which costs and liabilities are being passed along into the future.</p>
<h2>Lost revenues</h2>
<p>The cancellation of the province’s <a href="https://www.fao-on.org/en/blog/publications/cap-and-trade-ending">cap-and-trade system</a> for greenhouse gas emissions, the pre-2022 election termination of vehicle licensing fees and a post-election cut in provincial <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2022/11/13/doug-ford-extends-57-cents-per-litre-gas-tax-cut-for-another-year.html">gasoline taxes</a> have each cost the provincial treasury approximately $1 billion in lost annual revenues.</p>
<p>Additional drains on provincial resources are happening at the same time. <a href="https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-23">Bill 23</a>, the province’s More Homes Built Faster Act, hindered the ability of municipalities to make developers cover the costs of infrastructure needed to support new development. The province then promised <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-bill-23-reaction-1.6669428">to make municipal governments “whole</a>” if they couldn’t afford these costs. </p>
<p>The arrangement seems likely to translate into a <a href="https://www.amo.on.ca/sites/default/files/assets/DOCUMENTS/Submissions/SC_HICP-LTR_AP_AMO_Submission_Bill%2023_More_Homes_Built_Faster_Act_20221116.pdf">$1 billion annual gift</a> to the for-profit development industry on behalf of provincial taxpayers. </p>
<p>This is on top of the nearly <a href="https://www.fao-on.org/en/Blog/Publications/energy-and-electricity-2022">$7 billion a year</a> spent from general revenues to artificially lower hydro rates. These are all resources that could otherwise be going to areas badly in need of investment, like health care and education.</p>
<p>The situation looks even worse going forward. Ontario seems <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2023/ontario-hydro-climate-mess/">on track</a> to embed enormous long-term costs in the electricity system. <a href="https://www.ieso.ca/en/Learn/The-Evolving-Grid/Pathways-to-Decarbonization">A nuclear-heavy plan</a> to decarbonize the electricity grid has an estimated capital cost in the range of $20 billion a year over next two decades.</p>
<p>An increased reliance on natural gas-fired generation will push costs <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/11/30/new-gas-plants-will-cause-ontario-hydro-rates-to-rise-report-says.html">higher still</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1621502531015696386"}"></div></p>
<h2>Public transit, climate action</h2>
<p>Similar problems are emerging in other areas. </p>
<p>In terms of public transit, the estimated cost of the high-profile Ontario line through central Toronto has nearly doubled absent major changes in the province’s approach to <a href="https://marksw.blog.yorku.ca/2023/02/24/has-metrolinx-become-a-law-unto-itself/">project management and oversight</a>. </p>
<p>The price tag is approaching <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/11/23/ontario-line-costs-nearly-double-after-awarding-of-latest-contracts.html">$20 billion</a> even though construction has barely begun. It’s at risk of dwarfing the multi-billion dollar debacles of the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2023/05/18/the-eglinton-lrt-wont-open-this-year-thats-not-the-worst-news-we-heard-about-the-project-this-week.html">Eglinton</a> and <a href="http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/e_records/OLRTPI/documents/final-report/index.html">Ottawa</a> light rapid-transit projects.</p>
<p>What’s more, the province continues to have no meaningful strategy around climate change, despite the growing evidence of its impacts, including <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9747680/ontario-more-forest-fires-unprecedented-season-canada/">this spring’s wildfires</a> in Ontario. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The orange flames of a wildfire and billowing brown smoke are seen from above." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531406/original/file-20230612-261256-ohn2oi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531406/original/file-20230612-261256-ohn2oi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531406/original/file-20230612-261256-ohn2oi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531406/original/file-20230612-261256-ohn2oi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531406/original/file-20230612-261256-ohn2oi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531406/original/file-20230612-261256-ohn2oi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531406/original/file-20230612-261256-ohn2oi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Sudbury 17 wildfire burns east of Mississagi Provincial Park near Elliot Lake, Ont., on June 4, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The province’s <a href="https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/The_State_Of_The_Environment_EN.pdf">Auditor General and Environmental Commissioner</a> recently highlighted other areas of ongoing environmental challenges, ranging from air and water quality to biodiversity losses. The province has no effective plans to address either.</p>
<p>In fact, it has spent much of the past <a href="https://sei.info.yorku.ca/files/2023/03/The-Environment-Climate-Change-and-Market-Populist-Politics-Working-January-20231.pdf?x60126">five years</a> actively dismantling the agencies, laws and programs developed over the previous seven decades that had delivered improvements in environmental quality. </p>
<p>In doing so, the Ford government is effectively building environmental liabilities that will be borne by generations to come. That point was highlighted by the province’s <a href="https://miningwatch.ca/blog/2023/3/7/more-worse-mining-ontarios-proposed-building-more-mines-act">dramatic weakening</a> of the rules around mine closure this spring.</p>
<h2>Connections are key</h2>
<p>Five years into the Ford era, Ontario finds itself in a precarious moment. </p>
<p>The provincial government’s agenda seems to flow from whatever ideas or proposals happen to come its way from sources with access to the government and who are aligned with its policy priorities, regardless of the costs and coherence of what’s proposed. </p>
<p>Well-established industrial, resource extraction, gas-fired and nuclear energy production interests, along with land developers, have tended to be the big winners in Ford’s Ontario. </p>
<p>But major long-term economic and environmental costs and liabilities are being run up as a result by the Ford government, eroding the province’s capacity to deal with future challenges. </p>
<p>In effect, the province’s future is being mortgaged to serve those well-connected to the government. Few Canadian provinces have had a need for better governance with such a scant short-term prospect of seeing that need met.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207194/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Winfield receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>
Doug Ford’s Ontario government is running up major long-term economic and environmental costs and liabilities, eroding the province’s capacity to deal with future challenges.
Mark Winfield, Professor, Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/184031
2022-07-13T12:29:22Z
2022-07-13T12:29:22Z
A case for retreat in the age of fire
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468550/original/file-20220613-13-iu12qi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2957%2C1934&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">After the 2018 wildfire in Paradise, Calif., many fire-damaged homes were razed.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-of-a-neighborhood-destroyed-by-the-camp-fire-news-photo/1182727469">Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wildfires in the American West are getting <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1617464114">larger, more frequent and more severe</a>. Although efforts are underway to create fire-adapted communities, it’s important to realize that we cannot simply design our way out of wildfire – some communities will need to begin planning a retreat.</p>
<p>Paradise, California, <a href="https://www.air-worldwide.com/blog/posts/2018/12/why-did-paradise-burn-10-years-after-the-siege-of-2008/">worked for decades to reduce</a> its fire risk by removing dry grasses, brush and forest overgrowth in the surrounding wildlands. It built firebreaks to prevent fires from spreading, and <a href="https://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/14/Evac%20Maps/2015_Countywide_CWPP_FINAL.pdf">promoted defensible space</a> around homes.</p>
<p>But in 2018, a fire sparked by wind-damaged power lines swept up the ravine and destroyed over 18,800 structures. <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/media/5121/campfire_cause.pdf">Eighty-five people died</a>. It’s just one example.</p>
<p>Across the America West and in other fire-risk countries, thousands of communities <a href="https://riskfactor.com/city/paradise-ca/655520_fsid/fire">like Paradise</a> are at risk. Many, if not most, are in the wildland-urban interface, a zone between undeveloped land and urban areas where both wildfires and unchecked growth are common. From 1990 to 2010, new housing in the wildland-urban interface in the continental U.S. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1718850115">grew by 41%</a>. By 2020, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/09/climate/growing-wildfire-risk-homes.html">more than 16</a> <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/rds/archive/catalog/RDS-2015-0012-3">million homes</a> were in fire-prone areas in the West.</p>
<p>Whether in the form of large, master-planned communities or incremental, house-by-house construction, developers have been placing new homes in danger zones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing wildfire risk highest in the Western U.S. and southern Plains, particularly the mountains." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469582/original/file-20220617-12-b94big.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Assesses fire risk at the local level can help communities understand and prepare. The map reflects the probability wildfire will occur in an area in 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://firststreet.org/research-lab/published-research/article-highlights-from-fueling-the-flames/">First Street Foundation Wildfire Model</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Four years after the Paradise fire, the town’s population was <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/paradise/paradise-repopulation-hopes/103-a9b04286-580d-462d-9e64-eaa353a565d9">less than 30% of what it once was</a>. This makes Paradise one of the first documented cases of voluntary retreat in the face of wildfire risk. And while the notion of wildfire retreat is controversial, politically fraught and not yet endorsed by the general public, as experts in urban planning and environmental design, we believe the necessity for retreat will become increasingly unavoidable.</p>
<p>But retreat isn’t only about wholesale moving. Here are four <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Design-Fire-Resistance-Co-Creation-Pyrocene/dp/0367767619">forms of retreat being used</a> to keep people out of harm’s way. </p>
<h2>Limiting future development</h2>
<p>On one end of the wildfire retreat spectrum are development-limiting policies that create stricter standards for new construction. These might be employed in moderate-risk areas or communities disinclined to change. </p>
<p>An example is San Diego’s steep hillside guidelines that restrict construction in areas with significant grade change, as wildfires burn faster uphill. In the guidelines, steep hillsides have a gradient of at least 25% and a vertical elevation of at least 50 feet. In most cases, new buildings cannot encroach into this zone and must be located <a href="https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/development-services/pdf/industry/landdevmanual/ldmsteephillsides.pdf">at least 30 feet from the hillside</a>. </p>
<p>While development-limiting policies like this prevent new construction in some of the most hazardous conditions, they often cannot eliminate fire risk.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of a home set back from a road on a steep hillside" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468316/original/file-20220610-28923-lsrkvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468316/original/file-20220610-28923-lsrkvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468316/original/file-20220610-28923-lsrkvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468316/original/file-20220610-28923-lsrkvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468316/original/file-20220610-28923-lsrkvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468316/original/file-20220610-28923-lsrkvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468316/original/file-20220610-28923-lsrkvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Development-limiting policies can include stricter construction standards. The illustration shows the difference between a home on a steep, wooded hillside that is hard to defend from fire and one farther from the slope.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emily Schlickman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Halting new construction</h2>
<p>Further along the spectrum are construction-halting measures, which prevent new construction to manage growth in high-risk parts of the wildland-urban interface. </p>
<p>These first two levels of action could both be implemented using basic urban planning tools, starting with county and city general plans and zoning, and subdivision ordinances. For example, Los Angeles County recently updated its <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/los-angeles-county-moves-to-limit-new-sprawl-in-fire-prone-areas-2022-04-05/">general plan to limit new sprawl in wildfire hazard zones</a>. Urban growth boundaries could also be adopted locally, as many suburban communities north of San Francisco have done, or could be mandated by states, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/grow.12481">as Oregon did in 1973</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two illustrations, one of a new subdivision, the other of a few homes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468315/original/file-20220610-25540-ut1xhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468315/original/file-20220610-25540-ut1xhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468315/original/file-20220610-25540-ut1xhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468315/original/file-20220610-25540-ut1xhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468315/original/file-20220610-25540-ut1xhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468315/original/file-20220610-25540-ut1xhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468315/original/file-20220610-25540-ut1xhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Halting construction and managing growth in high-risk parts of the wildland-urban interface is another retreat tool.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emily Schlickman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To assist the process, states and the federal government could designate <a href="https://firststreet.org/risk-factor/">fire-risk areas</a>, similar to Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps. <a href="https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/divisions/community-wildfire-preparedness-and-mitigation/wildfire-preparedness/fire-hazard-severity-zones/">California already designates zones</a> with three levels of fire risk: moderate, high and very high.</p>
<p>They could also develop fire-prone landscape zoning acts, similar to legislation that has helped <a href="https://www.coastal.ca.gov/coastalvoices/IntroductionToCoastalAct.pdf">limit new development along coasts</a>, <a href="https://legal-planet.org/2019/04/04/california-adopts-new-welcome-wetlands-protection-rules/">on wetlands</a> and <a href="https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Documents/Publications/Special-Publications/SP_042.pdf">along earthquake faults</a>. </p>
<p>Incentives for local governments to adopt these frameworks could be provided through planning and technical assistance grants or preference for infrastructure funding. At the same time, states or federal agencies could refuse funding for local authorities that enable development in severe-risk areas. </p>
<p>In some cases, state officials <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-becerra-seeks-intervene-litigation-over-wildfire-risk-san-diego">might turn to the courts</a> to stop county-approved projects to prevent loss of life and property and reduce the costs that taxpayers might pay to maintain and protect at-risk properties</p>
<p><a href="https://www.lakeconews.com/news/71403-judge-rules-lake-county-must-set-aside-approval-of-maha-guenoc-valley-resort-project">Three</a><a href="https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2021/10/07/judge-finds-environmental-review-of-huge-otay-ranch-projects-failed-to-account-for-wildfire-risks/">high-profile</a> <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/east-county/story/2022-03-11/court-rejects-santee-housing-development-over-environmental-concerns">projects</a> in California’s wildland-urban interface have been stopped in the courts because their environmental impact reports fail to adequately address the increased wildfire risk that the projects create. (Full disclosure: For a short time in 2018, one of us, Emily Schlickman, worked as a design consultant on one of these – an experience that inspired this article.)</p>
<h2>Incentives to encourage people to relocate</h2>
<p>In severe risk areas, the technique of “incentivized relocating” could be tested to help people move out of wildfire’s way through programs such as voluntary buyouts. Similar programs have been used after floods. </p>
<p>Local governments would work with FEMA to offer eligible homeowners the pre-disaster value of their home <a href="https://sema.dps.mo.gov/docs/programs/LRMF/mitigation/FAQ2016.pdf">in exchange for not rebuilding</a>. To date, this type of federally backed buyout program has yet to be implemented for wildfire areas, but some vulnerable communities have developed their own.</p>
<p>The city of Paradise created a buyout program funded with nonprofit grant money and donations. However, only <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/23/1028126348/in-fire-scorched-california-town-aims-to-buy-the-highest-at-risk-properties">300 acres of patchworked parcels have been acquired</a>, suggesting that stronger incentives and more funding may be required. </p>
<p>Removing government-backed fire insurance plans or instituting variable fire insurance rates based on risk could also encourage people to avoid high-risk areas.</p>
<p>Another potential tool is a “transferable development rights” framework. Under such a framework, developers wishing to build more intensively in lower-risk town centers could purchase development rights from landowners in rural areas where fire-prone land is to be preserved or returned to unbuilt status. The rural landowners are thus compensated for the lost use of their property. These frameworks have been used for growth management purposes <a href="https://montgomeryplanning.org/planning/agricultural-reserve/transferable-development-rights/">in Montgomery County, Maryland</a>, and in <a href="https://www.mass.gov/service-details/smart-growth-smart-energy-toolkit-modules-transfer-of-development-rights-tdr">Massachusetts</a> and <a href="https://www.bouldercounty.org/property-and-land/land-use/planning/transferable-development-rights-tdr/">Colorado</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two illustrations, one showing lots of homes. The other only a few, with old home sites evident." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468317/original/file-20220610-20-myvy0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468317/original/file-20220610-20-myvy0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468317/original/file-20220610-20-myvy0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468317/original/file-20220610-20-myvy0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468317/original/file-20220610-20-myvy0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468317/original/file-20220610-20-myvy0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468317/original/file-20220610-20-myvy0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Incentivized relocating can be used in severe risk areas by subsidizing the movement of some people out of wildfire’s way. The illustrations show what before and after might look like.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emily Schlickman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moving entire communities, wholesale</h2>
<p>Vulnerable communities may want to relocate but don’t want to leave neighbors and friends. “Wholesale moving” involves managing the entire resettlement of a vulnerable community. </p>
<p>While this technique has yet to be implemented for wildfire-prone areas, there is a long history of its use <a href="https://issues.org/true-stories-managed-retreat-rising-waters-pinter/">after catastrophic floods</a>. One place it is currently being used is Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, which has <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/people-isle-jean-charles-are-louisianas-first-climate-refugees-they-wont-be-last/">lost 98% of its landmass since 1955 because of erosion and sea level rise</a>. In 2016, the community received a federal grant to plan a retreat to higher ground, including the design of a <a href="https://isledejeancharles.la.gov/">new community center</a> 40 miles north and upland of the island. </p>
<p>This technique, though, has drawbacks – from the complicated logistics and support needed to move an entire community to the time frame needed to develop a resettlement plan to potentially overloading existing communities with those displaced. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two illustrations, the first with many houses in a community. The other with none." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468318/original/file-20220610-45569-yx6u66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468318/original/file-20220610-45569-yx6u66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468318/original/file-20220610-45569-yx6u66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468318/original/file-20220610-45569-yx6u66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468318/original/file-20220610-45569-yx6u66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468318/original/file-20220610-45569-yx6u66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468318/original/file-20220610-45569-yx6u66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In extreme risk areas, wholesale moving could be an approach – managing the resettlement of an entire vulnerable community to a safer area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emily Schlickman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even with ideal landscape management, wildfire risks to communities will continue to increase, and retreat from the wildland-urban interface will become increasingly necessary. The primary question is whether that retreat will be planned, safe and equitable, or delayed, forced and catastrophic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184031/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Schlickman previously worked as a design consultant on Guenoc Valley Resort, a project referenced in the article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brett Milligan and Stephen M. Wheeler do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Managed retreat is already common in flood-prone areas, but what about in neighborhoods at high risk from wildfires? Here are four ways communities can pull back for safety.
Emily E. Schlickman, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design, University of California, Davis
Brett Milligan, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design, University of California, Davis
Stephen M. Wheeler, Professor of Urban Design, Planning, and Sustainability, University of California, Davis
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/171660
2021-11-30T17:03:17Z
2021-11-30T17:03:17Z
Why are homes still being built along rivers? Flooded residents disagree on the solution
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434533/original/file-20211129-25-1ul7pej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C50%2C5534%2C3400&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of the RCMP return from a boat patrol of a flooded neighbourhood in High River, Alta., on July 4, 2013.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh </span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/why-are-homes-still-being-built-along-rivers-flooded-residents-disagree-on-the-solution" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Like many residents living near Calgary’s rivers, Irene’s house flooded in June 2013 when heavy rainfall melted the snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, inundating much of southern Alberta in what was, at the time, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/2810070/top-10-most-costly-disasters-in-canadian-history-for-insurers/">the costliest disaster in Canadian history</a>. </p>
<p>Irene watched as her belongings floated down the street. Everything in her basement and the first level of her home had to be discarded into a trash pile in her front yard. </p>
<p>Reflecting on this trauma and her home’s devastation, she said: “Developers get away with a lot of shit they shouldn’t get away with.” She recalled arguing years earlier with the developer about how close to the river it planned to build the houses, and wondered if it might have been worse had her home been built as close to the river as initially planned. </p>
<p>I was part of a team <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/15356841211046265">studying housing, environmental views and hazards</a> who interviewed residents of Calgary’s flood-affected neighbourhoods. Remarks like Irene’s were common.</p>
<p>Calgary and many other cities, including <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/housing-development-in-ste-marthe-sur-le-lac-was-mainly-in-flood-zone">Montréal</a>, <a href="https://www.mapleridgenews.com/news/maple-ridge-council-proceeds-with-riverfront-subdivision/">Vancouver</a>, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-10-08/commentary-the-danger-of-development-in-flood-prone-areas">Myrtle Beach</a> and <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Even-after-Harvey-Houston-keeps-adding-new-homes-13285865.php">Houston</a>, continue to build houses in areas that hydrologists and engineers have designated as being high-risk for flooding. </p>
<p>In most jurisdictions, home-builders are not financially liable for flooding for very long. In <a href="https://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/n03p2.pdf">Alberta, the window of liability is one year</a>, at which point the risk is transferred to homeowners. Following floods and other disasters, research shows that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0047">development of new housing does not slow</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sox054">but intensifies</a>, as flooded properties lose value, are bought by developers and, as memory of flooding fades, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/calgary-home-built-after-alberta-floods-11604521775">become lucrative investments</a>. </p>
<h2>The residents’ point of view</h2>
<p>The residents I spoke with viewed developers as myopic capitalists who choose profit over safety. Scott told me that while developers are responsible for driving the hazard risk, “You can’t blame the developers, they are … there to make bucks, right? And if the city says you can build there then, bingo!… They make a pile.” </p>
<p>Surprisingly, even though their homes had been flooded, residents were not angry at developers for situating the houses close to a hazard. Rather, they were resigned to it. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man wearing a mask and work gloves throws muddy debris into a pile next to a house." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yahya Abougoush helps clean up his parents’ house in High River, Alta., on July 3, 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked what they thought should be done to keep people safe from floods, residents had two very different suggestions. </p>
<h2>Better regulations</h2>
<p>A sizeable group of Calgarians favoured new government regulations limiting development in flood-prone areas to rein in developers. </p>
<p>Rachel said, “They can’t build where the city says they can’t…. It has to be government who says it can’t be done.” </p>
<p>Gary said he believes Calgary’s municipal government “lacks the balls” to stand up to developers and regulate floodplain development. When asked why that was, he said, “It’s about money” and the political influence that developers wield over city council. Residents viewed the municipal government as weak, ineffectual and unwilling to stand up to developers.</p>
<p>Quite often, the same people who argued for better government regulations on floodplain development also insisted that government should provide home buyers with a disclosure of a home’s location in a flood-prone area, a move that the real estate industry has dubbed “idiotic” and one that would “<a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jeff-goodell/the-water-will-come/9780316260206/">kill the market</a>.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A gravel path and some strips of grass separate a row of homes from a river." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New homes in Riverstone, with Bow River visible on the left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Timothy Haney)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tasha wished she had been informed of the risk prior to buying her home, and told us, “I have lived here for 42 years and I have never heard of ‘flood fringe’ … maybe realtors should be more upfront about that.” </p>
<p>The flood fringe is the area adjacent to the river with measurable flood risk — usually greater than one per cent annual probability of flooding. Angela said any declaration must go beyond a simple disclosure and “explain what it means.” Many preferred this type of new regulation. </p>
<h2>Buyer beware</h2>
<p>As one might expect in Alberta, a place known for <a href="https://press.ucalgary.ca/books/9781773850252/">right-wing populism</a>, other participants pushed back against new regulations and said individuals must bear responsibility. They deferred to the sanctity of private property rights and their distaste for government overreach. They felt that buyers must beware, often mentioning the need for “common sense.” </p>
<p>Caleb said, “I think people can live wherever they want, but I think they have to carry that risk.” Others called it “instinctual.” </p>
<p>Sociologists, like me, are often critical of “common sense,” looking at how such taken-for-granted knowledge is a culturally dependent and contextually specific <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/678271">product of socialization</a>. Still, many Calgarians did not see it this way and did not believe that the government should infringe on private property rights.</p>
<h2>Precaution over profits</h2>
<p>Calgary, like many cities, continues to develop <a href="https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/development-dispute-chaparral-residents-say-proposed-community-would-put-their-homes-at-risk-1.5326215">new housing close to rivers</a>. New neighbourhoods like Riverstone and Quarry Park offer housing marketed for their picturesque living and river access. </p>
<p>In other areas, older homes near the river are being <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/life/homes/condos/white-the-evolution-of-calgarys-infill-housing">razed to make room for infills</a> — usually two or more homes on an existing lot. These infill developments increase the density in river-adjacent communities, putting more residents at risk. </p>
<p>The lack of consensus among the study participants was also noteworthy. Citizen activism tends to get mixed results in influencing government decision-making on development <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2019.1690337">even when</a> there is <a href="https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295748696/pushed-out/">relative consensus</a>. But in the case of restricting development near rivers, there is no such consensus, which may make it difficult for residents to mobilize. </p>
<p>My own view is that municipal governments must stand up to moneyed development and home-building interests by restricting growth near rivers, which should instead be preserved as green space. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="aerial view of a bend in a river with some elongated islands, several bridges and homes and business developments on each bank." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After floods in 1993 and 1995, and facing future flooding due to climate change, the Dutch city of Nijmegen gave more room to the Waal River during periods of high water by relocating a dike and dredging a new channel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(DaMatriX/Wikimedia)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This approach is often called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2020.1723604">room for the river</a>,” and is particularly popular in northern and western Europe. With this approach, areas immediately adjacent to waterways are preserved, providing esthetic and recreational value, and people are moved away via buyouts when necessary. New development is restricted. It has been imported and applied in North American cities such as <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/cities-around-globe-eagerly-importing-dutch-speciality-flood-prevention-180973679/">Norfolk, Va.</a>, though with varying degrees of consistency and success. </p>
<p>The more volatile climate we are experiencing as a result of climate change will undoubtedly bring new flood events near rivers and mounting flood losses. Society must work harder to keep people and property away from the water, starting with halting new developments near these hazards. The first step in getting out of a hole, of course, is to stop digging.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171660/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research project described in this article was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada (grant number 435-2014-1008).</span></em></p>
Many cities continue to allow developers to build homes in areas that have a high risk of flooding.
Timothy J. Haney, Professor of Sociology and Board of Governors Research Chair in Resilience & Sustainability, Mount Royal University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/166670
2021-09-09T02:51:26Z
2021-09-09T02:51:26Z
Why universities may come to regret the costs of City Deals and private sector ‘solutions’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419948/original/file-20210908-22-dercyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=492%2C0%2C1655%2C1098&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/News/2019/New-WSU-Bankstown-Campus-plans-on-exhibition">NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities have had few sources of capital funds since the Abbott government sidelined the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2018/November/Education_Investment_Fund">Education Investment Fund</a> in 2014. The loss of an estimated <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/covid-19-to-cost-universities-16-billion-by-2023/">A$16 billion of income</a> by 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic has simply added to this problem.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/">City Deals</a> process is one option, but for most universities it’s a poisoned chalice. A university will have to make a large financial contribution to the project and bears the risk of any cost overruns. These deals were conceived in the salad days prior to 2020 and now look decidedly wilted.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/think-big-why-the-future-of-uni-campuses-lies-beyond-the-cbd-151766">Think big. Why the future of uni campuses lies beyond the CBD</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do these City Deals work?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/perth/">Perth City Deal</a>, for example, includes a <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/06/Joint-media-statement-Edith-Cowan-University-awards-five-major-contracts-in-multi-million-dollar-Perth-City-Deal-milestone.aspx">$695 million project</a> for Edith Cowan University. With the Commonwealth providing $245 million and the state government $150 million, ECU must stump up $300 million and hand over its <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/about-ecu/our-campuses/mount-lawley-campus">perfectly serviceable Mount Lawley campus</a> to the state government. The upshot is that the university will spend much more than would be needed to upgrade that campus for the dubious benefit of moving it 6km to the CBD. </p>
<p>The Australian Department of Infrastructure <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/index.aspx">describes</a> City Deals as “a genuine partnership between the three levels of government and the community to work towards a shared vision for productive and liveable cities”. The Perth deal is clearly a boost for the CBD and the Western Australian construction industry. The benefits to teaching or research at ECU are less easy to identify. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FqP0YsJRaGY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The announcement in September 2020 of the Edith Cowan University CBD campus move.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/darwin/">Darwin City Deal</a> commits Charles Darwin University (CDU) to a new campus in the Darwin CBD. CDU teaches 70% of its student load online, but it will end up with four campuses in Darwin with a combined capacity of well over 10,000 students to teach the 4,000 enrolled for on-campus study. The prospect of more students from China, which was a key component in planning for the project, has disappeared. </p>
<p>The deal required CDU to take out a $151.5 million loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (<a href="https://naif.gov.au/">NAIF</a>). While the interest rate is low, the capital component must be paid back. </p>
<p>Again, this project is a boost for the Northern Territory construction industry, but it may well reduce CDU’s capacity to spend on teaching and research. As a result of longstanding financial pressures, CDU has already <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-19/charles-darwin-university-job-cuts-77-positions-to-go/12900216">sacked 77 staff</a> and scrapped courses.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RixNvnZCKdw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Charles Darwin University has finalised the design of the campus being constructed in Darwin CBD.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-fad-not-a-solution-city-deals-are-pushing-universities-into-high-rise-buildings-147560">A fad, not a solution: 'city deals' are pushing universities into high-rise buildings</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Another option is to spend nothing on infrastructure. The University of Adelaide has announced a complete halt to such spending for the foreseeable future. It still plans to attract “top talent” with its ageing facilities. Quite how this will work is unexplained.</p>
<h2>Developers are in it for the profits</h2>
<p>Other universities have struck deals with developers. These can range from <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/more-australian-universities-turn-toproperty-speculation">selling university assets</a> and leasing them back, or signing up to a long-term lease on new purpose-built space using a special purpose vehicle (SPV), doing developments using university land, or other financial wizardry.</p>
<p>Charter Hall, a real estate investment company, has signed up Western Sydney University to <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/charter-hall-western-sydney-university-partner-on-350m-innovation-quarter">several deals</a> with a combined value of around a billion dollars. A new <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/construction_commences_on_charter_hall_and_western_sydney_universitys_westmead_innovation_quarter">$350 million campus</a> is being built in the CBD of Bankstown. </p>
<p>Charter Hall has openly <a href="https://thefifthestate.com.au/articles/charter-hall-leading-in-new-universities-asset-class/">said</a> its aim is to create a new asset class in university buildings and campuses. This approach effectively privatises campus assets, nearly all of which were paid for with public money and charitable donations.</p>
<p>Western Sydney University is selling a newly built neighbourhood shopping centre and an adjoining residential development site. This was developed with Charter Hall on land controlled by the university, which <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/westerngrowth/projects/caddens-corner">says</a>: “The Caddens Corner project is part of the Western Growth strategy, reshaping the University’s campus network, and allowing the University to maximise its investment in the core university activities of teaching, engagement and research.”</p>
<p>This is an interesting proposition, as teaching, engagement and research are all essentially operational, not capital, costs. In other words, the university is selling public assets to fund recurrent costs while planning to have <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/content/dam/digital/pdf/OFIN3453-Western-Growth-Brochure_WEB.pdf">13 campuses</a> to educate not many more students than Macquarie University, which has one.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JYWqHbMlWWs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Western Sydney University campus in Bankstown CBD is explicitly part of an urban growth strategy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-planning-strategies-for-western-sydney-jobs-but-do-they-add-up-139386">3 planning strategies for Western Sydney jobs, but do they add up?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In Melbourne, Swinburne University has put a seven-storey office building on Flinders Lane back <a href="https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/swinburne-uni-tower-resale-to-show-pandemic-impact-on-values-20200724-p55f9b">on the market</a> just one year after buying it for $44 million. In June, RMIT University in Melbourne brought forward plans to offload a 14-storey strata property on Bourke Street for <a href="https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/rmit-to-offload-property-in-melbourne-cbd-20200624-p555nk">more than $120 million</a> and lease it back for five years. </p>
<h2>A good time to borrow and build</h2>
<p>Certainly, getting a developer to build a facility and lease it back to the university will reduce the need for capital. For similar reasons, a low-income household might choose a rental purchase arrangement to get a flat-screen TV. But like any rental purchase agreement, the short-term benefits pale in comparison to the long-term costs. </p>
<p>And universities are certainly about the long term. Four universities in Australia are more than 125 years old and they are youngsters compared to Harvard (385), Leiden (436), Oxford (925) or Bologna (933).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-century-that-profoundly-changed-universities-and-their-campuses-151765">A century that profoundly changed universities and their campuses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Another option for universities is to borrow money from a bank. If the universities can’t afford to do that, then they can’t afford to get developers to borrow money on their behalf and build them buildings while the developers also make a profit. There is no secret sauce and definitely no magic pudding.</p>
<p>Borrowing to fund the replacement or refurbishment of buildings at the end of their economic life is financially prudent providing benefits outweigh costs. University leaders might need to learn how to resist the temptation to make every building an “icon”, but capital investments to support teaching and research are rational and responsible. With interest rates as low as they will ever be and building costs a long way below the peak of the next cycle, now is an ideal time to build.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166670/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Hanmer is managing director of ARINA and a member of the Australian Institute of Architects, the Association of Consulting Architects, the Architectural Association and SAHANZ.</span></em></p>
A capital funding squeeze led universities to seek new ways of developing their campuses. It now appears city CBDs and developers might do better out of those deals than universities.
Geoff Hanmer, Honorary Professional Fellow, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/165034
2021-08-12T15:52:33Z
2021-08-12T15:52:33Z
U.S. ‘opportunity zones’ use tax breaks for developers to help poor neighbourhoods — but are they really helping?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415450/original/file-20210810-13-75k9tu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The banks of the Hackensack River near an opportunity zone in Jersey City, N.J.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>By most accounts, <a href="https://www.beavertonoregon.gov/">Beaverton</a>, part of <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2015/03/sunset-corridor-proving-to-be-a-powerhouse-in-the.html">Oregon’s Sunset Corridor</a>, is a desirable American suburb. It’s 15 minutes from downtown Portland, home to Nike headquarters and has a median household income of around US$50,000 range. </p>
<p>Why, then, are American taxpayers subsidizing developers to build in Beaverton, along with dozens of other economically robust communities just like it? </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Beaverton is the home to Nike headquarters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415444/original/file-20210810-17-133o1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=552%2C0%2C7937%2C3567&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415444/original/file-20210810-17-133o1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415444/original/file-20210810-17-133o1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415444/original/file-20210810-17-133o1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415444/original/file-20210810-17-133o1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415444/original/file-20210810-17-133o1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415444/original/file-20210810-17-133o1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nike headquarters is seen in Beaverton, Ore.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The answer lies in an ambitious public-private partnership initiative known as <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/morgansimon/2019/03/30/what-you-need-to-know-about-opportunity-zones/?sh=588e56ed6ae2">opportunity zones</a>. Embedded in the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1/text">U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017</a>, aimed at incentivizing private investors to develop real estate in low-income communities and spur local business growth, the program has attracted billions of dollars in projects from Beaverton to Boston.</p>
<p>It enjoyed bipartisan support in the United States in the past and deserves broad attention now in the form of greater oversight and increased transparency. For Canadian businesses, opportunity zones would present both an <a href="https://rsmcanada.com/our-insights/real-estate/do-opportunity-zones-mean-opportunity-for-canadian-companies.html">investment opportunity</a> and a <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-to-fight-regional-economic-disparity-ontario-needs-opportunity-zones/">model for economic development</a> and are therefore worth watching. </p>
<p>But are opportunity zones accomplishing their economic goals in the U.S.? Can they do better three years into the program?</p>
<h2>Campaign issue</h2>
<p>In the 2020 U.S. presidential election, opportunity zones <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/business/biden-trump-opportunity-zones.html">became a divisive campaign issue</a> because of concerns they weren’t helping low-income communities but instead neighbourhoods that were already rapidly gentrifying. Many on the left suggested they be eliminated while the right trumpeted their success. Joe Biden promised to reform the program if elected president.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Trump at a podium pointing with an Opportunity Now banner behind him" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415446/original/file-20210810-19-1a6wpxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415446/original/file-20210810-19-1a6wpxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415446/original/file-20210810-19-1a6wpxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415446/original/file-20210810-19-1a6wpxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415446/original/file-20210810-19-1a6wpxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415446/original/file-20210810-19-1a6wpxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415446/original/file-20210810-19-1a6wpxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former U.S. president Donald Trump speaks at a conference on opportunity zones with state, local, tribal and community leaders in Washington, D.C. in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Data from <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3780241">a new comprehensive study we conducted</a> underscores that even though the program has needlessly enriched developers, it’s worth saving. In short, we see the potential for opportunity zones to fuel real growth due to their economic impact on local communities. </p>
<p>The opportunity zone program is well-intentioned — investors earn benefits by reducing capital gains taxes via buying and improving commercial real estate developments that support local businesses. The longer they stay invested, the more benefit they earn until the program ends in 2026.</p>
<p>So where did things go awry? </p>
<p>Let’s go back to Beaverton. <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/beavertoncityoregon,vancouvercitywashington,portlandcityoregon/PST045219">While the 2010 U.S. census</a> technically characterized the community as struggling economically, it’s seen an impressive turnaround since 2012. There have been significant year-over-year improvements in the unemployment rate and median household income. Yet, because of the low-income community designation, it qualified for a program that was designed to help communities in much worse shape.</p>
<p>Most opportunity zone projects have been clustered in communities like Beaverton – neighbourhoods that might not be affluent, but are far from low-income. In fact, many opportunity zone developments are luxury apartments that would have been built with or without tax incentives. </p>
<p>A search through our data turned up new luxury apartment buildings built in opportunity zones — a US$186 million development in Oregon, a US$254 million development in Virginia and a US$68 million development in Brooklyn, N.Y. We note that under current reporting guidelines, we are unable to determine which of these properties is taking advantage of the opportunity zone program. </p>
<h2>Low-income areas left out in the cold</h2>
<p><a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3780241">Our study</a> analyzed a massive dataset of 36 million residential transactions. We found that the low-income areas identified by the census that were selected for the program tended to be more economically stable compared to tracts that weren’t selected, effectively snubbing the low-income communities that need government help the most. </p>
<p>We also found that while the residential price per square foot in opportunity zones increased by four to six per cent due to the program, the overall investment in these areas has not changed pre- versus post-designation. Our research reveals that much of the local price increases are not due to actual business growth, but are instead driven by high-end speculation. </p>
<p>The takeaway? Opportunity zones can positively impact real estate development and can help local communities. But to fully realize the program’s potential, we recommend U.S. policy-makers implement structural changes that are consistent with the original program’s intent. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man receives a standing ovation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415458/original/file-20210810-23-zew2wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415458/original/file-20210810-23-zew2wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415458/original/file-20210810-23-zew2wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415458/original/file-20210810-23-zew2wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415458/original/file-20210810-23-zew2wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415458/original/file-20210810-23-zew2wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415458/original/file-20210810-23-zew2wv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tony Rankins receives a standing ovation during the 2020 State of the Union address in 2020 for turning his life around thanks to a construction job at a company using opportunity zone tax breaks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>First, there should be a greater level of transparency. A critical way to strengthen the program would be to provide visibility into investment activity, including public reporting of all properties purchased by opportunity zone funds. </p>
<p>Given the projected US$1.6 billion cost of the program, it’s in the American public’s best interest to measure the program’s impact on local communities. It would be particularly useful to have real estate transactions from areas of the country participating in the program — but are in <a href="https://www.geodataplus.com/non-disclosure-states-defined">“non-disclosure” states</a> that restrict releasing real estate sales price data to the public — so that there’s a full accounting.</p>
<p>Second, since many of the selected tracts were already economically stronger than qualified non-selected tracts, we suggest evaluating existing zones using updated demographics data to focus on current low-income communities and potentially considering economic factors related to the real estate market. </p>
<p>Designating new zones and undesignating others would better target the communities that need the support of the program the most. In short, the designation can be dynamic.</p>
<p>Finally, we suggest additional conditions on the type of commercial development that qualifies for the program. Developers shouldn’t receive tax benefits to invest in luxury properties located in supposedly low-income neighborhoods. Instead, incentives should be targeted directly to local community needs. </p>
<h2>Tightening requirements</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2787">The Opportunity Zone Reporting and Reform Act</a> introduced in 2019 already incorporates some of these recommendations. It requires the government to collect and report on the program’s effectiveness annually, tightens the requirements to qualify as an opportunity zone and restricts high-end developments that don’t help local communities. </p>
<p>It’s a good start. We recommend pairing it with more transparency and publicly available data, and re-evaluating the current zones using additional criteria.</p>
<p>Finding neighbourhoods that can benefit from the program isn’t difficult. There’s a qualified but not selected area that’s only a 10-minute drive from Beaverton, for example. It’s home to 5,000 residents with a median income of around US$35,000 and a third of the residents are living below the poverty line. All they’re looking for is an opportunity.</p>
<p><em>John Maiden, former Head of Machine Learning at Cherre, a real estate data firm, and Ron Bekkerman, CTO at Cherre, co-authored this piece.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165034/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
U.S. opportunity zones can positively impact real estate development and help local communities. But to fully realize the program’s potential, it needs reform.
Maxime Cohen, Professor, Retail and Operations Management, McGill University
Dmitry Mitrofanov, Assistant Professor of Business Analytics, Boston College
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/162371
2021-06-08T12:33:25Z
2021-06-08T12:33:25Z
Fastly global internet outage: why did so many sites go down — and what is a CDN, anyway?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405062/original/file-20210608-23-zjvohu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C696%2C5000%2C3046&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you were having difficulty accessing your favourite website on Tuesday evening Australian time, you’re not alone. A jaw-dropping number of major websites around the globe <a href="https://californianewstimes.com/twitch-pinterest-reddit-and-more-go-down-in-fastly-cdn-outage-techcrunch/384198/">suddenly became unavailable</a> with no immediately obvious explanation — before <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/reddit-down-is-amazon-twich-guardian-websites-internet-503-error-fastly-outage-explained-1040594">reappearing an hour later</a>.</p>
<p>It’s disconcerting when the sites we rely on suddenly become inaccessible, and even more so when it happens on <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/08/numerous-popular-websites-are-facing-an-outage/">such a vast scale</a>. This outage saw seemingly unrelated sites go dark, including the BBC, Pinterest, the Financial Times, Reddit and even The Conversation.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402211722715447305"}"></div></p>
<p>How can so many sites, from so many different organisations, all be affected by the same incident? To understand the answer, you need to know what a CDN (<a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/cdn/what-is-a-cdn/">content delivery network</a>) is and how crucial they are to the smooth running of the internet.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remember-apple-airtags-and-find-my-app-only-work-because-of-a-vast-largely-covert-tracking-network-160781">Remember, Apple AirTags and 'Find My' app only work because of a vast, largely covert tracking network</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What happened and what’s a CDN?</h2>
<p>While it’s too early to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of the incident, the internet (once it was accessible again) quickly pointed to the culprit: Fastly.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402205996387389441"}"></div></p>
<p>Fastly is a cloud computing company that provides CDN services to a <a href="https://www.fastly.com/customers/">range of websites</a> including Amazon and Deliveroo. But how can a single company bring down a noticeable proportion of the internet?</p>
<p>When we access a website, we might assume our browser goes off to the internet, talks to the remote site, and then presents the page on our screen. While this is in essence what happens, it masks a much more complicated process, which can include CDN services.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bsq5cKkS33I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What is a CDN?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A CDN is a service that allows popular websites to keep copies of their pages closer to their customers. </p>
<p>For example, if we want to browse the BBC website, we could talk directly to a server in the United Kingdom. While the internet is perfectly capable of transferring the web page from the UK to Australia, there is an inevitable delay (perhaps a few hundred milliseconds). And nobody likes delays.</p>
<p>The experience for the user can be up to ten times quicker if a copy of the page (or elements of its content) can be held in Australia and delivered on demand.</p>
<p>Of course, accessing a version of the page held in Australia would work great if you’re in Australia but not so much if you’re in, say, Los Angeles. So, to ensure fast content delivery for everyone around the world, CDNs usually work on a global scale. </p>
<p>A CDN service provider will typically operate data centres around the world, holding copies of popular content in major population centres to deliver content in each region.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402216123102343170"}"></div></p>
<p>The speed of delivery of a single image or page element may not be noticeably faster coming from a CDN — the difference between 200 milliseconds and 20 milliseconds isn’t discernible to most users. </p>
<p>However, modern websites often contain many elements, including images, videos and so on. When combined, the speed improvement through CDNs can be significant.</p>
<h2>So, why did so many sites fail?</h2>
<p>CDN services provide a valuable service to improve our web browsing experience — but at a cost. </p>
<p>When a major CDN provider such as Fastly experiences a failure, it doesn’t affect just one website; it’s likely to impact every website they support.</p>
<p>In Tuesday’s example, sites across the world suddenly went offline as requests for the CDN-hosted content were not serviced.</p>
<p>This incident demonstrates how reliant we are on technology — and on the specific implementations of technology in our modern lives. </p>
<p>If each website we visit hosted its own content exclusively, we would not be facing these issues. However, our web browsing experience would be much slower, reminiscent of the days of dial-up modems (well, perhaps not quite that bad).</p>
<p>Despite the global outage, it was resolved within about an hour. That would <a href="https://status.fastly.com/">seem to indicate</a> it’s unlikely to have been a security- or hacking-related issue. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402215984354803719"}"></div></p>
<p>It was more likely due to a short-term failure in Fastly’s infrastructure, or a misconfiguration that spread through its systems.</p>
<h2>Could it happen again?</h2>
<p>Fastly is not the only CDN provider. Other high-profile services include Akamai and Cloudflare. Outages are <a href="https://www.catchpoint.com/blog/cloudflare-outage-2019">not uncommon</a>, but they are usually short-lived.</p>
<p>Readers can be assured (assuming you haven’t lost internet again) that service providers are closely watching this incident to ensure lessons are learned for next time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-boost-your-internet-speed-when-everyone-is-working-from-home-135313">How to boost your internet speed when everyone is working from home</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Haskell-Dowland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
To understand what happened, you need to know what a CDN (content delivery network) is, and how crucial they are to the smooth running of the internet.
Paul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/154254
2021-01-29T04:58:16Z
2021-01-29T04:58:16Z
A major report excoriated Australia’s environment laws. Sussan Ley’s response is confused and risky
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381279/original/file-20210129-23-f9i3og.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5624%2C3749&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s official: Australia’s natural environment and iconic places are in deep trouble. They can’t withstand current and future threats, including climate change. And the national laws protecting them are flawed and badly outdated.</p>
<p>You could hardly imagine a worse report on the state of Australia’s environment, and the law’s capacity to protect it, than that <a href="https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/resources/final-report">released yesterday</a>. The review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity (EPBC) Act, by former competition watchdog chair Professor Graeme Samuel, did not mince words. Without urgent changes, most of Australia’s threatened plants, animals and ecosystems will become extinct.</p>
<p>Federal environment minister Sussan Ley released the report yesterday after sitting on it for three months. And she showed little sign of being spurred into action by Samuel’s scathing assessment. </p>
<p>Her response was confusing and contradictory. And the Morrison government seems hellbent on pushing through its preferred reforms without safeguards that Samuel says are crucial. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Environment Minister Sussan Ley" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381280/original/file-20210129-23-16ykx61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381280/original/file-20210129-23-16ykx61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381280/original/file-20210129-23-16ykx61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381280/original/file-20210129-23-16ykx61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381280/original/file-20210129-23-16ykx61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381280/original/file-20210129-23-16ykx61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381280/original/file-20210129-23-16ykx61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Environment Minister Sussan Ley appears hellbent on pushing through the government’s agenda.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A bleak assessment</h2>
<p>I was a federal environment official for 13 years, and from 2007 to 2012 was responsible for administering and reforming the EPBC Act. I believe Samuel’s report is a very good one.</p>
<p>Samuel has maintained the course laid out in his interim report last July. He found the state of Australia’s natural environment and iconic places is declining and under increasing threat. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/environment-minister-sussan-ley-is-in-a-tearing-hurry-to-embrace-nature-law-reform-and-thats-a-worry-141697">Environment Minister Sussan Ley is in a tearing hurry to embrace nature law reform – and that's a worry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Moreover, he says, the EPBC Act is outdated and requires fundamental reform. The current approach results in piecemeal decisions rather than holistic environmental management, which he sees as essential for success. He went on:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The resounding message that I heard throughout the review is that Australians do not trust that the EPBC Act is delivering for the environment, for business or for the community.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Boy takes photo of burnt bush" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381281/original/file-20210129-23-uk9ofn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381281/original/file-20210129-23-uk9ofn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381281/original/file-20210129-23-uk9ofn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381281/original/file-20210129-23-uk9ofn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381281/original/file-20210129-23-uk9ofn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381281/original/file-20210129-23-uk9ofn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381281/original/file-20210129-23-uk9ofn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australians feel the EPBC Act is failing the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A proposed way forward</h2>
<p>Samuel recommended a suite of reforms, many of which were foreshadowed in his interim report. They include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>national environmental standards, legally binding on the states and others, to guide development decisions and provide the ability to measure outcomes</p></li>
<li><p>applying the new standards to existing Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs). Such a move could open up the forest debate in a way not seen since the 1990s</p></li>
<li><p>accrediting the regulatory processes and environmental policies of the states and territories, to ensure they can meet the new standards. Accredited regimes would be audited by an Environment Assurance Commissioner</p></li>
<li><p>a “quantum shift” in the availability of environmental information, such as accurate mapping of habitat for threatened species</p></li>
<li><p>an overhaul of environmental offsets, which compensate for environmental destruction by improving nature elsewhere. Offsets have become a routine development cost applied to proponents, rather than last-resort compensation invested in environmental restoration. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Under-resourcing is a major problem with the EPBC Act, and Samuel’s report reiterates this. For example, as I’ve noted previously, “bioregional plans” of land areas – intended to define the environmental values and objectives of a region – have <a href="https://theconversation.com/mr-morrison-you-can-cut-green-tape-without-harming-nature-but-itll-take-money-and-gumption-140732">never been funded</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Land cleared for development" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381282/original/file-20210129-21-sufsex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381282/original/file-20210129-21-sufsex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381282/original/file-20210129-21-sufsex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381282/original/file-20210129-21-sufsex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381282/original/file-20210129-21-sufsex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381282/original/file-20210129-21-sufsex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381282/original/file-20210129-21-sufsex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The system of environmental offsets, which compensates for damage to nature, should be overhauled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Respecting Indigenous knowledge</h2>
<p>One long-overdue reform would require decision-makers to respectfully consider Indigenous views and knowledge. Samuel found the law was failing in this regard.</p>
<p>He recommended national standards for Indigenous engagement and participation in decision-making. This would be developed through an Indigenous-led process and complemented by a comprehensive review of national cultural heritage protections.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/juukan-gorge-how-could-they-not-have-known-and-how-can-we-be-sure-they-will-in-future-151580">Juukan Gorge: how could they not have known? (And how can we be sure they will in future?)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The recommendations follow an international outcry last year over mining giant Rio Tinto’s destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia. In Samuel’s words: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>National-level protection of the cultural heritage of Indigenous Australians is a long way out of step with community expectations. As a nation, we must do better.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Indigenous women" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373808/original/file-20201209-15-1vzb3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373808/original/file-20201209-15-1vzb3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373808/original/file-20201209-15-1vzb3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373808/original/file-20201209-15-1vzb3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373808/original/file-20201209-15-1vzb3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373808/original/file-20201209-15-1vzb3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373808/original/file-20201209-15-1vzb3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous knowledge should be heard and respected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard WainwrightT/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Confusing signals</h2>
<p>The government’s position on Samuel’s reforms is confusing. Ley yesterday welcomed the review and said the government was “committed to working through the full detail of the recommendations with stakeholders”.</p>
<p>But she last year <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-20/epbc-act-environmental-review-report-recommends-independent-cop/12392594">ruled out</a> Samuel’s call for an independent regulator to oversee federal environment laws. And her government is still prepared to devolve federal approvals to the states before Samuel’s new national standards are in place. </p>
<p>In July last year, Ley <a href="https://theconversation.com/environment-minister-sussan-ley-is-in-a-tearing-hurry-to-embrace-nature-law-reform-and-thats-a-worry-141697">seized on</a> interim reforms proposed by Samuel that suited her government’s agenda – streamlining the environmental approvals process – and started working towards them.</p>
<p>In September, the government <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/independent-mps-furious-as-government-rams-environmental-law-changes-through-lower-house">pushed the change</a> through parliament’s lower house, denying independent MP Zali Steggall the chance to move amendments to allow national environment standards.</p>
<p>Ley yesterday reiterated the government’s commitment to the standards – yet indicated the government would soon seek to progress the legislation through the Senate, then develop the new standards later.</p>
<p>Samuel did include devolution to the states in his first of three tranches of reform – the first to start by early 2021. But his first tranche also includes important safeguards. These include the new national environmental standards, the Environment Assurance Commissioner, various statutory committees, Indigenous reforms and more.</p>
<p>The government’s proposed unbundling of the reforms doesn’t pass the pub test. It would tempt the states to take accreditation under the existing, discredited rules and resist later attempts to hold them to higher standards. In this, they’d be supported by developers who don’t like the prospect of a higher approvals bar.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A koala in a tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381283/original/file-20210129-13-1uru74g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381283/original/file-20210129-13-1uru74g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381283/original/file-20210129-13-1uru74g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381283/original/file-20210129-13-1uru74g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381283/original/file-20210129-13-1uru74g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381283/original/file-20210129-13-1uru74g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381283/original/file-20210129-13-1uru74g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s iconic places and species are headed for extinction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A big year ahead</h2>
<p>Samuel noted “governments should avoid the temptation to cherry pick from a highly interconnected suite of recommendations”. But this is exactly what the Morrison government is doing.</p>
<p>I hope the Senate will force the government to work through the full detail of the recommendations with stakeholders, as Ley says she’d like to.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/environment-laws-have-failed-to-tackle-the-extinction-emergency-heres-the-proof-122936">Environment laws have failed to tackle the extinction emergency. Here's the proof</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But at this stage there’s little sign the government plans to embrace the reforms in full, or indeed that it has any vision for Australia’s environment.</p>
<p>All this plays out against still-raw memories of last summer’s bushfires, and expected pressure from the United States, under President Joe Biden, for developed economies such as Australia to lift their climate game.</p>
<p>With the United Nations climate change conference in <a href="https://ukcop26.org">Glasgow in November</a>, it seems certain the environment will be high on Australia’s national agenda in 2021.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Burnett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
You could hardly imagine a worse report on the state of Australia’s environment, and the law’s capacity to protect it, than that released on Thursday.
Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/139762
2020-06-22T06:06:18Z
2020-06-22T06:06:18Z
‘Confusing and not delivering enough’: developers and councils want new affordable housing rules
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342934/original/file-20200619-70376-14sxkph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C24%2C5455%2C3612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">boonchoke/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-its-voluntary-for-developers-to-make-affordable-housing-deals-with-councils-what-can-you-expect-116829">Conversation article</a> a year ago we applied negotiation theory to <a href="https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/affordable-housing">changes to the Victorian Planning and Environment Act</a>. The changes were designed to support local councils in negotiations with developers to secure affordable housing. A council may now negotiate with a developer to deliver or fund affordable housing as part of a development approval or planning amendment process. </p>
<p>We wrote that these arrangements were likely to be ineffectual. Our survey of almost 150 affordable housing stakeholders now suggests we were right about this system of voluntary negotiations. </p>
<p>Tellingly, a majority of each class of stakeholders – developers and financers, local government and non-profit providers – would prefer to have consistent mandatory affordable housing requirements applied to all developments. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-its-voluntary-for-developers-to-make-affordable-housing-deals-with-councils-what-can-you-expect-116829">If it's voluntary for developers to make affordable housing deals with councils, what can you expect?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s the incentive to negotiate?</h2>
<p>We argued in our 2019 article that negotiations are shaped by stakeholders’ interests, the potential for mutual gains, and access to information. Our survey has since found one of the key barriers to successful affordable housing negotiations is a lack of incentives to be involved. </p>
<p>Respondents also identified the lack of capacity to enforce affordable housing contributions as a key issue, as the table below shows. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342384/original/file-20200617-94094-1crzr7q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cross-sector assessments of barriers to negotiating and implementing affordable housing agreements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation. Data: Author provided. (Percentages might not add up to 100 because of rounding)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even when affordable housing is agreed upon, the development might not be completed for many years. Over that time, council staff may change many times. And things can slip through the cracks if no one is championing affordable housing delivery. </p>
<p>Researchers have identified <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/sites/all/files/publications_file_attachments/asbec-cwa-the-bottom-line-household-impacts.pdf">a similar trend of non-compliance and under-compliance</a> with sustainability requirements in building codes. </p>
<p>The other key barrier is a lack of effective mechanisms to give developers and councils incentives to engage in time-consuming and potentially costly negotiations. </p>
<p>Floor area uplift or density bonuses (allowing a developer to build more dwellings than would otherwise be permitted) are commonly offered as an incentive to build affordable housing. However, it is only effective in areas where being able to increase density is a valuable asset to a developer and doesn’t greatly add to construction costs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-lessons-from-cities-that-have-risen-to-the-affordable-housing-challenge-102852">Ten lessons from cities that have risen to the affordable housing challenge</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How is information (ab)used?</h2>
<p>We also found a lot of distrust in the industry. Developers referred to a “complete lack of understanding of […] commercial reality” in councils. Other respondents accused developers of looking for ways to “wriggle out of their obligations”. </p>
<p>Across sectors, respondents felt it was almost inevitable developers would manipulate information and operate unfairly in negotiations. Developers felt this way about local councils. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342904/original/file-20200619-70371-1k7cmuy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A majority of respondents felt developers were likely or very likely to manipulate or hide information during negotiations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation. Data: Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342910/original/file-20200619-70371-qoy3b2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342910/original/file-20200619-70371-qoy3b2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342910/original/file-20200619-70371-qoy3b2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342910/original/file-20200619-70371-qoy3b2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342910/original/file-20200619-70371-qoy3b2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342910/original/file-20200619-70371-qoy3b2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342910/original/file-20200619-70371-qoy3b2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two-thirds of developers thought councils were likely or very likely to manipulate or hide information during negotiations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation. Data: Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Large variations in the skills and knowledge held by individuals across sectors add to this lack of trust. These information and skill discrepancies affect power relations in negotiations.</p>
<p>Private developers reported substantial knowledge of development feasibility. But they typically don’t understand the affordable housing sector or relevant legislation well. </p>
<p>State and local government representatives report having lower levels of skill in development feasibility. And they also have lower confidence in leading negotiations. These patterns are also reflected in the amount of formal training different sectors have received in development feasibility. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342887/original/file-20200619-41238-1iel1ms.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation. Data: Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mandatory systems are preferred</h2>
<p>One of the key problems with voluntary negotiations is a lack of consistency in affordable housing expectations. Each agreement is negotiated on a case-by-case basis. </p>
<p>In other parts of the world affordable housing contributions are mandatory. Developers buy land and make development decisions on the assumption that <a href="https://dhcd.dc.gov/service/inclusionary-zoning-iz-affordable-housing-program">10%</a>, <a href="https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/inclusionary-zoning-schemes-can-help-with-affordable-housing-crisis/">20%</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/england-expects-40-of-new-housing-developments-will-be-affordable-why-cant-australia-94581">40%</a> or even <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/practice_note_on_threshold_approach_to_affordable_housing_on_public_land_july_2018.pdf">50%</a> of the dwellings will be sold or rented at below-market rates. This mechanism is often called inclusionary zoning. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/england-expects-40-of-new-housing-developments-will-be-affordable-why-cant-australia-94581">England expects 40% of new housing developments will be affordable, why can't Australia?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It works because affordable housing expectations are established in the developer’s initial feasibility analysis. These expectations are applied consistently across all sites in the area from the outset. In other countries, these requirements are often tied to financial support from multiple levels of government. </p>
<p>The survey revealed an almost unanimous preference for an inclusionary zoning approach in Victoria. The current system of voluntary negotiations was ranked third of four policy approaches. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342916/original/file-20200619-70429-grkr0i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation. Data: Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>Progress falls well short of meeting needs</h2>
<p>Despite these limitations, negotiations are happening to a modest degree in Victoria. These arrangements are producing some new affordable housing. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://womenshousing.com.au/">Women’s Housing Limited</a> bought seven units for low-income women at a discounted rate in Box Hill. And in Glen Eira the provision of land for affordable housing was a key factor in a planning scheme amendment for <a href="https://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/services/planning-and-building/planning-scheme-and-amendments/current-planning-scheme-amendments/east-village">East Village</a>. </p>
<p>These outcomes should be celebrated as an example of changing expectations in the development industry. They are a step forward in generating affordable housing using the planning system. </p>
<p>However, Victoria still has a huge <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2876008/Project-3000-Producing-Social-and-Affordable-Housing-on-Government-Land.pdf">gap between the need for and supply of affordable housing</a>. The state falls well short of international best practice. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/public-land-is-being-sold-exactly-where-thousands-on-the-waiting-list-need-housing-139118">Public land is being sold exactly where thousands on the waiting list need housing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We continue to argue that the right mechanisms are not yet in place in Victoria to ensure affordable housing negotiations are efficient, equitable and transparent. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The research team are seeking people involved in the affordable housing and development sectors with experience in affordable housing negotiations to participate in interviews for ongoing research. To be involved or to find out more, please email affordable-housing@unimelb.edu.au</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139762/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katrina Raynor receives funding from The Hallmark Research Initiative for Affordable Housing at the University of Melbourne. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgia Warren-Myers is an Associate member with Australian Property Institute as a Certified Practising Valuer.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Palm receives funding from the University of Toronto. </span></em></p>
Most local councils, developers and nonprofit providers want mandatory affordable housing requirements applied to all development. The current system of voluntary negotiations just isn’t working well.
Katrina Raynor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing Project, The University of Melbourne
Georgia Warren-Myers, Senior Lecturer in Property, The University of Melbourne
Matthew Palm, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Housing and Transportation Geography, University of Toronto
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/125758
2020-03-03T13:16:45Z
2020-03-03T13:16:45Z
Children’s use of social media is creating a new type of digital native
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318087/original/file-20200302-18266-db4qcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/education-technology-happiness-concept-group-young-198103991">Syda Productions/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first generation of people who have grown up using social media such as Facebook and Instagram are entering the workforce. For as long as this breed of so-called “digital natives” has been alive, some academics <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/10748120110424816">have been arguing</a> that using the internet from a young age would shape the way people <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378720619305117">learn</a>, <a href="https://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/imported/thisTopic-dbTopic-1412.pdf">work</a> and even <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1461444814554902">think</a>.</p>
<p>But it is still not clear how useful this kind of generational divide actually is, or how different these young people are to “digital immigrants” born in a pre-internet age. Some <a href="http://ecdl.org/policy-publications/digital-native-fallacy">studies</a> suggest what matters is not age but the level of experience and knowledge people have with a particular technology. </p>
<p>My colleague Lars Mathiassen and I wanted to see how early use of social media that has transformed our everyday lives might affect young people’s views, particularly related to the development of software that shapes so much of our world. We found that precocious social media users, who had regularly used sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Instagram from an unusually young age, had some important views that were different from those who had come to social media later in life – even those who were born at the same time.</p>
<p>But we also found precocious social media users shared some views with older people who had built up more experience over time. In particular, they shared the belief that software should have an important social impact on the whole world. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07421222.2019.1705508">Our results</a> challenge prior research by suggesting that it’s a combination of age and specific experience that makes a difference in how people approach work, at least when it comes to social media.</p>
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<p>Our participants were 55 developers from two software development firms, whom we split into three groups. Group 1 developers were on average 22 years old and had begun regularly using social media before the age of 11. Group 2a were those of a similar age who did not use the technology so young. And group 2b comprised older developers (on average 34 years old) who usually had more experience with social media, but that also came after the start of adolescence. </p>
<p>We found that group 1 developers understood the goals of software development differently. They put more emphasis on challenging established norms and transforming how users interact with technology, expecting it to fit seamlessly into people’s lives. This could help <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/1621539/young-app-rentices-five-app-developers-ages-16-and-under-update">explain the popular stereotype</a> of precocious social media users becoming developers of disruptive but intuitive apps. </p>
<p>Group 1 developers also favoured continuous experimentation with new technologies and noted how this could contribute to creating new standards and models in the industry. And they expected that the software they develop should help society. As one participant said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The world is increasingly running on software products, and in many cases, those products have social and ethical implications. Software developers can engage in initiatives like hackathons to align the software we develop to social issues that need to be addressed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is where a surprising finding emerged. Group 2b of older software developers with significantly more experience also shared a desire for software to have social impact. But group 2a of younger developers who had not been precocious social media users did not share this emphasis. </p>
<p>Where does this desire to change the world come from? For the older, group 2b developers, their age and experience might explain why they want their work to have a broader impact. However, for the younger developers in group 1, perhaps the precocious use of social media might have given them an early taste of making a social impact online.</p>
<h2>Greater expectations</h2>
<p>What does seem likely is that if precocious users of emerging social media applications are hired to create the next generation of software, they could well bring with them greater expectations about what their software should do. This could also include having a more positive effect on society, but also challenging expectations about what software development should do through greater experimentation and innovation. </p>
<p>The findings also remind us we need to be careful when dividing people up into technological generations. “Digital native” is a loose term, raising the question of which technology or even which <a href="https://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/how-social-media-has-evolved/">evolving version</a> of a particular technology they are native to.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07421222.2019.1705508">Our study</a> challenges the view that belonging to a new technological generation is about age, birth year, or proficiency in using a particular technology. A more useful definition may depend on distinct, technology-related experiences that are deeply rooted in regular use from an early age.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shahla Ghobadi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Precocious social media users want to use technology to change the world.
Shahla Ghobadi, Associate Professor, Software, Design, Social Activism, University of Leeds
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/124175
2019-10-16T19:04:42Z
2019-10-16T19:04:42Z
In your backyard: why people need a say on planning that affects their local community
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296109/original/file-20191008-128705-18n1pgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=285%2C3%2C1759%2C1235&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When people weren't asked about a proposed development in their area, they voiced their opposition.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/ProtectTaringa/photos/a.155986601625819/188592955031850/">Protect Taringa Facebook page</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Good planning needs integrity, and public participation should play a role in that. </p>
<p>But a row over a high-rise development proposed for suburban Brisbane shows what happens when the public feels left out of the planning process.</p>
<p>This highlights the problem with what is termed <a href="https://yoursay.brisbane.qld.gov.au/plan-your-brisbane/faqs#question27643">performance-based planning</a>, which allows some controversial applications to be approved with little or no input from the community.</p>
<h2>A plan submitted</h2>
<p>Aged-care provider TriCare first lodged its application to develop a new facility in June 2017. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-easy-to-get-us-walking-more-if-we-have-somewhere-to-walk-to-near-our-home-and-work-124500">It's easy to get us walking more if we have somewhere to walk to near our home and work</a>
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<p>The site it chose was zoned for community facilities and the application was treated under Brisbane City Council’s performance-based planning rules as “<a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/applying-and-post-approval/application-types/code-assessable-development-applications">code assessable development</a>”.</p>
<p>Even though the developer was not required to give notice of the proposal to the local community, people soon got wind of it. They <a href="https://www.change.org/p/brisbane-city-council-oppose-tricare-s-over-development-at-taringa">mobilised</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProtectTaringa/">strong</a> <a href="http://protecttaringa.com/">opposition</a> to the planned development. </p>
<p>The developer was proposing three buildings of eight, 12 and 16 storeys in a locality characterised by dwellings that are mostly one to three storeys high.</p>
<p>In November 2017, the council rejected the application. The developer appealed. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"928791385989193729"}"></div></p>
<p>TriCare then modified the proposal to the council’s satisfaction and the Queensland Planning and Environment Court <a href="http://apps.courts.qld.gov.au/esearching/FileDetails.aspx?Location=BRISB&Court=DISTR&Filenumber=4646/17">approved the negotiated deal</a> last month. </p>
<p>The approved design is for three buildings ranging from seven to eight storeys, a very significant scaling down of the original proposal.</p>
<h2>Still no public consultation</h2>
<p>But once again the local community was not involved in any of the negotiations or the court proceedings. This is because no community appeals are allowed on code assessable development. </p>
<p>Would the developer have got what it originally wanted if the community had not shown its opposition? And why didn’t the court even consider the community’s point of view? </p>
<p>The answer to these questions lies partly in the legal framework for <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/applying-and-post-approval/application-types/code-assessable-development-applications">code assessable development</a>. </p>
<p>In Queensland, code assessable development is considered a bounded form of assessment, which means it should be considered primarily against a planning scheme’s codes. The original aim was to speed up approvals for development applications broadly consistent with a council’s planning scheme. </p>
<p>These codes are written in a performance-based way. This means developers that only meet the overall outcomes of a code can still get their proposals across the line no matter what the code’s finer details state.</p>
<p>Overall outcomes are very often just that – broad statements of intent open to many different interpretations.</p>
<p>For example, in the TriCare case the applicable overall outcomes required development to be “generally consistent with the character of the area” and to “complement the prevailing, scale, height and bulk of expected development in the locality”.</p>
<p>The council – and the community – believed the initial application did not comply with these terms. The <a href="http://apps.courts.qld.gov.au/esearching/eDoc.aspx?Location=BRISB&Court=DISTR&Filenumber=4646%2f17&edocsno=80715">developer’s appeal</a> argued its proposal was “generally consistent” with the character of the area as there were at least some medium-to-high-rise buildings in the area, including one nine-storey residential building on adjacent land. </p>
<p>Contrary to the council’s view, the developer argued:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The proposed development is of a scale, bulk and height that provides a high level of amenity and transitions sensitively to surrounding uses. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Evidently, code assessment is not quite the bounded and uncontroversial form of decision-making the legislators intended. </p>
<h2>Planning with the community</h2>
<p>In planning, good decision-making needs integrity. It needs to provide decisions the community knows to expect including, where appropriate, conditions that protect and respond to the needs of the community. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/30-minute-city-not-in-my-backyard-smart-cities-plan-must-let-people-have-their-say-59161">'30-minute city'? Not in my backyard! Smart Cities Plan must let people have their say</a>
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<p>In Queensland, the parameters of performance-based planning have swung too far in favour of flexibility. We need to improve the drafting of performance-based codes.</p>
<p>Requirements to be “generally consistent with the character of the area” serve no useful purpose if the character of an area is hybrid, or has different meanings for the short- and long-term residents of that area. </p>
<p>There is also a huge distinction between code assessable development – where community members have no right of appeal - and impact assessable development – where public notification and third party appeal rights apply.</p>
<p>Yet whether applications are classed as impact or code assessable is a matter left to the discretion of individual councils with very little input from the community.</p>
<p>Further guidance needs to be given to better match assessment categories with community concerns.</p>
<p>Flexibility and discretion have a role to play in good planning. But if integrity, honesty and public trust are also goals then transparency and public accountability should be increased.</p>
<p>The value of public participation – both in its contribution to better design and for keeping the system accountable and honest – needs to be genuinely recognised and valued.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-queensland-planning-law-puts-transparency-and-accountability-at-risk-93121">New Queensland planning law puts transparency and accountability at risk</a>
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<p>Not all development applications may warrant public appeal rights but a place at the table for the community somewhere along the line is surely warranted.</p>
<p>The Taringa development was initially assessed under legislation that has been superseded. But, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-queensland-planning-law-puts-transparency-and-accountability-at-risk-93121">I warned last year</a>, Queensland’s new Planning Act has done little to nothing to resolve the fundamental concerns this case raises.</p>
<p>The divisive story of the aged-care development in Taringa serves as a timely warning to other states looking to shift to a performance-based planning model.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippa England is affiliated with the South East Queensland Alliance.</span></em></p>
We need to change council planning rules that prevent community members from having a say on proposed development in their local area.
Philippa England, Senior Lecturer, Griffith Law School, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/111839
2019-04-16T05:00:24Z
2019-04-16T05:00:24Z
Reshaping Sydney by design – few know about the mandatory competitions, but we all see the results
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268318/original/file-20190409-2905-1tu78yh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mandatory competitive design processes have transformed the Sydney CBD skyline.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert Freestone</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The conventional approach to commercial city building is for private developers to enlist their preferred architect for a design that satisfies planning and building regulations. For major projects, the architect would likely have had a previous association and a good track record in matching their client’s commercial priorities to what the approval authority demands in terms of uses, floor space, height, design features and <a href="https://urbandesign.org.au/content/uploads/2015/08/INFRA1219_MCU_R_SQUARE_URBAN_PROTOCOLS_1111_WEB_FA2.pdf">respect for surroundings</a>. </p>
<p>Over the past two decades, though, and largely unknown to the public, Sydney has adopted a mandatory competitive design process for the projects that have transformed the city skyline.</p>
<p>The scale of developments captured by these protocols underscores their impact. Between 2000 and 2017, 46 proposals were granted planning approval. These represented a total investment estimated at over A$7 billion and producing nearly 2 million square metres of commercial floor space. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.be.unsw.edu.au/content/designing-global-sydney-negotiation-public-and-private-interests">Our research</a> found competitive processes are delivering demonstrable benefits such as higher quality, innovation and an improved public realm. Of 26 completed projects by the start of 2018, 62% have won major industry awards and 50% have received awards from the Australian Institute of Architects. </p>
<p>Architectural design competitions go back centuries in Europe and are not uncommon for major public buildings everywhere. Yet what has been instituted appears to be unique for any Australian or indeed global city. Sydney’s mandatory “compare, critique and commission” model for private development is truly pioneering and innovative.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/utzon-lecture-re-imagining-the-harbour-city-56127">Utzon Lecture: Re-imagining the Harbour City</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>So how did this happen?</h2>
<p>In 2000, Sydney City Council, led by independent lord mayor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sartor">Frank Sartor</a>, turned the time-honoured arrangements on their head. </p>
<p>This was a time when the connection between global city aspirations and good architecture was becoming better appreciated. There were concerns, too, that Sydney’s major architectural practices were often <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2015/12/apo-nid63324-1088821.pdf">not as innovative as they could be</a>. </p>
<p>So the council inserted in the <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/EPI/2012/628">Sydney Local Environmental Plan</a> provisions to enforce “design excellence” for all development. In particular, developers of the biggest projects (in terms of site area, height and development cost) were <a href="https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/128065/Competitive-design-policy-adopted-09-December-2013.pdf">required to organise an approved competitive design process</a> to determine their choice of architect. </p>
<p>There was resistance from some leading architects whose comfortable relationships with developers would be disrupted. The development industry was also discomforted by yet another regulatory hoop to jump through – one that would add time and money. They were offered a generous sweetener: allowance for up to 10% extra floor space or height if the council accepted the jury recommendation that “design excellence” was achieved. </p>
<p>The wider public was and largely still is none the wiser about these procedures, which have received little promotion or independent scrutiny. The process takes place behind closed doors marked commercial-in-confidence. </p>
<p>Conceived as a new method of privately procuring design services, the requirements nonetheless slip seamlessly into the development application procedures stipulated by the <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1979/203">New South Wales Environmental Planning and Assessment Act</a>.</p>
<h2>How well has this model worked?</h2>
<p>The accent on competition with developer incentives on offer sounds like a policy approach truly befitting the neoliberal age, but is it successful?</p>
<p>Early projects were not always exceptional. But in the past decade most of central Sydney’s best new buildings are the product of design competitions. These include the EY Tower in George Street, <a href="https://www.indesignlive.com/projects/liberty-place-by-fjmt">Liberty Place in Castlereagh Street</a>, and <a href="http://www.1bligh.com.au/">1 Bligh Street</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The EY Centre at 200 George Street, Sydney.</span></figcaption>
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<p>All are vastly superior in design, efficiency and sustainability terms to the buildings they replaced. Our research confirmed a high proportion of projects have been recognised as outstanding.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/green-buildings-must-do-more-to-fix-our-climate-emergency-110241">Green buildings must do more to fix our climate emergency</a>
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<p>Competitions encourage a fuller exploration of possibilities for a site. This enhances prospects of the best outcome. Working to a detailed brief but independent of an actual client enables design considerations to be prioritised and public interest considerations to be explicitly integrated. </p>
<p>With experienced jurors, expert front-end advice on the technical soundness of proposals, and advice and effective oversight from council staff, the process creates a unique forum for dialogue and consensus between key stakeholders. As the council’s director of city planning development & transport, <a href="https://www.be.unsw.edu.au/event/utzon-lecture-mudd-20th-anniversary-paul-reid-lecture-urban-design">Graham Jahn, said</a> in 2015, this interaction helps “close the gap” between public and private interest.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, developers like the incentive of securing extra floor space, the airing of any design concerns or related issues ahead of a detailed development application, and the increased certainty of approval for a successful competition outcome. </p>
<p>Putting architects in competition with one another drives design creativity. In some cases the local environmental plan has even been amended when statutory regulations would have frustrated an innovative outcome that’s clearly in the public interest.</p>
<p>The old design oligopoly has certainly been smashed. To the end of 2017, 88 different firms participated in competitions, with 52 firms winning in their own right or in partnership. </p>
<p>A quarter of the winning firms are based overseas. This signifies a greater global connectivity in design processes but belies the perception of a takeover of local business by offshore “starchitects”. </p>
<h2>What are the drawbacks?</h2>
<p>At the same time, concerns have surfaced. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li>the high costs and risks for competing architects even when partly remunerated for their participation</li>
<li>the risk of hyper-gentrification as the quality stakes constantly rise</li>
<li>a striving for iconic ‘look-at-me’ architecture at every turn</li>
<li>a missed opportunity to engage the public more deeply in design matters.</li>
</ul>
<p>The resource and time demands on the city council have certainly escalated. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/iconic-building-alert-waiting-for-the-frank-gehry-effect-in-sydney-30364">Iconic building alert: waiting for the Frank Gehry effect in Sydney</a>
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<p>Nevertheless, the competition idea is set to be an ongoing fact of life. The council has already extended the competitive regime to major projects outside the CBD. It was a timely move to pick up the wave of apartment building in <a href="https://theconversation.com/move-over-suburbia-green-square-offers-new-norm-for-urban-living-57633">urban renewal precincts like Green Square</a>.</p>
<p>The council’s design competition policy, after nearly two decades of practice and improvement, is now a mature urban intervention of some note. It has been an influential shaper of the state government’s recent <a href="https://www.governmentarchitect.nsw.gov.au/review/design-excellence/government-architects-design-excellence-competition-guidelines">roll-out of design excellence initiatives</a> to local authorities across the state.</p>
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<p><em>The authors’ book, <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9789811320552">Designing the Global City: Design Excellence, Competitions and the Remaking of Central Sydney</a> (2019), has just been published by Palgrave Macmillan.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Freestone receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This piece derives from an ARC Discovery project DP150104054, 'Designing Global Sydney: The negotiation of public and private interests.'
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gethin Davison receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Hu receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This piece derives from an ARC Discovery project DP150104054, 'Designing Global Sydney: The negotiation of public and private interests.'</span></em></p>
For two decades, a competitive design process pioneered by Sydney City Council has been transforming the city skyline and, new research shows, raising standards as it goes.
Robert Freestone, Professor of Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney
Gethin Davison, Lecturer in City Planning and Design, UNSW Sydney
Richard Hu, Professor, Canberra Business School & Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/99024
2018-06-29T01:53:37Z
2018-06-29T01:53:37Z
The ethics of Apple’s closed ecosystem app store
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225078/original/file-20180627-112628-1idvkgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">After 10 years, could Apple finally be losing their control over the way apps are installed on their platform?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This July marks the <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/08/07/10/apples_app_store_launches_with_more_than_500_apps">tenth birthday</a> of the iOS App Store. </p>
<p>The App Store originally launched alongside the release of the <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2008/06/09/iphone-3g-is-finally-official/">3G model</a> – 12 months after the original iPhone. The store gave developers the opportunity to write third party native apps for the iPhone, as long as they <a href="https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/app-store-fees-percentages-and-payouts-what-developers-need-to-know/">paid the 30% commission</a> to Apple. </p>
<p>Unlike competing android devices, however, you can’t load apps onto an iPhone unless you get them from the official App Store. Installing apps from unofficial sources is known as “<a href="https://phandroid.com/2013/07/20/android-101-sideloading-apps/">sideloading</a>”.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-tech-giants-a-cautionary-tale-from-19th-century-railroads-on-the-limits-of-competition-91616">For tech giants, a cautionary tale from 19th century railroads on the limits of competition</a>
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</p>
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<p>This might be about to change. A recent <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/pepper-v-apple-supreme-court-app-store-antitrust/">court case</a> has the potential to require Apple to open their device to sideloading of apps from outside of the App Store, overturning 10 years of precedent. </p>
<p>Could Apple finally be losing their control over the way apps are installed on their platform? And was it ethical to have such a closed “ecosystem” in the first place?</p>
<h2>Shifting from an open to a closed ecosystem</h2>
<p>When Apple first launched the App Store, the model they presented was quite unique. In contrast to the Macintosh platform that allowed anyone to download apps from anywhere and run them on their Mac, the iPhone store limited the apps that could be used. </p>
<p>Developers were required to submit apps to the App Store for review. Apple could then check the security was up to the standards of its <a href="https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/">App Store Review Guidelines</a>. This ensured no unintended functionality was introduced, and malware was kept to a minimum. </p>
<p>Apple was often lauded for this decision. Known for <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/15/16314034/apple-developer-guidelines-update-scam-anti-virus-apps-banned">higher quality</a> and <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/09/apple-removes-300-infected-apps-app-store/">safer apps</a>, they have built on this over the years by introducing stronger remote app deletion measures and <a href="https://developer.apple.com/support/code-signing/">developer signing requirements</a>.</p>
<p>But hanging over it all was the fact this process ensured Apple secured 30% of any app sales revenue – a figure that has surely <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/3269608/techology-business/5-takeaways-from-apples-record-second-quarter-2018-results.html">propped up their services income</a>. At the most recent worldwide developer conference (<a href="https://www.apple.com/au/apple-events/june-2018/">WWDC</a>), Apple claimed they had paid over $100 billion to developers over the years, which means Apple would have made around $30 billion of their own. </p>
<p>On top of this, the limitations on the App Store means some apps are not eligible. This has led to a continuing desire for some users to hack their phones through <a href="https://www.pcworld.com/article/249091/geek_101_what_is_jailbreaking_.html">jailbreaking</a> – a practice that allows users to run apps that aren’t available in the store. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-monopoly-businesses-have-an-obligation-to-create-competition-63202">Should monopoly businesses have an obligation to create competition?</a>
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</p>
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<p>So, in spite of the security benefits, this limitation has caused some problems. And it’s clear some users questioned the ethics of this closed approach. </p>
<p>Why does this matter so much?</p>
<h2>The sandbox is fun, but sometimes we prefer the grass</h2>
<p>Something not often talked about in relation to the App Store is Apple’s inability to bring this closed model to the Mac. </p>
<p>Buoyed by the success of the iOS App Store, Apple eventually introduced a <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/1156962/software/mac-app-store-faq.html">Mac variant in 2011</a>. But they <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/01/another-popular-app-leaves-the-mac-app-store/">struggled to reach a critical mass</a> of apps in that store – partly because developers weren’t used to these restrictions on the Mac. </p>
<p>In particular, a feature called “sandboxing” – which prevents particular apps from accessing other parts of your operating system – meant many of the most popular apps <a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/300067/mac-app-store-broken-developers-sick/">couldn’t be added to the Mac App Store</a> without extensive modifications. </p>
<p>Although Apple appears to have <a href="https://mashable.com/2018/06/04/mac-mojave-app-store-updates/#9u1B._DwkOqp">reversed this decision at the most recent WWDC</a>, the damage is clear. The Mac App Store is nowhere near as popular as the iOS equivalent, in part due to this lack of flexibility.</p>
<p>The closed ecosystem has also led to some other problems for Apple. </p>
<p>For instance, the restriction that all purchases needed to be made in the app so Apple gets their 30% cut has caused a <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/14/spotify-deezer-eu-apple-anti-competitive/">headache</a> for services such as <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2015/05/07/apple-beats-music-spotify-complaint/">Spotify</a>, which already have a service customers pay for outside the app. The issue <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-music-antitrust/ftc-exploring-apple-rules-for-streaming-music-rivals-in-app-store-idUSKCN0PL03O20150711?9to5">reportedly</a> led to an investigation by US antitrust regulators in 2015. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/big-tech-isnt-one-big-monopoly-its-5-companies-all-in-different-businesses-92791">'Big Tech' isn't one big monopoly – it's 5 companies all in different businesses</a>
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<h2>Should Apple be salty about the Pepper lawsuit?</h2>
<p>Which leads us back to the recent lawsuit, brought by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-court/u-s-appeals-court-revives-antitrust-lawsuit-against-apple-idUSKBN14W2VH">Robert Pepper et al</a> – a group of iPhone users suing over anti competitive behaviour. The class action suit seeks to change the way Apple runs the App Store. Despite being dismissed several times since originally being brought in 2011, the suit has made <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/18/17474760/apple-app-store-ios-supreme-court-lawsuit-hearing-pepper">it to the Supreme Court</a> and will now be heard over a nine month window starting in October.</p>
<p>In what might turn out to be a landmark case, Pepper is asking to be allowed to sideload apps and avoid the Apple cut on their purchases. This presents a problem for Apple, because it means they lose control of the system.</p>
<p>On the positive side, this could mean more exciting apps for consumers, but it also might mean more malware. Either way, it will mean big changes for Apple, who seem to genuinely believe the closed model is best.</p>
<p>The bigger question is what this might mean for Apple’s culture. The company is famous for controlling all aspects of their vertical integration. What happens if they’re forced to become more flexible? Will they buck against this, or will we see a more open, adaptive Apple in the future? </p>
<p>Only time will tell, but it’s clear that after 10 years of the App Store, this case could mark a change that makes the future quite different from the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A law suit against Apple on antitrust grounds could force the company to open up its App Store. That could mean more exciting apps for consumers, but it could also make the system less secure.
Michael Cowling, Senior Lecturer in Educational Technology, CQUniversity Australia
James Birt, Associate Professor of Information and Computing Sciences, Bond University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/94581
2018-04-09T20:03:20Z
2018-04-09T20:03:20Z
England expects 40% of new housing developments will be affordable, why can’t Australia?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213762/original/file-20180409-176974-mulfwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inclusionary planning has increased the share of affordable housing in San Francisco, even in areas which are gentrifying.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex Proimos/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/does-building-more-houses-fix-affordability-for-low-income-households">record levels of supply</a> of new properties but despite various government interventions, housing still remains unaffordable for many. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/297">Our study</a> found the government could use more direct methods to deliver homes for people on low and moderate incomes, while leveraging the market. These methods, widespread across the United Kingdom and in major cities of the United States, are known as “inclusionary planning”.</p>
<p>This includes requiring developers to make a financial contribution towards affordable housing, or to dedicate completed dwellings, as part of the development approval process.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-poorer-australians-bearing-the-brunt-of-rising-housing-costs-87003">Three charts on: poorer Australians bearing the brunt of rising housing costs</a>
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<p>We studied the outcomes of inclusionary planning programs in parts of the United States and the United Kingdom, and more recent approaches in South Australia and New South Wales. </p>
<h2>What techniques can ensure affordable housing in the mix</h2>
<p>“Inclusionary zoning”, a common type of inclusionary planning, was first developed in the United States to counteract land use rules which excluded the lower end of the property market. For example, where rules would only permit large homes on single allotments. </p>
<p>Some states in the US have also adopted <a href="https://www.mass.gov/chapter-40-b-planning-and-information">“anti-snob” laws</a>. Under these laws, developers whose schemes include affordable housing can bypass local zoning controls, if an area has insufficient affordable housing for those on low and moderate incomes. </p>
<p>More recently, inclusionary planning programs are being used in many US cities in a bid to ensure that transport and infrastructure investment does not price out or displace lower income renters.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/room-sharing-is-the-new-flat-sharing-84359">Room sharing is the new flat sharing</a>
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<p>There are now more than 500 inclusionary planning schemes operating in municipalities across the US. Some require developers to include affordable housing as part of development in a particular zone (usually a fixed percentage of units or floor space). </p>
<p>For example <a href="http://sfmohcd.org/inclusionary-housing-program">inclusionary planning programs</a> in the city of San Francisco, California (population of around 830,000) generate around 150–250 affordable units per year (around 12% of the city’s total supply). </p>
<p>Other schemes allow variations to planning rules in return for affordable housing. These variations might permit additional density in certain areas or waive certain requirements that would normally apply or expedite the development assessment process.</p>
<p>Other schemes require financial contributions from developers to offset the impact of a project on affordable housing demand or supply. </p>
<p>These programs provide a way for governments to ensure affordable housing for lower income residents even in rapidly gentrifying neighbourhoods.</p>
<h2>How this plays out in England and Scotland</h2>
<p>In England and Scotland, the supply of affordable housing is negotiated through the planning process. The general expectation is that 20 to 40% of new housing developments will be affordable. But proportions of affordable housing are allowed to vary on a case by case basis in light of the housing market and the costs of undertaking the development.</p>
<p>The main methods for this in England are <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/pas/pas-topics/infrastructure/s106-obligations-overview">section 106 agreements</a>. These agreements, which come under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, specify the amount and type of affordable housing to be provided as part of a development. </p>
<p>Section 106 agreements have steadily gained traction since the 1990s. Between 2005–16, 83,790 affordable dwellings were secured through these agreements in England. This included 9,640 new dwellings in 2015–16. </p>
<p>Section 106 agreements have resulted in different types of affordable housing, including social housing, discounted home ownership, share equity schemes and affordable rental housing (offered at 20% less rent than for comparable properties in the same local housing market).</p>
<p>Our study found that when inclusionary planning model requirements are predictable and applied in a consistent way, developers accept them because they can factor costs into the price paid for land. </p>
<p>We also found most models work in conjunction with other government funding or subsidies, extending the value of this funding by reducing the cost of land for social or affordable housing.</p>
<h2>What usually happens in Australia</h2>
<p>Only the South Australia and New South Wales governments have similar types of planning schemes in Australia, although there are signs that other states may follow. </p>
<p>The SA government’s <a href="https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/planning-and-property/land-and-property-development/planning-professionals/developer-responsibilities-for-affordable-housing">inclusionary planning target</a>, announced in 2005, aims for 15% of significant new housing developments to be affordable. </p>
<p>By 2016 more than 2,000 affordable homes had been built and a further 3,476 homes committed. This amounts to about 17% of new housing supply in South Australia. </p>
<p>In NSW, inclusionary planning schemes only deliver affordable rental housing. </p>
<p>In the mid 1990s an inclusionary zoning scheme pilot was introduced to Pyrmont and Ultimo. This scheme was then extended to <a href="http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/development/planning-controls/affordable-housing-contributions/green-square-affordable-housing">Green Square</a>.</p>
<p>These schemes require that developers dedicate 0.8 to 3% of the floor area of developments for affordable housing, or that a monetary contribution be made in lieu of direct affordable housing provision. </p>
<p>However, to date, the NSW state government and many in the development sector have favoured voluntary mechanisms (such as density bonuses for providing affordable housing) over mandatory ones to supply affordable rental housing. </p>
<p>For our study, we estimated the volume of affordable housing delivered through voluntary planning agreements and state policy giving a density bonus for affordable housing inclusion by examining individual development approval records. </p>
<p>We found that voluntary measures have so far delivered about 1,300 dwellings or between 0.5 to 1% of Sydney’s housing supply between 2009 and 2017. </p>
<h2>How viable is inclusionary planning?</h2>
<p>We found that voluntary planning incentives can encourage affordable housing, but as part of incremental residential development, within the existing planning framework. </p>
<p>However, affordable housing should be mandated when land is rezoned for residential development, when planning rules are varied for particular projects, or following major infrastructure investment.</p>
<p>Inclusionary planning can’t replace government funding in providing housing for those on the lowest incomes. However, inclusionary planning schemes can reduce land costs and ensure that affordable homes are well located near jobs and services.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Gurran receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Gilbert receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). </span></em></p>
Inclusionary planning schemes can reduce land costs and ensure that affordable homes are well located near jobs and services.
Nicole Gurran, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Sydney
Catherine Gilbert, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate, Urban Housing Lab, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/93732
2018-03-22T01:44:28Z
2018-03-22T01:44:28Z
An exploding creative economy shows innovation policy shouldn’t focus only on STEM
<p>Australians in creative industries <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/03/Factsheet-1-Creative-Employment-overview-V5.pdf">have grown</a> from 3.7% of the workforce in 1986 to 5.5% in the latest census. </p>
<p>Creative services, a subset of the creative economy that includes software and digital content (including web design and games) and social media management and marketing, are growing as much as three times the rate of the overall workforce. </p>
<p>These findings make it imperative that Australian governments develop policies that don’t fixate on what NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/nsw/stem-has-become-a-buzzword-and-a-fad-nsw-education-minister-20180321-p4z5iw.html">calls</a> the STEM “buzzword”. </p>
<p>The government should focus on education and training that combines the acquisition of both technical and non-technical skills. This will support the sustainability of creative industries.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-rebalance-australias-economy-with-creative-industries-23458">We can rebalance Australia's economy with creative industries</a>
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</p>
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<p>Altogether 600,000 people work in Australia’s creative economy, which combines cultural production (film and broadcasting, music and performing arts, publishing and visual arts) with creative services (advertising and marketing, architecture and design, creative software and digital content).</p>
<p>It also includes “support professionals” who work in these creative industries such as technicians, accountants, lawyers or salespeople, as well as “embedded” creatives who work outside the creative industries, across the rest of the economy. </p>
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<p>The creative economy is a job-intensive sector. It immerses human talent in meaningful, creative, well-remunerated activity at a scale few other sectors can offer. </p>
<p>The creative economy as a whole is growing at a rate nearly twice that of the Australian workforce as a whole and it is highly likely to continue to grow into the future.</p>
<p>Compare that to sectors that are <a href="https://theconversation.com/explaining-the-figures-why-we-shouldnt-worry-about-the-loss-of-23-000-mining-jobs-1705">shedding jobs</a> through automation, such as mining, or whose contribution to employment in Australia has been trending down for decades, such as agriculture.</p>
<p>In 2013, <a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf">one study</a> estimated that 47% of jobs in the United States were at risk of being automated.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://www.real-world-futures.qut.edu.au/The_future_of_employment.pdf">every serious study</a> since then has dialled back on that dramatic prediction, with <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/future-skills-employment-2030">the latest study</a> offering a much more granular account of what we can expect in skills for jobs of the future. </p>
<p>It found that creative skills are some of the most likely to grow in employability. The report says that “artists”, for example, possess skill sets that entail high-level, subtle decision making that are less susceptible to machine substitution.</p>
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<p>But the creative economy is experiencing some disruption. </p>
<p>While digital creative services grow rapidly, publishing (this is mostly newspapers and magazines) has continued its downward spiral. And workers in music, performing arts and visual arts, earn well below the Australian mean income – and their relative situation is stagnant or deteriorating. </p>
<p>On the other hand, creative services workers command wages 30% higher than the Australian average, with software and digital content professionals earning the highest incomes of the whole sector.</p>
<p><iframe id="QViV4" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QViV4/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>What this means for policy</h2>
<p>When Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull came to power he <a href="https://www.facebook.com/malcolmturnbull/posts/10153698142356579">stated</a> “there has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian”.</p>
<p>But the electorate didn’t buy it. Its anxiety that innovative responses to technology-driven change was all about inner city start ups and tech love-ins contributed to the Coalition’s near death experience in the 2016 election. </p>
<p>The government <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/innovation-for-all-businesses-says-greg-hunt/news-story/d914fda12d2ec2981aae2b0e6067d154">soon shifted</a> to talking about “innovation for all businesses”, and innovation has been put away in the bottom drawer ever since. </p>
<p>Australian does need an innovation policy, but it needs to be broader than STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) fields. Creative jobs are transforming the Australian economy. </p>
<p>Instead, research tells us that the most innovative Australian enterprises all thoroughly <a href="https://acola.org.au/wp/saf10/">mix</a> STEM with business, creative, and communication skills, and that digital literacy skills are far wider than what is encompassed in a STEM definition of technology. </p>
<p>The government should focus on education and training that combines both technical and non-technical skills and support the sustainability of creative industries.</p>
<p>That way, we can begin to set the country on an innovation path that is holistic and takes better account of where some of the strongest growth in job creation is occurring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Research that informs this article is funded by an Australian Research Council's Linkage project LP160101724.</span></em></p>
The federal government should set the country on an innovation path that takes account of where some of the strongest job growth is occurring.
Stuart Cunningham, Distinguished Professor, Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/90556
2018-01-29T14:51:05Z
2018-01-29T14:51:05Z
‘Agent of Change’ protects music venues from noise complaints, but won’t stop them from closing
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203780/original/file-20180129-100926-1586ejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Gi6-m_t_W-E">Bruno Cervera/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A Conservative minister for housing, a grey-haired Labour MP, ageing icons of rock and creative young people have formed an unlikely alliance in support of the Agent of Change (Planning) Bill. The proposed law, which will be discussed for the second time in the House of Commons on March 16, <a href="https://www.iq-mag.net/2018/01/uk-govt-sajid-javid-backs-agent-change/#.Wmn_opOFilM">makes developers responsible</a> for dealing with noise issues when they build new homes near music venues. </p>
<p>This all came about because people were worried about the high number of live music venues that were closing across the UK. The Greater London Authority (GLA) <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/music/saving-londons-music-venues">asked for a report</a> on London’s grass roots music venues, only to find that 35% of them had been “lost” since 2007. Cities across the nation – from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/sep/09/the-slow-death-of-music-venues-in-cities">Glasgow to Manchester</a> – have similar stories to tell, even though the government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/creative-industries-record-contribution-to-uk-economy">has recognised</a> how important the music industry is for the economy. </p>
<p>So how did this happen? Many different governments since around the year 2000 have tried to get more flats and houses built in cities, because there aren’t enough for everyone who wants to live there. Many homes have been built on “brownfield” sites – where there used to be factories or warehouses, which are now used less or not at all. These types of places also offered spaces where creative entrepreneurs could set up new clubs, or take over existing venues and attract new customers with the offer of live music. </p>
<h2>Buyer beware</h2>
<p>But as people move into the new flats built on these sites (which they often pay a lot of money for) some inevitably complain about the noise coming from the venues. Venue owners in Shoreditch (one of London’s hip neighbourhoods) actually put up signs warning would-be buyers that there are live music venues in the area. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203518/original/file-20180126-100919-1a2zuoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203518/original/file-20180126-100919-1a2zuoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203518/original/file-20180126-100919-1a2zuoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203518/original/file-20180126-100919-1a2zuoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203518/original/file-20180126-100919-1a2zuoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203518/original/file-20180126-100919-1a2zuoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203518/original/file-20180126-100919-1a2zuoa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sign on Rivington Street, Shoreditch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2014/10/21/rivington-street-pedestrian-zone-shoreditch/">Hackney Citizen</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Up until now, these complaints caused big problems for music venue owners, because planning principles were not on their side. The onus was on them to ensure their neighbours weren’t disturbed by music and loud noises. But putting in proper soundproofing or keeping customers quiet can be difficult and expensive. </p>
<p>This doesn’t just affect the kind of places run on a shoe string on the outskirts of town. Even London’s mighty Ministry of Sound – which has been a mecca for House music lovers since 1991 – <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25642151">was caught up</a> in a lengthy planning application for a tower block of flats nearby – a case which eventually ended in the flats having to be soundproofed.</p>
<h2>A matter of principle</h2>
<p>The way the planning system works, is that local authorities in England and Wales produce their own development plans, which must align with national policy as set out in a 2012 document called the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6077/2116950.pdf">National Planning Policy Framework</a> (NPPF). This document made a small move to protect venues, by saying that if they wanted to expand, then there should be no unreasonable restrictions. But it didn’t address the situation described above. </p>
<p>Some local authorities have already started to draw up their own policies, which put the burden of noise reduction measures firmly on the developer who is making the change – whether it’s for <a href="http://musicvenuetrust.com/2017/11/agent-of-change-is-policy-d12-in-london-plan-2018/">flats or other uses</a>. This is the legal principle, known as the “Agent of Change”. The bill, now supported by government, will ensure that the principle is embedded in the NPPF – so all local authorities will have to follow it. It will also carry more weight in appeals against planning decisions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203778/original/file-20180129-100926-4mj8h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203778/original/file-20180129-100926-4mj8h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203778/original/file-20180129-100926-4mj8h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203778/original/file-20180129-100926-4mj8h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203778/original/file-20180129-100926-4mj8h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203778/original/file-20180129-100926-4mj8h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203778/original/file-20180129-100926-4mj8h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Got the power?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/TZCppMjaOHU">William White/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the “Agent of Change” principle will help prevent live music venues from closing, it won’t be enough on its own. Sadly, it would not address other issues such as rising rents, hikes in rateable values and property owners preferring to redevelop their buildings into flats. For example, consultancy firm <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/report_headlines_-_impact_of_business_rates_revaluation_on_londons_grassrots_music_venues_-_nordicity_-_april_2017.pdf">Nordicity estimated that</a> a revaluation of business rates would cause a fifth of London’s grass roots venues to close. And London’s oldest LGBTQ venue, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, is still <a href="http://www.rvt.community/news/">engaged in a battle</a> to save it from redevelopment, by way of a community buy out. </p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://pubs.camra.org.uk/pubsuccessstories">past examples</a> show that people can save their local pubs from closure, whether through local campaigning or by taking ownership of the buildings. And to see creativity and culture, especially for young people, supported through the dusty corridors of parliament, is truly heart warming.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90556/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marion Roberts has received funding from many different organisations, including central and local government and charitable foundations, for research on the night time economy.</span></em></p>
Developers will now be responsible for dealing with noise issues from nearby music venues – but it will take real community activism to prevent closures.
Marion Roberts, Professor of Urban Design, University of Westminster
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/82073
2017-08-22T19:20:44Z
2017-08-22T19:20:44Z
Why investor-driven urban density is inevitably linked to disadvantage
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182709/original/file-20170821-17172-7gb7ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Much of what is being built is straightforward 'investor grade product' – flats built to attract the burgeoning investment market.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bill Randolph</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is the third in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/equitable-density-42055">series</a> based on new research into the place of lower-income and disadvantaged households in a compact city.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The densification of Australian cities has been heralded as a boon for housing choice and diversity. The up-beat promotion of “<a href="http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/advice-and-hot-topics/72224-2016-census-shows-aussies-choosing-urban-living-chris-johnson.html">the swing to urban living</a>” by one of Australia’s leading developer lobby groups epitomises the rhetoric around this seismic shift in housing. </p>
<p>Glossy advertisements for luxury living in our city centres and suburbs adorn the property pages of our newspapers. </p>
<p>Brochures boast of breathtaking city views from uppers storeys and gush about amenity, lifestyle and “liveability” – often touting the benefits of adjacent public infrastructure investments (but please don’t mention “<a href="http://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2017/03/value-sharing-for-affordable-housing/">value sharing</a>”). </p>
<p>Depictions of attractive younger people, occasionally clutching a smiling infant, are prominent as the image of all things new, urban and desirable.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-policy-is-captive-to-property-politics-so-dont-expect-politicians-to-tackle-affordability-55384">Housing policy is captive to property politics, so don’t expect politicians to tackle affordability</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Long gone are the days when the manifestations of property marketeers’ imaginations were restricted to images of low-density master-planned estates on the urban fringe. We hardly ever hear about these nowadays.</p>
<p>There’s truth in the claims that housing choice and diversity have indeed widened in the last few decades as a result. The statistics clearly show a much greater spread of dwelling options in our cities.</p>
<h2>The rise and rise of the apartment block</h2>
<p>Apartments now account for <a href="http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/1GSYD?opendocument">28% of housing in Sydney</a> and <a href="http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/2GMEL?opendocument">15% in Melbourne</a>. As the maps below show, most recent growth in apartment stock is clearly in and around the inner city. Yet even the more distant suburbs have had an increase in higher-density residential development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182867/original/file-20170821-5029-1vngx3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in the number of flats and apartments, 2011 to 2016, in Sydney (above) and Melbourne (below).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: ABS Census 2011, 2016</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182868/original/file-20170821-4964-2qd6ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data: ABS Census 2011, 2016</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For many, inner-city apartment living is clearly a preferred choice for the stage in their life when an upcoming, “vibrant” neighbourhood is attractive. High-density urban renewal has been a boon for hipsters and students alike.</p>
<p>But the issue of choice needs to be unpacked carefully. For many others, the “swing to urban living” is more of a necessity. </p>
<p>True, the surge in apartment building has put many properties onto the market to rent or buy that are clearly cheaper than houses in the same suburb. From that point of view, they have added to the affordability of these neighbourhoods. </p>
<p>However, affordable to whom is an open question. At A$850,000 and upwards for a standard two-bedder in Waterloo, South Sydney, and $500,000 or more in Melbourne’s Docklands for a similar property, these are not exactly a cheap option for anyone on a low income.</p>
<p>But other than in the prestige areas where higher-income downsizers and pied-à-terre owners can be enticed to buy in some comfort, much of what is being built is straightforward “investor grade product” – flats built to attract the burgeoning investment market. </p>
<p>It can be argued that the investor has always been a major target of apartment developers, even in the 1960s and 1970s when strata units became common, particularly in Sydney. But it is even more so today.</p>
<p>Despite the clamour to control overseas investors <a href="https://theconversation.com/sydneysiders-blame-foreign-investors-for-high-housing-prices-survey-77959">perceived to be flooding the market</a>, the bulk of investors are home grown. We don’t need to rehearse the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-housing-issues-should-the-budget-tackle-this-is-what-our-experts-say-73751">debates on the factors</a> that have fuelled this splurge, but clearly the development industry has been savvy to the possibilities of this market. </p>
<p>In the last decade, backed by state planning authorities and politicians desperate to claim they have <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-almost-a-world-leader-in-home-building-so-that-isnt-a-fix-for-affordability-73514">“solved” housing affordability</a> by letting apartment building rip, developers have got involved on an unprecedented scale. The figures bear this out: in 2016, for the first time, Australia <a href="http://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2016/07/apartment-construction-boom-is-this-the-end-of-the-dream/">built more apartments than houses</a>. The majority end up for rent.</p>
<h2>Problematic products with too few protections</h2>
<p>In the rush, we, the housing consumer, have been offered a motley range of new housing with a series of escalating problems. Leaving aside amateur management by owners’ bodies in charge of multi-million-dollar assets, problems of short-term holiday lettings and neighbour disputes, there are more serious concerns over build quality, defective materials and fire compliance. </p>
<p>The apartment market has been left wide open for poor-quality outcomes by building industry deregulation. This includes:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>moves toward complying development approval for high-rise;</p></li>
<li><p>self-certification of building components;</p></li>
<li><p>complex design and non-traditional building methods;</p></li>
<li><p>relaxation of defect rectification requirements;</p></li>
<li><p>long chains of sub-contractors;</p></li>
<li><p>poor oversight by local planners and authorities; and</p></li>
<li><p>cheap or non-compliant fittings and finishes.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Plus there’s the rush to get buildings up and sold off. Not to mention fly-by-night “phoenix” developers who vanish as soon as the last flat is occupied, never to be found when the defects bills come in. </p>
<p>The lack of consumer protection in this market is astounding. The average toaster comes with more consumer protection – at least you can get your money back if the product fails.</p>
<h2>‘Vertical slums’ in the making</h2>
<p>These chickens will surely come home to roost in the lower end of the market, which will never attract the wealthy empty-nesters or cashed-up young professionals with the resources to ensure quality outcomes.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-why-apartment-living-is-different-for-the-poor-82069">This is why apartment living is different for the poor</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>In Melbourne, space and design standards, including windowless bedrooms, have <a href="https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/media/fellows/Hodyl_L_2014_Social_outcomes_in_hyper-dense_high-rise_residential_environments_1.pdf">come under critical scrutiny</a>, as has site cramming. Tall apartment blocks stand cheek-by-jowl in overdeveloped inner-city precincts.</p>
<p>At least New South Wales has <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/Housing/Better-Apartments">State Environmental Planning Policy 65</a>, which regulates space and amenity standards, and the <a href="https://www.basix.nsw.gov.au/iframe/about-basix.html">BASIX environmental standard</a> to prevent the more egregious practices.</p>
<p>But people are most likely to confront the problems of density in the many thousands of new units adorning precincts around suburban rail stations and town centres. These have been built under the uncertain logic of “transport-orientated development”, often replacing light industrial or secondary commercial development. </p>
<p>These developments attract a mixed community of lower-income renters. Many are recently arrived immigrants and marginal home buyers – often first-timers. Many have young children, as these units are the only option for young families to buy or rent in otherwise unaffordable markets. Overall, though, renters predominate.</p>
<p>What will be the trajectory of these blocks, once the gloss wears off and those who can move on do so? You only have to look at the previous generation of suburban walk-up blocks in these areas to find the answer. </p>
<p>Far from bastions of gentrification, the large multi-unit buildings in less prestigious locations will drift inexorably into the lower reaches of the private rental market. </p>
<p>Town centres like Liverpool, Fairfield, Auburn, Bankstown and Blacktown in Sydney point the way. The cracks in the density juggernaut are already showing in many of the more recently built blocks in these areas – literally, in many cases.</p>
<p>This inexorable logic of the market will create suburban concentrations of lower-income households on a scale hitherto experienced only in the legacy inner-city high-rise public housing estates.</p>
<p>With the latter being systematically cleared away, the formation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-windowless-box-the-vertical-slums-of-melbourne-41181">vertical slums</a> of the future owned by the massed ranks of unaccountable, profit-driven investor landlords is a racing certainty. The consequences are all too easy to imagine.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="http://theconversation.com/its-not-just-the-buildings-high-density-neighbourhoods-make-life-worse-for-the-poor-82070">It’s not just the buildings, high-density neighbourhoods make life worse for the poor</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>The call for greater regulation of apartment, planning, design and construction is being heard in some quarters. The 2015 NSW <a href="http://bpb.nsw.gov.au/building-professionals-act-review">Independent Review of the Building Professionals Act</a> highlights these concerns. </p>
<p>But don’t hold your breath for rapid reform. No-one wants to kill the goose that’s laying so many golden eggs for the development industry and government alike – especially in inflated stamp-duty receipts. </p>
<p>The market has a habit of self-regulating on supply. Evidence of a <a href="http://www.bis.com.au/verve/_resources/BISOE_BIA_Media_Release_August_2017.pdf">marked downturn</a> in apartment building is a clear sign of that. But don’t expect the market to self-regulate on quality, at least with the current highly fragmented, confusing (not least to builders and bureaucrats), under-resourced and largely unpoliced regulatory system. </p>
<p>The legacy of this entirely avoidable crisis is completely predictable, but will be for future generations to pick up.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/equitable-density-42055">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82073/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Randolph receives funding from: Australian Research Council; Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute; Australian National Data Service; NSW Federation of Housing Associations
He is affiliated with: NSW Shelter; Planning Institute of Australia; Australasian Housing Institute.
</span></em></p>
The inexorable logic of the market will create suburban concentrations of lower-income households on a scale hitherto only experienced in the legacy inner-city high-rise public housing estates.
Bill Randolph, Director, City Futures - Faculty Leadership, City Futures Research Centre, Urban Analytics and City Data, Infrastructure in the Built Environment, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72990
2017-03-20T09:42:10Z
2017-03-20T09:42:10Z
How stubborn ‘nail houses’ take a stand against China’s rapid urbanisation
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158133/original/image-20170223-32718-1g1d4cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/triplefivedrew/5104282303/sizes/l">triplefiveandrew/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A single house balancing precariously in the middle of a construction site may seem like a doomed and fragile structure. But in China, these residences have become a potent symbol of resistance. Known as “dingzihu” in Chinese – which can be translated as “nail house” or “nail household” – buildings like this represent those who, like stubborn nails, defy state-ordered evictions and demolitions by refusing to vacate their properties. </p>
<p>Nail houses came to global attention in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/apr/15/china-nail-houses-in-pictures-property-development">spectacular images</a> published in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. But the practice began earlier, when homeowners in China were granted inviolable rights to their privately-owned property following two important legal changes in <a href="http://www.china.org.cn/china/LegislationsForm2001-2010/2011-02/12/content_21907119.htm">2004</a> and <a href="http://www.lehmanlaw.com/fileadmin/lehmanlaw_com/laws___regulations/Propoerty_Rights_Law_of_the_PRC__LLX__03162007.pdf">2007</a>. </p>
<p>Nail houses have come to possess a special meaning in a country that perceives urbanisation as a vital political, economic and ideological project. Local economies depend heavily on investment in infrastructure and buildings, and growing middle class consumption is <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-whats-going-on-with-chinas-economy-53404">seen as the next engine</a> for China’s economic development. What’s more, urban citizens are considered to be more civilised, or have a higher level of “suzhi” (cultural attainment), and <a href="https://theconversation.com/outdated-urban-passports-still-rule-the-lives-of-chinas-rural-citizens-69920">have better access</a> to public services such as education, health care and housing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161343/original/image-20170317-6113-1s0wyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161343/original/image-20170317-6113-1s0wyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161343/original/image-20170317-6113-1s0wyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161343/original/image-20170317-6113-1s0wyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161343/original/image-20170317-6113-1s0wyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161343/original/image-20170317-6113-1s0wyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161343/original/image-20170317-6113-1s0wyee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Going up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/biwook/390088839/sizes/l">Ioan Sameli/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But building and expanding cities requires big tracts of vacant land for large-scale developments. This results in the demolition of existing homes, neighbourhoods and villages, which don’t fit the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) vision of an urban future. </p>
<h2>Courts and compensation</h2>
<p>Compensation for families whose homes are on the brink of demolition is always a major source of dispute. Offers are based on current valuations of properties, which is likely to be far lower than any of the residences which <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/20413/">replace them</a>. This means that displacement is often inevitable, leading to broken communities and <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442211322/Shanghai-Gone-Domicide-and-Defiance-in-a-Chinese-Megacity">psychological damage from stress and violence</a> and <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/48045/">compelling families</a> to demand financial redress. </p>
<p>Petitions by residents <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/6194/">face limited success</a> in court. The heavy presence of the CPC in every sphere of social and economic life makes it extremely challenging for residents to make successful claims against the state. Court decisions are rarely made against governments, especially in areas where aspiring local governments have removed <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/62608/">regulatory and physical barriers</a> to development. </p>
<p>So instead, nail households endure power cuts, limited services and threats of forced eviction and demolition, in order to gain as much compensation from the government or developers as possible, to ensure their <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/48045/">own survival in an increasingly unequal society</a>. Resisting families are often stigmatised as “selfish” for trying to protect their own interests, at the expense of a greater good for their neighbours and the wider public. </p>
<p>Government authorities also feed this perception with posters, like this one from Guangzhou, which reads: “To protect the interest of homeowners, never surrender to nail houses.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158123/original/image-20170223-32701-1jv0uuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158123/original/image-20170223-32701-1jv0uuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158123/original/image-20170223-32701-1jv0uuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158123/original/image-20170223-32701-1jv0uuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158123/original/image-20170223-32701-1jv0uuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158123/original/image-20170223-32701-1jv0uuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158123/original/image-20170223-32701-1jv0uuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rebel against the rebels!</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hyun Bang Shin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet this kind of impasse is not inevitable. Nail households might not go to such extreme measures if they were consulted and provided with informed choices to upgrade their homes and neighbourhoods, without demolition. Families do not become nail households overnight. Nor is a nail house the outcome of some intrinsic “selfishness” on the part of the protesters. </p>
<p>Rather, families often endure long-term harassment and violence, and succumb to despair when they are unable to resolve disputes. Many residents start out by conducting persistent negotiations with local governments or developers, becoming “nail house embryos”. Over time, feelings harden and residents become more determined, until they are willing to take extreme actions to keep their homes. </p>
<h2>Under pressure</h2>
<p>Much of this can be put down to the process. When a neighbourhood is slated for redevelopment, residents face extreme pressure to move: the local government in charge would organise various bureaus – including public security, planning and propaganda offices – to work closely with neighbourhood leaders, to enforce the timely eviction of local residents. Various financial incentives, as well as direct threats and peer pressure, are designed to speed up the process of eviction. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157487/original/image-20170220-15894-18unvxy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157487/original/image-20170220-15894-18unvxy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157487/original/image-20170220-15894-18unvxy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157487/original/image-20170220-15894-18unvxy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157487/original/image-20170220-15894-18unvxy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157487/original/image-20170220-15894-18unvxy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157487/original/image-20170220-15894-18unvxy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A nail household in Tianjin, north-east China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hyun Bang Shin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this context, nail houses symbolise the inequality and unfairness prevalent in contemporary China. Yet a greater awareness of property rights among urban citizens may empower them so that they are no longer subject to whims of the authoritarian state and single-minded for-profit businesses. Enhanced rights consciousness would also enable them to demand for greater participation in urban planning processes that often exclude the voices of citizens.</p>
<p>If governments, developers and other Chinese citizens can acknowledge the plight of nail households, rather than rejecting and alienating them, it could lead to a fairer system for all. Then, no longer will nail houses stand as towering tombstones for vanished communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hyun Bang Shin receives the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2014S1A3A2044551).</span></em></p>
In a nation where urban living is the ultimate attainment, some households are bracing against the surging tide of development.
Hyun Bang Shin, Associate Professor in Geography and Urban Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/67135
2016-10-18T19:13:37Z
2016-10-18T19:13:37Z
What went wrong with Pokémon Go? Three lessons from its plummeting player numbers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141936/original/image-20161017-14868-32kw5c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pokémon Go's developers may have moved the goalposts too many times.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wachiwit/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pokémon Go is in rapid decline. Since <a href="http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/launch/">launching in July</a> and soaring in popularity, it had <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-22/these-charts-show-that-pokemon-go-is-already-in-decline">lost at least a third of its daily users</a> by the middle of August. By <a href="https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/analysis-pokemon-go/">mid-September</a>, daily revenues had fallen from US$16m per day to US$2m (excluding the 30% app store fee) and daily downloads had declined from a peak of 27 million to 700,000. </p>
<p>Of course, many mobile games – especially ones that trigger a worldwide craze – suffer declines in usage over time. Pokémon Go still <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/09/pokemon-go-just-fine-without/">generates significant revenues</a>. But its precipitous decline has seen it labelled a <a href="http://cw39.com/2016/10/04/looking-back-at-the-fad-that-defined-summer-2016-pokemon-go/">fad</a> and nicknamed “<a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/pokemon-gone-how-pokemon-go-can-bring-back-lapsed-trainers-1329696">Pokémon Gone</a>”.</p>
<p>This raises the question of why usage has dropped so steeply, and what other game companies might do differently to retain users. In my opinion, Pokémon Go’s creators <a href="https://www.nianticlabs.com/">Niantic</a> have made several significant missteps. Here are the lessons that other companies can learn.</p>
<h2>Have a clear avenue to capitalise quickly</h2>
<p>Pokémon Go launched with relatively little actual “game”, and by the end of July was still arguably <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2016/07/26/nearby-tracking-is-still-broken-in-pokemon-go-and-might-be-for-a-while/#a797a8f28a43">missing a lot of features</a>. </p>
<p>The launch version enabled players to collect Pokémon characters while out roaming in the real world. But it featured shallower gameplay than its siblings on Nintendo’s gaming platforms. For example, the mechanisms for battling Pokémon were relatively simplistic, with arbitrary-seeming controls. Furthermore, there was no way for people to interact in real time in the game. This is not a problem if the aim is to get as many players to sign up as possible, but it is an issue when trying to keep them interested.</p>
<p>The developers did not introduce new elements quickly enough to stop players getting bored. So far there has been little in the way of new gameplay aspects, with the most significant addition being in the form of hardware: a Pokémon Go <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/paullamkin/2016/09/09/pokemon-go-plus-wearable-on-sale-16th-september/#32aa02b9644c">wearable device released last month</a>. </p>
<p>The developers have <a href="http://pokemongolive.com/en/post/ver-update-091016/">added a new feature</a> that allows players to choose a “buddy Pokémon” to accompany them in-game, which has had a relatively minor impact on in-game mechanics. But by waiting so long after the game’s launch, the developers have missed an opportunity to capitalise on their existing player base.</p>
<p>The obvious lesson for developers is to have a roadmap to enhance the game and keep players interested, especially when the core game itself is not very deep.</p>
<h2>Do not remove popular features</h2>
<p>Besides failing to introduce new features, Pokémon Go also removed popular ones. This is likely to alienate players, especially if done with little explanation – some commentators have branded the game “<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-go-is-broken-without-tracking/1100-6442282/">broken</a>”.</p>
<p>In Pokémon Go’s case, the feature in question was “Pokémon tracking”. A core aspect of the game is that it creates a virtual representation of the player’s real-world location, which is then populated with Pokémon characters for players to collect by walking around. But to catch Pokémon, players need to know where they are – and without Pokémon tracking, players are left wandering aimlessly and relying on luck to find them.</p>
<p>Pokémon tracking was relatively rudimentary in the game itself, and <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2016/07/26/nearby-tracking-is-still-broken-in-pokemon-go-and-might-be-for-a-while/#3dbb03ba28a4">arguably did not work at all</a>. This led several <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/pokemon-go-update-niantic-facebook-3-step-tool-tracker-map-a7167951.html">third parties</a> to create their own Pokémon tracking apps that became <a href="https://www.cnet.com/au/news/pokemon-go-transparency-niantic-needs-to-communicate-editorial/">crucial</a> to dedicated players. In other words, players accepted the original broken feature because third-party apps let them circumvent it.</p>
<p>However, the developer, Niantic, subsequently disabled these apps by cutting off their data access and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/01/third-party-pokemon-go-tracking-services-get-shut-down/">sending them “cease and desist” orders</a>. This effectively removed a feature that many players regarded as essential.</p>
<p>The developers have arguably repeated this gaffe by <a href="http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/11/guide-play-pokemon-go-0-37-rooted-android-magisk/">disabling</a> the game for players with “rooted” android devices – a relatively common hack that lets phone users change their administrative settings or bypass restrictions imposed by telecommunications providers. </p>
<p>Pokémon Go has banned rooted devices so as to prevent “geo-spoofing”, whereby players cheat the game by using software to fake their location. But while the goal is valid, the implementation clearly has ramifications for many legitimate users.</p>
<p>The clear lesson is that a company should not remove features without first considering how essential they are to the user experience, and without offering an adequate replacement. This lesson applies not just to gaming but to the wider consumer industry; companies should always know what their customers regard as essential, and should never undermine it without putting in place a clear workaround (or ideally, improvement).</p>
<h2>Talk to your customers</h2>
<p>Pokémon Go’s decline has been characterised by a consistent lack of communication. The catalyst was arguably the removal of Pokémon tracking. While far from ideal, this could have been managed with better communication, but instead some players were left so disillusioned that they <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-08-02-after-a-flood-of-negative-feedback-pokemon-gos-developer-is-finally-ready-to-talk">requested refunds</a>. </p>
<p>The developers did not forewarn of major (potentially negative) changes, and did not communicate afterwards, leading to the claim that “<a href="https://www.cnet.com/au/news/pokemon-go-transparency-niantic-needs-to-communicate-editorial/">silence is killing Pokemon Go</a>”.</p>
<p>This has not been an isolated incident; the developers <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/07/21/niantic-and-nintendos-lack-of-communication-about-pokemon-go-issues-is-inexcusable/#75ed0ace2e83">communicated only intermittently</a> about server outages, offering very little information about why they had happened, how long the disruption was expected to last, or whether it was the work of hackers.</p>
<p>The final lesson is here is that communicating with your customers is paramount, particularly when things go wrong. Otherwise, you risk losing their confidence that you care about them and know how to fix the problem. If you have to make unpopular decisions, at least communicate the reason for those decisions and present a plan to assuage consumers’ concerns.</p>
<h2>Where to from here for Pokémon Go?</h2>
<p>This all begs the question: how might Pokémon Go attempt to bounce back? This might be challenging, as Pokémon Go would both need to implement new features and make lapsed (and new) users aware of them. One potential <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/3-pokemon-go-updates-thatll-suck-me-back-in-29458136/">option</a> is to increase social events, perhaps involving rare Pokémon placed in a given area. This might also generate more positive word of mouth, increase user engagement, and drive interest. </p>
<p>Pokémon Go could also expand into other markets, potentially rectifying the aforementioned issues when doing so. This includes a possible <a href="http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/18659/20160916/pok%C3%A9mon-go-release-date-update-niantic-finally-acknowledges-india-generation.htm">expansion</a> into China and India. This would be most effective if additional in-game <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/3-pokemon-go-updates-thatll-suck-me-back-in-29458136/">features</a>, such as in game battling, were implemented. In this case, the game could start from a fresh base in new markets, while improving the game in existing markets.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was amended on October 19, 2016, to note that the Buddy Pokémon feature is already live, and not forthcoming as the article originally stated.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Humphery-Jenner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Since spawning a global craze, Pokémon Go has shed a third of its players, while downloads have dried up. What did the developers do wrong, and what can others learn about keeping gamers happy?
Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/60848
2016-06-10T06:19:58Z
2016-06-10T06:19:58Z
White Bay rethink hinges on who looks out for the public interest in remaking Sydney
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126070/original/image-20160610-10720-gc9g79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The White Bay Power Station is a prime harbourside redevelopment site.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WhiteBayPowerStation_and_RozelleBay.JPG">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The New South Wales government has announced, through its development agency UrbanGrowth, that it will <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/private-proposals-for-white-bay-power-station-rejected-as-nsw-government-seizes-control-20160609-gpf1vl.html">assume the role of master developer of the White Bay Power Station</a> site in Sydney’s inner west. </p>
<p>The announcement on Thursday ended a lengthy request-for-proposals process to develop the site as a “<a href="http://www.urbangrowth.nsw.gov.au/newsroom/urbangrowth-nsw-to-become-master-developer-at-white-bay-power-station/">tech hub</a>”. Following a spectacular launch event on the site last year, 13 proposals were received from complex consortiums, which reportedly included Lend Lease with anchor tenant Google, and Mirvac with Ecoworld.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dlK3Ld1n21I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">UrbanGrowth promoted the White Bay redevelopment as a transformative project to create a new Sydney landmark.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On Thursday, NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This will not be an exercise where government hands over large areas of public land and gives away control, without ensuring good outcomes for the community.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While the NSW opposition is crowing about Premier Mike Baird’s “completely bizarre” turnaround, it’s worth considering what UrbanGrowth NSW chairman John Brogden might have meant <a href="http://www.urbangrowth.nsw.gov.au/newsroom/urbangrowth-nsw-to-become-master-developer-at-white-bay-power-station/">when he said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>While some proposals were strong in certain areas, unfortunately there were no complying proposals that addressed the evaluation criteria to achieve the government’s plan for the site.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What are the grounds for non-compliance?</h2>
<p>So what were these criteria? There are three general evaluation criteria for non-compliance: financial offer; quality of secured tenant; and design.</p>
<p>Across 13 schemes, failure of compliance could have happened in any number of ways. But let’s speculate based on information that is available in the public realm.</p>
<p>Lend Lease’s proposal involved a partnership with Google, one of the most sophisticated tech operators globally. One could assume, then, that compliance failure was not on the grounds of quality of tenant. </p>
<p>Given Lend Lease’s significant experience developing large projects in Australia and internationally, one might also assume that the financial offer, perhaps even in the form of high-density housing as the UrbanGrowth press release suggests, also could not be the grounds for non-compliance. </p>
<p>So by a process of deduction – as good a process as any other given the lack of transparency – we’re left with design as the grounds of non-compliance. </p>
<p>Anyone following the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) <a href="http://www.afr.com/real-estate/reject-packer-tower-planning-experts-tell-pac-20160428-goh7rz">hearings on the proposed casino at Barangaroo</a> will know that this issue – or, rather, the creeping culture of non-compliance of aspects of the project – has dogged the Barangaroo development from the outset. </p>
<p>It is how we find ourselves in a position where the UNESCO-listed Sydney Opera House will now feature, when viewed from the water, the very big casino visible <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/far-from-iconic-packers-casino-shaping-as-a-critical-planning-test-20160407-go0nyn.html">through its sails</a>. </p>
<p>The state government’s taking charge of masterplanning of White Bay, via UrbanGrowth, has to be understood within this context.</p>
<p>And I say that a process of deduction to come to this conclusion is as good as any other process because an incredible lack of transparency characterises all of these projects in the city. A key condition of working with either UrbanGrowth, Lend Lease or the Barangaroo Delivery Authority is the signing of confidentiality clauses. </p>
<p>The sheer scale of these projects in the city right now means that a significant proportion of members of the architecture and planning professions in Sydney are bound to silence. Many of those with a professional responsibility to speak and act in the public interest have been taken out. Those who remain free to speak in the public realm are often ill-informed and, as a result, impotent.</p>
<h2>Now to rebuild trust in public planning</h2>
<p>As a consequence of an environment so poorly informed, the Sydney public is conflating several issues. This was evident in public protests several weeks ago. </p>
<p>The disparate issues include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>rising concern about council amalgamations and a perception that democratic processes are being restricted; </p></li>
<li><p>city transformations as a consequence of the lockout laws and their application; and </p></li>
<li><p>the slow pace of public transport reform and extension, coupled with intensifying congestion in the city. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Contributing to the sense of public frustration is the fact that, through the experience of Barangaroo, “there is a deep cynicism across Sydney that proper planning processes have been bypassed in favour of an agreement made behind closed doors”, as leading planner John McInerney, the chairman of the local Residents Action Group, <a href="http://www.afr.com/real-estate/reject-packer-tower-planning-experts-tell-pac-20160428-goh7rz">told the PAC’s public hearing</a> last month.</p>
<p>“<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-18/casino-mike-baird-targeted-in-sydney-mural/7335842">Casino Mike</a>” and his government are right to be listening to their electorate with their change of position on White Bay.</p>
<p>What all of this starts to indicate, and what UrbanGrowth’s taking up of responsibility for the masterplanning of White Bay suggests, is that the private sector in NSW has lost its agency to deliver projects in the public interest. And the state government will be increasingly damaged by this perception. </p>
<p>Globally, many complex government agency delivery vehicles and public-private partnerships are producing very successful urban renewal projects. Examples include Orestad in Copenhagen and Roosevelt Island in New York. We have to be willing to allow government to take up risk again in the public interest, instead of outsourcing all risk to the private sector.</p>
<p>The fact that the state government has stepped in to take back control of the White Bay redevelopment in the face of design non-compliance is actually an amazing story. One would hope this is a process of learning at work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60848/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tarsha Finney is affiliated with the Australian Institute of Architects.</span></em></p>
The fact that the NSW government has stepped in to take back control of the White Bay redevelopment is actually an amazing story. One would hope this is a process of learning at work.
Tarsha Finney, Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/59765
2016-05-25T15:50:24Z
2016-05-25T15:50:24Z
The Rose and the property developer: a cautionary tale on the perils of hasty urban planning
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124013/original/image-20160525-25213-agzxmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">© The Rose Theatre Trust</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before The Globe, there was <a href="http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/discover/the-history/">The Rose</a>: one of the first purpose-built theatres on London’s Southbank. William Shakespeare’s plays first gained sell-out success on the stage of The Rose. But as other, rival theatre spaces emerged, it fell out of favour. It was abandoned by 1606, and eventually vanished underneath newer layers of London.</p>
<p>All seemed lost, until in 1988, when the owners of Southern House – an uninspiring 1957 office block on Rose Alley – gained planning permission to redevelop the site after agreeing to a routine two-month archaeological dig. In January 1989, near the end of the dig, The Rose was <a href="http://www.mola.org.uk/publications/rose-and-globe-%E2%80%93-playhouses-shakespeares-bankside-southwark-excavations-1988%E2%80%9391">rediscovered</a>, to the astonishment and delight of archaeologists, historians, thespians and theatre lovers. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8waZtFtEUVc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>It became the first Shakespearean theatre to be archaeologically excavated, revealing a classic 14-sided polygon structure, with galleries and an uncovered yard, where poorer viewers could stand in front of the stage. It remains one of the best-preserved and most informative theatre excavations; <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/archive/">The Times described it</a> as the “most exciting archaeological find since Tutankhamun”. </p>
<p>But the archaeologists soon faced a thorny problem: technically, because planning permission had already been granted, the construction of the new building could proceed without any further archaeological work. </p>
<h2>Save the Rose</h2>
<p>Understandably, the acting and theatre community wished to see The Rose preserved. Sir Laurence Olivier gathered support, and household names such as Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judy Dench, Sir Patrick Stewart, Dame Peggy Ashcroft and Alan Rickman joined the “Save the Rose” <a href="http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/discover/the-history/">campaign</a>. American actor Dustin Hoffman even flew over from the US, to see The Rose excavations and lend his support. </p>
<p>The government could have halted the development and preserved The Rose, by declaring it a scheduled ancient monument – this would have put it on the same footing as Stonehenge. But given the cost of compensating the developer, it declined to do so. </p>
<p>Initially, small extensions were given to the archaeologists to continue excavations. Over time, more and more <a href="http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/6822">campaigners gathered</a> outside the building site, culminating with an all-night vigil on May 12 1989 to turn away building contractors. The campaign worked: a further six month excavation took place, and the new building was altered to allow The Rose to be preserved underneath, where it can <a href="http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk">still be visited</a> to this day. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124001/original/image-20160525-25213-1bjih1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124001/original/image-20160525-25213-1bjih1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124001/original/image-20160525-25213-1bjih1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124001/original/image-20160525-25213-1bjih1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124001/original/image-20160525-25213-1bjih1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124001/original/image-20160525-25213-1bjih1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124001/original/image-20160525-25213-1bjih1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Rose Theatre today.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© The Rose Theatre Trust.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the end, the developer and government spent an additional £11m on further archaeological research and redesigned the new building to accommodate the theatre. As many archaeologists pointed out, if an assessment had taken place before planning permission was granted, the developer could have made plans for the archaeological work and possible building alterations. The Rose was one of a number of sites to encounter this problem. </p>
<p>A year later the government introduced new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PPG_16">planning guidance</a>, which fundamentally changed the role of archaeologists. Under the new guidance (and its subsequent <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/hpg/decisionmaking/NPPF/">replacements</a>), archaeology became part of the planning process. Site assessments by archaeological professionals prior to planning permission became the norm.</p>
<h2>Still in danger</h2>
<p>But today, the proposed Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill could raise the same problems all over again. As part of a drive to build 250,000 much-needed new homes a year, the bill aims to “reform and speed up the planning process by minimising delays caused by pre-commencement planning conditions”. In particular, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/18/what-to-expect-from-the-queens-speech/">The Telegraph</a> suggests that “archaeological and wildlife surveys” will be “swept away” once this law is passed. This could very well put archaeological sites in danger of destruction, or risk great costs to developers. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.archaeologists.net/">Archaeological organisations</a> have mobilised, <a href="http://new.archaeologyuk.org/news/cba-writes-to-planning-minister-regarding-new-neighbourhood-planning-and-infrastructure-bill">seeking confirmation</a> of the government’s intentions. Already, <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/130783">a petition</a> to parliament highlighting the danger to archaeology has gathered more than 13,000 signatures. <a href="http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5557bc147d34993782f185bde&id=83a93e9a63">Archaeological newsletters</a> suggest that archaeologists feel they are being used as scapegoats for the housing crisis. </p>
<p>In fact, there are <a href="http://www.civitas.org.uk/publications/the-housing-question/">many other factors</a> which have contributed to the UK’s housing shortage. In reality, less than 1% of planning applications need archaeological work <a href="https://csweb.bournemouth.ac.uk/aip/ppg16/Part1.pdf">to take place</a> – so getting rid of the guidance is unlikely to fast-track a vast swathe of projects. And doing this work before granting planning permission ensures that there are no expensive delays or surprises for the developer. </p>
<p>Many <a href="https://www.historicengland.org.uk/news-and-features/news/25years-archaeological-discovery">exciting archaeological discoveries</a> have rewritten England’s story since the discovery of The Rose – the majority due to planning conditions. Indeed, another Elizabethan theatre – <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3594788/Dig-theater-Shakespeare-worked-uncovers-surprise.html">The Curtain</a> in London – is currently being excavated. In this case, archaeologists got involved early in the planning process; evaluating the site, undertaking trial excavations and enabling the archaeology to take centre stage in the development.</p>
<p>Removing or watering down archaeology’s place in the planning process will undoubtedly lead future generations to ask once more – how was this situation allowed to occur?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59765/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Morris works for University of Central Lancashire and consults to Museum of London Archaeology. He receives funding from Historic England and City of London Archaeological Trust. He is a member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and Council for British Archaeology. </span></em></p>
In an attempt to speed up the planning process, the government has introduced a new law which could put Britain’s heritage at risk.
James Morris, Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Central Lancashire
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/56250
2016-03-16T13:10:53Z
2016-03-16T13:10:53Z
Should more of us be building our own homes?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115127/original/image-20160315-9250-o3cv7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vadim Ratnikov/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More and more people of all ages are unable to buy their <a href="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-2968673/Homeownership-England-falls-2-hit-lowest-level-29-years-high-house-prices-lock-young.html">own home</a> in Britain, and there is no denying the country is in the grip of a nationwide housing crisis. </p>
<p>The main “solutions” <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-homebuying/2010-to-2015-government-policy-homebuying">put forward by the government</a> so far have focused on how to encourage the house building industry to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/feb/25/uk-housebuilding-new-homes-construction-high-2008">build more homes, and faster</a>. But we need to move away from these traditional notions of developer-led housing and instead encourage more <a href="http://www.selfbuildportal.org.uk/">self-building</a>.</p>
<p>Already in Britain self-builders <a href="http://www.greenbooks.co.uk/the-green-self-build-book">build more homes</a> than the largest individual house-builder, but despite these figures, it is still considered a marginal activity and an individual choice rather than a potential <a href="http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1386094/measures-boost-self-build-impact-council-planning-teams">large-scale policy solution</a>. </p>
<p>This is short sighted because <a href="https://theconversation.com/tackling-the-housing-crisis-by-building-your-own-home-47435">self-build is a good way to develop more</a> appropriate housing which meets residents’ demands and desires while also being affordable. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115154/original/image-20160315-9235-1h9jsxs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115154/original/image-20160315-9235-1h9jsxs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115154/original/image-20160315-9235-1h9jsxs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115154/original/image-20160315-9235-1h9jsxs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115154/original/image-20160315-9235-1h9jsxs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115154/original/image-20160315-9235-1h9jsxs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115154/original/image-20160315-9235-1h9jsxs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Self building – coming to a hillside near you?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/nature-sunset-cottage-sunrise-42152/">Stefan Stefancik/Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <a href="http://www.selfbuildportal.org.uk/latest-news/111-uk-should-follow-europe-in-right-to-self-build">European countries</a> self-build is the norm; in France and Belgium it accounts for about 50% of all new building and in Sweden about a third of new house building is self-built – compare that with England where the figure stands at <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/file/35697/download?token=japMTs9e">less than 10%</a>. </p>
<p>We are crying out for more self-build housing in Britain, not only as a way to address the housing shortage but also as a way to deliver <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/04/when-it-comes-to-a-shift-to-low-carbon-energy-key-players-need-a-history-lesson">low carbon lifestyles</a> – something conventional house construction has failed to do. </p>
<h2>Close to home</h2>
<p>What is considered self-build varies <a href="http://www.selfbuildportal.org.uk/case-studies">internationally</a>, but it is generally when a resident has built all or part of their home, sometimes working with or employing others during the build. In Australia, for example, the term <a href="http://www.alternatedwellingshomes.com.au/">custom build</a> more accurately describes how a lot of new houses are built. </p>
<p>With custom build, a developer offers two or three design options and the customer chooses a design and the number of different rooms they want. The difference between self-build and custom-build is the level of resident responsibility, organising and interaction. But all varieties offer useful options for the provision of more affordable housing. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115128/original/image-20160315-9279-gze7ps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to build a house of straw.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jcestnik/6941733087/in/photolist-c37fH-oyaCak-9ohP5e-ehW8ys-ehQnSa-ehW4vj-ehQm8a-ehQjAP-ehW6Ef-ehQkCD-ehQmoc-nDLgMX-5uCJk2-ehWr2L-9ohzvX-bwtLHM-ehWs11-ehQG4P-bfcUGv-bzqcpe-ehW73j-e5SdVE-ogXtTr-ogXvZR-ogWA3q-ogWAaQ-owpFJU-9okEjQ-9okMJy-92xHA1-9okNXj-ehQGRD-ehQGDM-ehVPTf-ehVQcQ-3EicUL-ogX2D3-ehVQyu-2BEHs-oyendG-9ohF8i-27kRTG-9ohJHF-7qbqur-iR4b7-9rC2xD-iR623-9rDtCw-4ztQF8-qTB3ZX">Jenny Cestnik/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people build their own homes with limited building experience, but are keen to get involved because they get to choose the layout, materials and aesthetics of their home – plus self-build is often a much <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2450911/Grand-Designs-house-time-buyers--41k-3-bed-home.html">cheaper</a> way to get on the housing ladder. </p>
<p>With residents taking on all, or some of, the jobs themselves and moving away from reliance on the brick – the use of cheaper and quicker methods like <a href="http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Prefabrication">prefabricated systems</a>, <a href="http://www.criticalcactus.com/beautiful-recycled-homes/">reclaimed materials</a>, or <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31156579">straw-bales</a> can reduce costs and cut out the need for a company to make a profit.</p>
<p>The significant cost of land can be also mitigated with self-build by developing <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13156583.Study_reveals_huge_benefits_of_community_land_ownership/">communal land ownership structures</a> that make it available for affordable housing. And costs can be lowered even further <a href="http://www.granby4streetsclt.co.uk/10-house-project">when a collective</a> builds homes, such as co-housing groups, who share the purchase of land, infrastructure and building. </p>
<h2>Building for the future</h2>
<p>Despite the low number of self-builds, Britain already has a broad variety of homes built in this way – from the large detached houses featured on programmes such as <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs">Grand Designs</a> to numerous <a href="https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/a-small-self-build-on-a-tiny-budget/">small homes</a> crafted from low-cost, natural or reclaimed materials. </p>
<p>In an attempt to create housing for local residents some <a href="http://www.selfbuildportal.org.uk/latest-news/350-plymouth-city-council">councils</a> have started to allocate land for self-build housing, and <a href="http://www.plotbrowser.com/plotbrowser.cgi?county=Pembrokeshire">others</a> have created exemptions in <a href="http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content.asp?id=4976">planning legislation</a> that allow certain forms of self-building in places normally denied building permission. </p>
<p>To tackle the housing crisis we need a complete rethink of the way we build houses in Britain. Self-building shouldn’t be for the reserve of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/tackling-the-housing-crisis-by-building-your-own-home-47435">mega rich</a>, or those looking for a project <a href="http://www.self-build.co.uk/efficient-low-cost-home-for-retirement">in retirement</a>. Instead young people, families, couples, anyone should be able to build their own home.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115129/original/image-20160315-9265-b3i6lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shipping containers: homes of the future?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lorigami/3814074265/in/photolist-6P38p8-is2Xqi-is24at-5LDsTX-froGke-eEcivG-is2WQk-is2Cmj-kvGrjM-5FJ2uH-de124v-23rDNy-hjDPVK-67szwA-hjDLZK-bZYDgq-hjEeLE-nmpK1p-e7nKJB-ei1QU2-is2DbA-owEv5U-is2Xiz-is2XPe-is2Cpf-is2CZo-is2msU-is2mfj-7iYkJP-7iYmuZ-7iYm1M-7iYjXz-7iYkeZ-ei1QVM-7Lkq39-cLeUyY-hjEf8m-hjFfjF-7Lks4u-7Lkrgu-7Lkorj-hjEjkm-ny2oph-7LgsBa-oSTEKk-7LgrAa-7HrMek-7LkprS-7LkrZ1-7Lknim/">lorigami/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We need to look to our European neighbours to learn a thing or two about self-building and shared ownership. We need to learn how to minimise the amount of materials required by building smaller individuals houses with shared communal space for gardens, laundry, workshops and storage. </p>
<p>And instead of purchasing freehold we could roll out more stakeholder ownership models – just like <a href="http://www.lilac.coop/">Lilac</a> in Leeds. At Lilac costs are linked to ability to pay and residents only pay a housing charge equivalent to 35% of their net income. Meaning the higher earners subsidise those on lower incomes. </p>
<p>With a rise in self-build housing we could build our way out of the current housing crisis – but maybe more importantly, we could also avoid a repeat of it in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56250/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Pickerill received funding from The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for the research on which this article is based. </span></em></p>
The housing crisis has scuppered home ownership dreams for many across the UK, but there is another way to do things.
Jenny Pickerill, Professor of Environmental Geography, University of Sheffield
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.