High Density Means High Employment

I’ve just read a great editorial by Ryan Avent in the New York Times called ‘One Path to Better Jobs: More Density in Cities’

Ryan defines the things that make a city a city and a not-city a not-city is the fact that a city is dense and a not-city isn’t.  And, he argues that when it comes to economic growth and the creation of jobs, the denser the city the better and that density brings many benefits.

Economists studying cities routinely find that after controlling for other variables, workers in denser places earn higher wages and are more productive. Some studies suggest that doubling density raises productivity from between 6 and 28 percent and other economists have concluded that more than half the variation in output per worker across the United States can be explained by density alone.

I’ve always thought that higher density (compared to suburban sprawl) is good for the economic viability of cities and here’s some more support for that proposition.  So, there’s another reason why strata and community title development, ownership and living is a good thing.

Ryan Avent is also the author of the Kindle Single “The Gated City” from which his editorial was adapted.

Francesco …. 

Graffiti Becomes More Socially Complex (and Important)

Graffiti has many dimensions (good and bad) and there are polarised opinions about it.  But regardless of your view, graffiti is becoming becoming more varied and complex in cities around the world.  And as life in urban areas comes under increasing scrutiny and analysis so does the graffiti that appears in those locations.

This recent article by Sosseh Valentine Taimoorian on the Sustainable Cities Collective website is a great example of this analysis.  It considers a few of the newer graffiti artists that have emerged and discusses how their intentions and actions affect society in positive ways.

It’s a fascinating piece and, also, highlights some great street art.

And, this article in the New York Times, Adam Magourney argues that the surge in US graffiti is more about pop culture than ever before and is causing financial hardship for municipalities in tough economic times.

Francesco …

The Pushbike as an Urbanist Weapon

We can all see the buzz around pushbikes in cities as a ‘new’ solution to urban transport, congestion, health and environmental problems.  And, that’s all true and fair enough.

But this fascinating article by Kasey Klimes called The Real Reason why Bicycles are the Key to Better Cities argues a more subtle and interesting benefit of increased pushbike use in urban and city areas.

Kasey argues that the most vital element for the future of our cities is that “the bicycle is an instrument of experiential understanding” because on a pushbike, people experience their city with much more intimacy than when travelling in car, bus or train.  And it’s often happening for the very first time.

So, that to a cyclist livability isn’t an abstract concept, it’s an experience.

As they cycle around they see the intricacies of land use and transportation relationships, how density helps urban sustainability, how urban sprawl is economically flawed, the way motorways shred the urban fabric, where land use is working and where it’s not, what real people are doing and how interesting things are when you slow down as you pass them. 

Kasey likens the pushbike to a “secret weapon of the urban renaissance” because too few people see the problems, and even fewer understand the solutions.


Maybe pushbikes will bring enlightenment about what makes better cities?


See you on your bike in the city again soon.




Francesco …

Living in Tiny Little Spaces

I’ve blogged a few times about the tiny apartments in which some people live.

But, apartments are only one type of small space that people live in _  happily, proudly and economically.

If you’re interested in seeing what increased density housing really means for living spaces then why not check out and follow the Tiny House Blog?

There’s some fascinating things there about the way to live in less space.  Apart from all the other benefits, it certainly makes things a lot simpler (and cheaper).  


Like this tiny 47 square meter (505 sq ft) apartment in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter that Marta Barceló, her husband and son live in.

See you in a small apartment soon.

Francesco …

Sustainable Strata Buildings are Growing Like Tulips

The whole world is focused on reducing energy use and making buildings sustainable.

So, there’s more and more proposals for green buildings ranging from simple to wild.  But, what I’m interested in the residential ones so, here’s another one from Netherlands called Zuidkas.

It’s commissioned by the Government Buildings Agency in the Netherlands, Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter‘s design is centered around a rooftop-based ecosystem that will sustain and enrich the structure’s offices, homes, school, and restaurants in addition to a park, a biogas electrical plant and retail facilities.

Energy consumption is one of the key issues taken into consideration in the design. The residential units are designed to accommodate energy spikes during the morning and evenings, while the office spaces take advantage of steady rates through the middle of the day. The goal is to maintain energy efficiency throughout the building at different times during the day, providing the most efficient energy use while reducing waste.

The building will be encased in a glass shell that is designed to act as a buffer against elements of heat and cold. Additionally, plant waste from the greenhouse and toilet water from the building will be collected and sent to an on-site co-fermentation plant to be converted into biogas that will heat the tap water and parts of the structure.

It’s another example of what can (and should) be done in residential strata.

So, see you in a green(er) strata building soon.

Francesco …

These People Should be Certified

Private certification of medium and high rise apartment development has been around for about 12 years in NSW and has copped a lot of criticism.

By privatising government regulation it opened the way for more efficiency and choice but (unfortunately) it also created opportunities for more genuine mistakes, more negligence, the temptation of undue influence and corruption.

But, there are some controls and things affected owners can do.

The Building Professionals Board monitors, regulates and disciplines certifiers and can accept and investigate complaints from anyone.  It has a very comprehensive website that contains the Disciplinary Register and reports summarising selected Complaints & Investigations.

In the latest report a few high rise cases are highlighted.

In one case, the certifier failed to identify that a car park was open deck and did not properly determine the building height, thereby certifying an apartment building which did not have sprinklers in the building and carpark, one fire exit instead of two, no fire control facility, no emergency warning system and no intercommunication system. After action by the Building Professionals Board, the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal reprimanded and fined the certifier $15,000.

In another case, a certifier did not properly ensure that fire safety measures were met in an apartment block and certifying tulip style door handles when they should have been single downward action handles.  The certifier argued that he relied on certificates provided by installers and the owner.  Interestingly, the ADT said that “an accredited certifier is expected to be skeptical of the reliability of a certificate presented by a trade supplier or installer as these document may be affected by a lack of detachment and partiality”.  The ADT reprimanded and fined the certifier $5,000.

And, in another case, a certifier did not properly certify two apartment buildings by making errors on separation distances between openings and boundaries, exit door swing directions, exit obstructions, inadequate exit signage and the fire rating of floor coverings.  The ADT decided that this certifier did not properly understand the public responsibility of his role and did not adequately manage certification (relying on others, delegating responsibility and not carrying out inspections). The ADT cancelled the certifiers licence, banned him from reapplying for 2 years, disqualified him from working in a certifiers office for 5 years and fined the certifier $12,000.

And the Disciplinary Register records the following since 2007 –

• 66 certifiers have been disciplined
• 32 of those certifiers have had more than one disciplinary actions
• One certifier has been disciplined 25 times
• The worst sanction against a certifier was a $15,000 fine and cancellation of their licence 

None of this is good news and it confirms anecdotal views about the (poor) quality of come certifiers.  But, it also demonstrates that complaints can result in action, that the Building Professionals Board is doing something and that the Australian Decisions Tribunal is making decisions that reflect common sense about the certifiers’ role.  

And, maybe some of those ADT decisions will also help civil legal actions by strata corporations against certifiers.

Francesco …

Building Quality Issues make Front Page News

In last week’s Australian Financial Review (7 April 2011) Ben Hurley reported about the perennial issue of the poor quality of high density building construction and defect claims about those buildings in an article called “The Lows of High Rise”.

A variety of strata experts and groups are quoted in the article which makes the following interesting points –

• Government often fails to include or recognise strata schemes in legal initiatives (like Queensland flood relief)
• Owners in some larger strata schemes are paying for community infrastructure (like road, street lighting and drains) without getting rate relief
• Many owners don’t understand the shortcomings of strata ownership
• Building certification has let strata owners down badly over the last decade
• Consumer protections for building quality for free standing home owners don’t apply in many buildings over 3 storeys where Home Owners Warranty does not exist
• Strata schemes are losing more cases (or finding more builders going into liquidation)
• Strata owners need to co-operate to get good outcomes when building defects occur

All these things are true and worth reminding everyone about.

But, it’s about time the critical issue of building defects makes the front page (and I hope it continues to do so) so that awareness increases and changes are made to improve consumer protections.

I’ve been involved in making defect claims for a long time and seen owner’s rights get watered down and eroded.  It’s wrong and I’m committed to trying to improve  outcomes on building quality issues for owners.

After all, when people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) for a new apartment they are entitled to expect and get a properly constructed building, for the building to comply with all building controls and standards and to be able to use their apartment in comfort, safety and securely.

So, see you in your defect free apartment and strata scheme soon.

Francesco … 

Here in Noosa there’s plenty of Good Strata

The Queensland Sunshine Coast is well known for long and lonely beaches, great resorts, boating waters and sunshine.  It’s heavenly.

And from a real estate perspective, the Sunshine Coast is also strata heaven.

In the Sunshine Coast Noosa Heads is the centre of all that (sunshine and strata) activity and since I’m here for the CTIQ 2011 Conference I thought I’d highlight some strata features.

Firstly, there’s a lot of high density buildings that are used for residential, commercial and tourist purposes.  In Hastings Street (the main street of Noosa Heads) there’s over 70 medium and highrise buildings in less than 900 metres.

Here’s a link to an interactive geo map of the region showing buildings of over 3 storeys … and there’s more like this.

Secondly, there’s a lot of strata managers.  The local phone directory lists over ## strata managers in the area.

Thirdly, the local council (the Sunshine Coast Council) supports medium and high density real estate development.  They have developed sophisticated planning models and processes that, when viewed, facilitate high quality development (see their website page on planning controls).

Fourthly, everyone here is a supporter of strata title, medium and high density real estate.  They see it as one of the things that have improved the region and their lives.

It’s nice to see such universal support for strata and higher density living and such good outcomes.

I recommend everyone come to Noosa Heads and see what can be achieved with good medium and high density real estate development.

Francesco ….

Schemes within Schemes

In there’s an interesting trend in more complex integrated developments that the latest figures in community title schemes reveal.

In NSW there’s currently –

• 589 Community Schemes           
• 24 Precinct Schemes           
• 1295 Neighbourhood schemes
• 69565 Strata Schemes

Neighbourhood schemes also split into –

• 1064 stand alone Neighbourhood Schemes
• 230 Neighbourhood Schemes in a Community Scheme

There’s 644 subsidiary Strata Schemes within a Community Scheme.

And, there’s 20228 strata lots in Community Schemes

These figures reveal that strata schemes within a community scheme have an average size of 31 lots per scheme. This compares to an average of 10 lots for strata schemes generally.

So, whilst the number of community plans remains quite low in comparison to the overall number of strata schemes, the size and scale of community schemes make them an important subdivision option.

And, it seems that larger strata corporations are becoming concentrated in multi-tier and layered developments. Which means the focus of managers, service providers and regulators needs to shift (or bifurcate) towards this more complex and challenging buildings.

So, see you at the multi-scheme meeting/s.

Francesco …

That’s Not a Strata Scheme … According to the NSW Planning Court

In Hillsdale, Sydney there’s a 30 year old block of apartments and house on a large (5636 sqm) block of land which is ripe for redevelopment.

Although the Botany Bay City Council approved development of the site in 2009 into a new 76 apartment complex with basement parking, the owner applied for approval of a smaller scale development. 

The new development involved upgrading the existing building, splitting the house into two dwellings, re-organising the car park to create 34 resident parking spaces and 4 visitors spaces, and a variety of associated building improvements.  This development would increase the site density from 33 dwellings to 34 and add 6 car parking spaces.

But, the Council would not approve it.  Arguing that to allow redevelopment of the site into only 34 dwellings when it could be 76 preserved an obsolete building, prevented it from achieving it’s strategic plans for higher density in that area and (as a strata scheme) it restricted the opportunities for future development of the site.

The Court agreed saying that the strata subdivision into 34 strata lots will virtually permanently remove the site from prospects of redevelopment and that development was both inconsistent and antipathetic to the requirements of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (NSW) 1979 in relation to “the orderly and economic use and development of land”.

It’s also an interesting case because unusually the Council wanted more development on the site than the owner.

This case reference is Marana Developments v Botany Bay City Council [2010] NSWLEC 1237 decided by the NSW Land & Environment Court, 3 September 2010 and you can find it here.

I’ve also prepared another Casewatch on this important decision which you can read at my professional website here.  Casewatch is an easy to understand summary of the more important strata cases in Australia.

Francesco …

Buildings that Reflect what Happens Inside

Sometimes even the best designed buildings are a bit boring.  But what if the outside of  buildings revealed what was going on inside? I got the idea from this photo of the carpark of the Kansas City Public Library that's partially concealed by the a wall of giant book spines.  It's a striking feature of Kansas CIty's downtown, running along the library carpark on 10th Street.  The book spines are 25 feet high and 9 feet wide and show 22 titles suggested by library members. It's pretty cool. What if the outside of other buildings reflected what went on inside like - Office buildings that look like computers, filing cabinets, and stationery Banks that look like vaults, banknotes and coins Restaurants that look like stacks of plates, glasses, napkins and cutlery Mechanics workshops that look like car parts Francesco ...

Vroom Vroom …. Strata Car Sharing

What have cars got to do with strata buildings?

In fact, there’s a lot.  And, one of the more recent (and interesting) is how strata buildings and owners can take advantage of the car sharing.

Car sharing is a convenient and reliable way use a car without the cost and hassle of car ownership by booking car use online for an hour or a day and picking the car up from convenient nearby locations.  People join a car share scheme, get a smart cards (which acts as a car key) and after booking online or by phone, pick up a car from reserved green bays on nearby streets … and returns it to the same reserved space.  Hourly costs usually range between $6 - $10, plus costs per kilometer.

There are already more than four thousand people in the City of Sydney in car share schemes and over 200 cars available in reserved parking spaces in the Sydney local area.

Sydney City Council supports the program and has made 180 public spaces available for car sharing. 

But, of course, many strata buildings could also provide hundreds more car parking spaces for car sharing.

Car sharing is good for people since there’s no need to own a car, no need to worry or hunt for a parking spot, low rates by the hour, reduces demand for new cars, encourages more sustainable travel using public transport, walking and cycling.  So, it’s good for the environment. 

But it’s also good for strata buildings as it helps residents without cars and can raise money for the strata corporation to help reduce owner levies. 

One car share vehicle can replace up to ten private vehicles that would otherwise compete for local parking space.

There are a few operators of car sharing in Sydney including –

Charter Drive

Flexicar

GoGet

Creen Carshare

See you when I drop of my car share Prius off tomorrow.

Francesco ….

Melbourne Wins on Liveability (Again)

In the never ending competition between Melbourne and Sydney, Melbourne wins another round.

The annual survey of world cities Liveability by the Economist Intelligence Unit have just been released and Melbourne claims second place whilst Sydney was in seventh place.

Vancouver topped the list of the world's most liveable cities for the fifth straight year.  The top 10 rankings are as follows.

1. Vancouver, Canada

2. Melbourne, Australia

3. Vienna, Austria

4. Toronto, Canada

5. Calgary, Canada

6. Helsinki, Finland

7. Sydney, Australia

8. (equal) Perth, Australia

8. (equal) Adelaide, Australia

10. Auckland, New Zealand

And, interestingly some of the world best know cities are well down the rankings as follows.

16th - Paris

18th - Tokyo

31st - Hong Kong

44th - Los Angeles

53rd - London

56th -  New York

72nd - Beijing

The Economist report says that "Mid-sized cities in developed countries with relatively low population densities tend to score well by having all the cultural and infrastructural benefits on offer with fewer problems related to crime or congestion".  That’s an interesting observation in the context of increasing densities in almost all cities and a warning that those increases need to be managed carefully to preserve liveability.

Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, was the worst rated city just below the Bangladesh, capital of Dhaka.

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey ranks cities based on 30 factors such as healthcare, culture and environment, and education and personal safety.

So, congratulations Melbourne.  


At least Sydney beat Adelaide and Perth (but only just).

Francesco …

Go ... and Get Urbanised

The design of cities is a serious business for planners.  And, it make a difference to everyone who lives and works in them.

So, it's always interesting when someone popularises the issues and makes them accessible to us.

Urbanized is a new documentary by Gary Hustwit currently in production about the design of cities. 

Urbanized looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design, featuring some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers. Gary's been traveling around the world interviewing people and filming specific urban design projects that represent the issues facing cities today. 

And, Gary has set up a Kickstarter project to help raise funds to complete the film.

Check it out and watch out for the finished documentary.

Francesco …

What Makes Cities (and Buildings) Liveable?

I was reading the Australian Government’s discussion paper Our Cities and was intrigued by their identification of the things that make a city liveable.

They say that that “liveability” is “the way the urban environment supports the quality of life and wellbeing” including “mental and physical health, happiness and life satisfaction plus supportive social community relationships”. 

And according to the Australian Government the key factors for cities are –

• Balancing infill and green-field development
• Facilitating the supply of appropriate housing
• Supportive affordable living
• Improving transport options and reducing our dependence on private vehicles
• Improving the quality of the public domain
• Improving public health outcomes
• Redressing spatially concentrated social disadvantage

You can read more about these issues (and the Government’s approach to them) in the discussion paper.

On a different dimension the Economist Intelligence Unit runs the world cities Liveability Index every year and ranks cities on 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories –

• stability
• healthcare
• culture and environment
• education
• infrastructure

Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. 

You can read more about these factors in their summary report.

But what are the factors that make a strata building liveable?  Are they the same, similar or different?  And, if not the same should they reflect the same themes?

I’m not sure but am certainly ready to start a debate.  So, my strata building liveability factors are as follows. 

Location - The building location suit a variety of occupiers’ needs – with access to work, transport, living, health, education and entertainment needs.

Built form - The configuration and construction of the building provides for safe, comfortable, private and useful separate accommodation and matching shared spaces.

Maintenance – The building is in good order and maintenance is ubiquitous (in that it happens without people noticing except in unusual circumstances).

Expenses - The steady state operational costs should match the socio-economic mix and capacities of owners and occupiers.

Disputes – Whenever conflicts arise they are resolved quickly in fair and transparent ways.

Commerciality - Buying, selling and leasing in the building is trouble free.

Adaptation - Longer term maintenance and building upgrades are regularly considered and (if agreed) promptly implemented.

Socialisation – Occupiers have opportunities to interact with each other on different matters.

There may be others too.  But, I think that if you could rate your building over 3 stars (out of 5) on all these it would be a pretty good place.

What do you think? What makes your building liveable (or not)?

Francesco …