Recently 800 residents from across the metropolitan area took part in RAC’s Urban Planning and Connected Communities survey, exploring how planning influences our daily lives.
The survey found support for more housing diversity and choice, but planning must ensure our communities remain great places to live.
People want to be connected, be part of a community, close to shopping centres, essential services and local amenities. Access to public transport remains a high priority and affordable services a must.
While higher density apartment buildings are considered most suitable in and around the Perth CBD and major activity centres, there is support for medium density developments of between one and four storeys, around train stations, shopping centres, smaller suburban activity centres and along high frequency corridors.
While being open to the benefits of increasing density, there remains the underlying worry about its impacts.
While 55 per cent feel more infill should be built in Perth and Peel to better manage congestion and improve access to a range of transport options, concerns remain about the impact of increased local traffic, overcrowding, noise, and a reduction in privacy.
Clearly planning and development decisions can have major repercussions. It is important to work with local communities to understand their concerns.
With a case for change, an engaged community, and a way forward, clearly the time to address these challenges is now — before they develop into an urgent and reactive necessity.
The goal is to ensure that decisions about urban development lead to density done well.
This means planning and designing developments at the right scale, at the right time, and ultimately in the right space.
