Visions vary on city’s future

Both sides of politics have traded jibes over their visions for the River City.
Brisbane would become a “sardine city” under Labor’s Soviet-style housing density targets, according to LNP infrastructure and planning spokesman Dave Gibson.
And the Labor leader in City Hall, Cr Shayne Sutton, said a joint State Government and Brisbane City Council announcement to develop a River City blueprint was “just the gracious and leafy Brisbane suburbs, especially those along rail and bus corridors would be destroyed under Labor’s South East Queensland Regional Plan (SEQRP) which dictated high-density housing.
Mr Gibson said Labor’s SEQRP had been embroiled in controversy, with Labor mates facing CMC inquires, and local residents and suburban groups up in arms over the destruction of their suburbs and lifestyles.
“The biggest worry is the high-rise, high-density housing that Labor wants to force into our suburbs,” Mr Gibson said. “Queensland families want a backyard …not a balcony twenty stories up,” he said.
“No one wants to be forced into a ‘sardine city’ type lifestyle that Labor is proposing and already we’ve seen that market demand for high-rise in the suburbs is far less than Labor’s targets. “Growth in Brisbane and the South East should be driven by market fundamentals – buyer’ choice, market conditions, and dwelling and location preferences, not by Soviet era style housing targets.”
“Labor’s spin that high-rise development is better for the environment, reduces traffic and travel time, isn’t necessarily supported by the facts.
Councillor Sutton said it was essential the Blueprint prioritised more active transport river crossings.
“If we are serious about congestion busting we must prioritise other forms of transport to help Brisbane residents move around the city more easily,” Cr Sutton said.
“Pedestrian and cycling bridges are a win for everybody. They are cheaper to construct, encourage people to be more active and by decreasing car use, they are better for the environment.”
“If Brisbane is to become a New World City, we need New World infrastructure that will help us beat traffic congestion and keep our city active, healthy and green.”
Mr Gibson said a 2007 report by the Australian Conservation Foundation (Consuming Australia), found that in almost all Australian cities, higher density housing produced higher per-capita greenhouse emissions and had larger environmental footprints than outer suburbs, despite the greater access to public transport.
“Opportunities for relatively efficient, compact living appear to be overwhelmed by the energy and water demands of modern urban living, such as airconditioning, spa baths, down lighting and luxury electronics and appliances, as well as by a higher proportion of individuals living alone or in small households.
“Suburban homes traditionally have a higher number of people per household than high-rise developments.
“Labor’s spin that high-density developments are somehow more environmentally sustainable shouldn’t be accepted on face value.