The urban sanctuary the vital importance of green space

A new report from the Total Environment Centre (TEC) points clearly to the importance of green spaces in the urban environment, and points equally clearly at the progressive failure of planners and their political masters in all tiers of government to effectively maintain or increase them. The examples of such loss in the TEC report are staggering.

The end game of this trend? Increased urban density with no lungs, no play space, and no biodiversity. Also a greatly diminished aesthetic.

This report is a focus point for various voices over recent years – Elizabeth Farrelly, Michael Mobbs, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Nature Conservation Council, and yours truly. But will this make any impression upon those in government who are currently allowing development to squeeze out green space? (Probably not, unless we make a noise with it.)

Will a new gambling den at Barangaroo take precedence over the original promise of a harbour side park for Sydney? (Probably not, although the NSW Govt’s recent experiences in ICAC might yet offer some hope.)

Will Campbell Newman continue to encourage developers to trample bushland around Brisbane? (Unlikely, unless the Qld voters give him the boot first.)

Will Colin Barnett let up in his ongoing fetish with a gas hub with port expansion and industry for Broome? (Unlikely, but the people of the Kimberley have bloodied his nose before today!)

And, apart from Clover Moore’s valiant efforts to hold the NSW Government to account, will any local government stand fast against such pressure? Well, yes they can and will, and Clover isn’t alone in doing so.

Many councils around Australia are holding fast to their well prepared local plans. Pity Broome Council isn’t one of them, but many locals there are continuing to take a stand and hold the council to its commitments. Ask what your local council is doing – and hold them to their promises, let them know you are in solidarity with them.

The TEC report is great reading in any case, and shows what we could be doing, what can be achieved, and how critical it is for the benefit of all life forms. We just need to take the long view, way beyond the developer’s immediate return on investment. After all, who really ‘owns’ land, if not the whole human race, on behalf of ours and all species, for all time?

[Images from the TEC Report, which can be found here, or by clicking the links highlighted in the text above: http://www.tec.org.au/images/reports/TUS_report_Web.pdf]

This entry was posted on Monday, August 18th, 2014 at 5:45 pm