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Perth’s shrunken gardens
If there is one design feature that Australia’s new suburbs have in common, it is an absence of garden space. In fact according to Queensland researcher, Professor Tony Hall, the past 10 years has seen private amenity space largely disappear from the rear of new suburban houses.
The change is characterised by an increase in plot coverage from 30–40% to 50–60% or even more. Only Adelaide has shown any tendency to hang on to back gardens.
In the rest of the capital cities, and in particular Perth, large gardens with trees are now confined to the inner suburbs. Prof Hall says it is also uniquely an Australian trend. Back gardens continue to be a standard feature in North America, Northern Europe and New Zealand.
“This trend represents a loss that has serious ecological implications,” he says. “It also raises important questions about lifestyles changing for the worse, a trend rendered permanent by the changes to the housing stock.” Writing in a new research paper, “Where have all the gardens gone?” Prof Hall of Griffith University says the phenomenon is not the result of urban consolidation, smaller plots and higher densities.
“What ever the size of the plot, the dwelling now extends over nearly the whole area except where a front set-back is required.” He says it is a feature of low-cost housing.
”It provides for extensive floor area but does not provide for high standards of amenity and lifestyle—in marked contrast to contemporary housing in city centres. “Ironically, apartment dwellers in central and inner-city areas are now more likely to have better lifestyle facilities such as balconies, pools and BBQ areas than outer suburban dwellers,” says Prof Hall.
He claims the “no-garden” designs could spell serious ecological problems. Some new houses are being separated by a gap of only one or two metres. According to Prof Hall, the importance of Australia’s more traditional “green” suburbs is that they play an important role in maintaining biodiversity.
The new gardenless suburbs generate little to no biodiversity. The lack of trees means a loss of shade in hot weather and the creation of “heat islands”. The houses themselves become automatically reliant on air conditioning—adding to energy demands.
The absence of traditional gardens also means a lack of natural drainage—another potential problem if climate change brings heavier rain.
(In Ireland scientists have warned Belfast city authorities that if any more city land is concreted there will be risks of flooding during major rainfall. The warning was issued in the wake of climate change predictions that suggest Ireland is in for increased wet weather.)
