Principles of urbanism and precinct development - a 1971 view
God knows why I was reading that, but thought it was quite inspirational: it puts my daily works in the right kind of perspective/frame, and forced me to ponder how far off & short of that we've gone and reached, after over fifty years.
Below is a trimmed version of the very first draft of the City's strategic plan that I ripped to words format, for my future reference, and maybe your amusement. Please feel encouraged to go to the full doc via the link above.
Foreword
Sydney urgently needs a definitive statement of the kind of City it wants to be.
Over the past twenty years, redevelopment has gone on in bits and pieces without benefit of any overall guiding strategy.
Decision-makers, private and governmental, have too commonly been at a loss to know how they should act in the best interests of the City.
Many fragmentary attempts have been made, and are currently being made, to replan and redevelop small pieces or isolated elements of the City. But there has been no agreed strategy to guide or coordinate, let alone govern, the individual decisions, the separate attempts to replan and rebuild.
The new City Council has recognised this urgent need. My Council has accepted the difficult challenge it presents. We have initiated a strategic planning process. We have created a new Committee - The City Development Committee - to concentrate on this aspect of Council's work.
We are making a determined effort to hammer out, and set down the objectives and policies which should guide and govern the systematic reshaping of the City. We are trying to evolve, through a systematic process of investigation and consultation with interested authorities and independent groups, a series of priorities for action to improve our City. We are seeking to get agreement on immediate, short-term priorities for action, and as well on longer term policies for continuous city growth and redevelopment over the next thirty years.
Council is only too well aware of the magnitude and difficulty of the planning task. Planning in the midst of rapid daily change is very difficult. Planning for the coordination of so many different authorities and groups is very difficult. Many people must feel it is impossible. But my Council believes it is our duty to try. In our efforts to plan we are seeking the assistance, involvement and cooperation of the Sydney community as a whole.
Why a Strategic Plan?
A Statutory Planning Scheme, as currently prepared under the existing NSVV Local Government Act, gives a Council powers to control private development.
But it doesn't say what ideas, objectives or policies the powers are meant to be used for.
It lays down a few things, but not enough, about the permitted arrangement of uses and structures on land, and where expressways and road widenings may be built.
It says nothing directly about people's present or future needs, problems or activities. It does, however, specify many things which may not be done.
It also specifies the complex administrative procedures which must be followed before anything may be done. It says nothing about positive action to achieve objectives.
A Strategic Plan is designed to fill the gaps left by a Statutory Scheme. It gives a set of ideas and objectives for the desired future of an Urban area. It is based on studies of people's changing needs and their changing ways of living, traveling, working and relaxing. It tries to say a lot about the desired future arrangement and character of services, spaces and structures.
The test for inclusion or exclusion of a particular matter in a Strategic Plan is whether it is likely to have an important hearing on the city structure or the general pattern of lunge and renewal.
A Strategic Plan defines the positive policies which should govern the exercise of power. It defines the principles of environmental management, emphasizing the relationships between activities, and the integration of activity and movement systems.
Most importantly of all, a Strategic Plan specifies the practical actions immediately necessary to begin to influence events so as to move in the direction of the objectives.
The essence of the Strategic Plan is the Statement of Objectives, policies, and priorities for action. This Statement can be adopted by an ordinary Resolution of Council. The Statement then acquires formal status and can be used as a practical guide to Council's intentions by Council's staff, by the public and the media, by other government authorities and by the Courts in cases of appeal against Council decisions. The Statement can periodically be reviewed, updated, and amended by ordinary Resolution of Council.
# note: back then City Engineer is in charge of developing the “Statutory Planning Scheme” demarcating major corridors, among other tasks, to cater for the growth of the city, whereas the City Planner/Architect is charge of this “City Structure & Strategic Plan”, which, as we know of it now, did not go too well accordingly.
The Strategy Summarised
The City is a very complex organisation. Thousands of separate decisions daily affect its growth and change. No one body could ever control all these decisions.
However, agreement on a set of objectives, policies and action priorities for City development, can help to guide and direct everyone's efforts to improve the quality of life for the people who use the City.
Every individual has ideas on how to improve the quality of his or her life, but some needs are common to all:
The Strategic Plan addresses itself to the common needs of the residents, workers and visitors who use the City of Sydney. During the preparation of this Plan, community opinion was extensively consulted.
Four draft objectives were defined and published. These were received favourably. The recommended objectives are now stated as follows:
FIRST OBJECTIVE: Management
Foster economic growth by managing, guiding and directing the conservation and redevelopment of the City as a whole
Policy 1: Administration
Provide leadership in policy-making for City development based on efficient administration, research and planning
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Policy 2: City Structure
Manage the City as a system of environmental areas or precincts integrated by a network of transport facilities and open spaces
Policy 3: Incentives and Contributions
Give incentives for many diverse types of profitable development, while requiring developers to contribute to the provision of public facilities
Policy 4: Finance
Seek long range capital projections and programs to coordinate investment in all types of public works
SECOND OBJECTIVE: Accessibility
Improve access to, and ease of movement within, the City
Policy 5: Public Transport
Seek the modernisation of public transport in stages to create an integrated system of greater capacity, convenience and comfort
Policy 6: Roads
Seek faster construction of roads bypassing the City manage traffic inside the City to give priority to movements most vital to each Precinct
Policy 7: Parking
Expand the system of parking stations around and regulate parking inside commercial Precincts to relieve traffic congestion
Policy 8: Pedstrians
Create an integrated city-wide pedestrian movement system linking transport interchanges to each part of each Precinct
THIRD OBJECTIVE: Diversity
Conserve and increase the diversity of community activities and services throughout the City
Policy 9: Residential life
Arrest and reverse the decline in the City's resident population
Policy 10: Retailing & tourism
Maintain and revitalise retailing and entertainment, tourist and convention facilities within the City
Policy 11: Community services
Work to improve the range and quality of community services and facilities throughout the City
Policy 12: Leisure & Learning
Seek a rich variety and balanced provision of recreational, cultural and educational activity throughout the City
FOURTH OBJECTIVE: Environment
Conserve, enhance and improve the physical environment of the City
Policy 13: Preservation
Adopt practical measures to preserve places and structures of historic or architectural significance
Policy 14: Urban Design
Improve the appearance of the City from afar and from within in harmony with the City's unique topography and character
Policy 15: Open Space
Extend the City's network of boulevards, foreshore promenades, plazas, parks and playgrounds
Policy 16: Pollution control
Press for action to reduce noise nuisance, and the pollution of City air and Harbour water