Good neighbourhoods are built to last

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By - , Build 99

When it comes to creating sustainable housing it’s not just what happens inside homes that matters – the whole neighbourhood needs to be taken into consideration.

This playground in Jack Pringle Park, Te Atatu Peninsula, is a safe place for kids to play and provides a focal point for the community to meet and relax.

There has been growing awareness in recent months of the environmental effects of housing and home-living choices, particularly since the Stern Report on the economic effects of climate change was published in October. About 30% of New Zealand’s electricity is consumed domestically, and the widespread adoption of a range of simple measures to make houses more energy efficient would significantly reduce electricity consumption. This would lead to lower living costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Looking at the bigger picture

Reducing energy consumption is only a small part of the picture when we talk about more sustainable housing and living choices – and their benefits. Sustainable living involves making informed choices about water, resource and material use, and waste disposal. Together, these choices have the potential to make us healthier and wealthier, as individuals and as a nation, both now and in the future.

Living more sustainably will reduce the damage we are doing to the environment and fundamentally improve our quality of life. But it can’t be achieved by focusing on individual houses alone. Truly sustainable homes are an integral part of the communities in which they are situated, and they are part of the wider service and support networks available to the clusters of homes we call neighbourhoods.

In seeking to improve the sustainability of New Zealand’s housing, we can’t ignore the interdependencies between houses and their neighbourhoods, or between neighbourhoods and the towns and cities in which they are situated.

This playground in Jack Pringle Park, Te Atatu Peninsula, is a safe place for kids to play and provides a focal point for the community to meet and relax.

What is a neighbourhood?

Neighbourhoods are important. They are the connecting spaces between homes and the city system. The built environment of neighbourhoods may differ from place to place but they all consist of a cluster of homes. Some neighbourhoods have other buildings and amenities that offer choices for recreation, work, shopping, and education. The boundaries of neighbourhoods are often loosely defined but they usually include a number of connecting streets and facilities. People can identify their neighbourhoods.

‘Good’ neighbourhoods work well

Building ‘good’ neighbourhoods was very much in the mind of planners and local authorities in the years before and after World War 2, especially overseas. Sociologists, geographers and psychologists also spent time looking at what makes a good neighbourhood.

Interest in sustainable neighbourhoods has been reawakened by our increasing concern about quality of life, and by a growing desire to protect the environment and neighbourhoods from economic and social decline.

At its simplest, a sustainable neighbourhood is one that works well – socially, economically and environmentally – and will continue to do so into the future. Such neighbourhoods are characterised by:

  • housing satisfaction
  • an acceptable physical appearance/low levels of dilapidation
  • low noise disturbance
  • street safety – from other people and vehicles
  • easy pedestrian access to local facilities and services
  • manageable cost of living
  • the ability to have pleasant, non-threatening casual social interactions
  • the provision of opportunities for action on local issues
  • low tenure mix
  • the provision of quality public spaces
  • a mix of building types and dwelling sizes
  • higher density to reduce sprawl
  • lower impacts on the bio-physical environment.

Get ‘connected’

Beacon is currently testing tools that will allow the industry and local authorities to assess the sustainability of neighbourhoods and to identify areas in which sustainability performance can be improved. These types of tools will become more important as consumers, government and local government demand more sustainable built environments.

While Beacon’s tools are still in the testing phase, initial application of the prototypes and of the underpinning research indicates three important requirements for those wanting to plan and build more sustainable neighbourhoods – walkability, connectedness and good design.

WALKABILITY

A walkable neighbourhood provides places where people can meet and interact casually and safely. Well cared for public spaces, provision of neighbourhood amenities, and streets that connect well to each other are important.

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CONNECTEDNESS

New developments need to connect well with the city system so people can use different transport options, including public transport, and meet their basic needs, such as food purchase, locally.

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GOOD DESIGN

Smaller sections and bigger houses are a strong trend in New Zealand. Dwellings must be designed and located on their sites to maximise sun and privacy, and to minimise noise disturbance.

It is also important that residential developments are connected to public transport. This means people can get about without using private cars. Beacon’s research, as well as that done overseas, shows that high levels of dependence on cars has negative environmental and social effects. It produces greenhouse gases and contributes to climate change, and it also means that people interact less often with their neighbours. This in turn undermines neighbourhood satisfaction, and means people are less likely to take part in decisions that affect their neighbourhoods. It can also reduce the support people find in their own areas.

Increasingly, developers and builders will be requested, or required, to build or develop more sustainable houses and neighbourhoods. Companies that anticipate these developments could become the market leaders of the future.

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For more

Beacon Pathway is a research consortium working to find affordable, attractive ways to make New Zealand homes and neighbourhoods more sustainable. The consortium partners include Building Research, Fletcher Building, New Zealand Steel, Scion and Waitakere City Council.

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This playground in Jack Pringle Park, Te Atatu Peninsula, is a safe place for kids to play and provides a focal point for the community to meet and relax.

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