State parliament yesterday voted for expanding Melbourne by another 43,600 hectares. Or 134,000 homes as the city's population rises and housing demand spirals.
We already span 100 kilometers east to west which makes Melbourne one of the world's largest cities by land area (population density is a fraction of what it is in comparable sized cities elsewhere). The decision was opposed by the Greens but supported by the Coalition and there is no suprise in either of these positions.
With population a leading topic of an otherwise scrappy, tepid Federal election campaign, this decision makes us wonder where we are headed.
The farms and cow and horse dotted farms just out of town that I remember as a child are vanishing under a sea of houses, and I like that not at all.
"It will put Victoria in a better position to retain its competitive advantage over other states in terms of housing affordability - it is a pity it took so long to do" the newspaper quotes some shmuck from a developers group.
I don't want an "advantage" over other states... they're Australians as well, last time I heard. I want a city that has sustainable service delivery and I frankly don't believe in 'the plan'. The politicians who champion it will be cosily retired before it ever catches up with them.
The newspaper polled the question "Do you support the move to expand Melbourne's city boundaries?"
75% of responders said no. Unfortunately this was passed by a Labor government, meaning both they and the conservatives (who never turn away an opportunity to trash the environment) want it.
It also kills prime food-growing land.
With climate change an indisputable fact (except to religious nuts and Right-wing morons) don't tell me we won't regret this some day....
Oh... and one more thing...
Where's the water going to come from?
In 1971, when I first moved to California, there was an area between the city we lived in - Costa Mesa and San Diego where orange groves were vast. For miles, all you could see was orange groves and in the spring when they were blooming, the blossom's fragrance would permeate the air like a wonderful smelling perfume. There's nothing that smells like the mixture of the ocean breeze and orange blossoms. It was simply incredible.
ReplyDeleteAs we drove south, closer to San Diego, there were several very small beach towns, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, and Del Mar before we'd enter the San Diego suburbs (a treat, then, even for a large city). Beginning in Encinitas, there were tulip farms that literally lined the freeways on the leeward side of the road.
Ocean to the right and row upon row of multi-colored tulips on the left, between the orange groves, the tulips and the ocean, one could almost feel the fragrance.
That's all gone now. Homes now stretch from Santa Barbara along the central California coastline to the border with Mexico - 230 miles literally packed with homes and businesses.
And I mean packed. They build homes so close to one another there, you can watch your neighbor pee while you do the same. The only "open spot" along the way is Camp Pendleton Marine Base that covers 21 miles of the drive along the ocean.
What a shame to see all that beauty disappear under concrete and asphalt.