Housing, Boundaries and Cash for New Homes

Last Wednesday, the Herald Sun published an article reporting the Planning Minister's firmer stance on maintaining the Urban Growth Boundary of Melbourne. It states "Planning Minister Matthew Guy said Melbourne had reached its geographical limits and the days of expanding the urban growth boundary were over."

 Instead, the focus will shift to regional towns, with the minister claiming "Twenty years from now, if you want to live in a house-and-land-style market, that's going to be outside Melbourne" .  This is part of a push for Victoria to become a 'state of cities' rather than a 'city state'. Decentralisation is not new in Victoria.  But what will it accomplish this time?

With this stance on the UGB, it's also intended that "Melbourne will need to accommodate greater density in defined areas".  Yep, there you go - the 'd' word.  But how does this fit with yesterday's announcement that first home owners buying new homes will get a monetary bonus, whilst those buying established homes miss out?

Currently, the deal is First Home Buyers get $7,000 for both new and established homes.  As of July 1, those buying new homes will get $10,000 whilst the $7,000 currently offered for established homes will be scrapped (although stamp duty savings of up to 50% will be applied for all first home buyers).   

So essentially this is adding a $10,000 incentive to buy a new home.  Where are the new homes in Melbourne?  In the growth areas. Where are the jobs, services and infrastructure?  Not in growth areas (generally).  So it seems that this policy will likely encourage the sprawl that the Minister hopes to quell with his latest comments on the UGB.  It also goes against the objectives of the Metro Strategy which seek to realise potential in middle ring suburbs, and promote a '20 minute city'.

The justification for the incentive is more and cheaper housing - though this is not based on any evidence. The treasurer was quoted "Increasing the First Home Owner Grant on newly constructed properties and boosting the stamp duty concession will make the dreams of many young Victorians become a reality sooner".  Really? Is it really our dream to contribute to urban sprawl and the lifestyles that come with it?

Read the Herald Sun article about the UGB and decentralisation here.  Read more on the 'budget boost for new homes' here.

Thanks Adam Rossimel (Harlock Jackson) for sending through the Herald Sun article!

Share the (urban) Love

Pop-Up City shares 3 examples of inspiring urban sharing projects.  Share the love!

Pop up seed sharing stations are the latest venture to gain popularity in the USA and Canada.  These stations encourage the community to exchange seeds and gardening know-how with each other.  'Eating in Public' also provide info about how to set up your own one of these models - anywhere.  Although I haven't seen any seed stations like those described in Melbourne, there are networks to swap seeds with others both online and at community gardens.  Wouldn't it be great to see more of seed stations around to encourage people to grow their own produce.

Tool sharing 'libraries' are not really new, however, they are getting more prevalent.  They also now offer more online interaction as well as face-to-face interaction between users, who can share their ideas as well as use the service for borrowing tools.  Melbourne actually has a tool library officially opening up this week in Brunswick, so check it out if you're a fan of DIY.

The last of the 3 featured examples of tactical urbanism is the Fruit Fence. These are basically clip on bags that hook to wire fences and form planters for fruit and veg (hooray more food!). They are meant to include self watering systems, though community care is proposed to be managed by twitter posts and sms. Given the planter's location on fences, these bags are claimed to be perfect for climbing plants like beans, peas and strawberries. According to 'pop up city' "the Fruit Fence planter bag encourages a sense ownership over cityspace, and shared responsibility for taking care of the city." And food.

Read more at Pop Up City.