Why Sydney must build more apartments in the CBD

Scully on Tuesday said the emphasis on increasing density in established suburbs would not spell the end of “black roof” developments, but the city needed different housing types.

“You won’t see the end of them because there’s still a number that are in the [planning] system, and people want that choice, and will make trade-offs within their own lives about transport and distances.

Loading

“When you go into the south-west of Sydney, around Campbelltown and Wollondilly, there are still opportunities for people there … they may not end up working in areas where they have to come into the city.”

Scully’s remarks follow the results of a survey which found support for higher-density housing in suburban areas is climbing among Sydneysiders, who are more likely to approve of ramped-up development in their own neighbourhoods than they were two years ago.

The Life in Sydney survey, conducted by Ipsos and the Committee for Sydney, shows 46 per cent of Sydney residents would back increased density in their suburb, compared to 39 per cent in 2023.

There was also a 10 per cent jump in support for intensifying residential development in Sydney’s CBD and in inner-city suburbs in the past two years. The report showed, however, 50 per cent of Sydneysiders thought apartments were inappropriate for families.

Scully said the shifting attitudes towards density, particularly within respondents’ own suburb, were encouraging.

“I think people are starting to recognise we can’t continue to do things the way we have in the last decade, with the same outcome,” he said.

University of NSW School of Built Environment head Philip Oldfield said adding apartments would bring more vibrancy and vitality to the CBD. On the flipside, once a building was on a strata scheme, that site was “locked into residential for a really long time”.

He said the provision of dwellings in commercial centres around the world varied, and the City of London, for example, had “very, very few” apartments.

“The Sydney CBD is still a centre of commerce and business. We could definitely build more residential, but it’s going to be really challenging to get that mix right,” Oldfield said.

“It’s a balancing act, and I think Sydney could look more closely at its balance.”

Oldfield said inner-city suburbs such as Darling Point, Potts Point, Glebe and Pyrmont could be considered for more units. “Their proximity to the city makes them ripe for residential.”

Canterbury-Bankstown Council town planner Liam Apter told Tuesday’s summit families often missed out on opportunities to live in convenient, high-density areas near train stations and shops.

Apter, a strategic planner in the council’s city shaping and design team, and his colleagues were one of the finalists in the summit’s Big Ideas competition, arguing the NSW government could change the state’s apartment design guide and planning legislation to force new developers to include a certain minimum of three- or four-bedroom apartments in new blocks.

“Family-sized apartments is one piece of it, and it’s not the silver bullet to the housing affordability crisis, but I think it’s a way to set us up for success.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.