Geography: Sydney

It is evident that Sydney as a large city in the developed world, is influenced by a myriad of urban dynamics, which will inevitably shape its economic character for the future. Sydney as an emerging world city faces significant issues, such as accommodating future growth, protecting the amenity of the biophysical and built environments, addressing traffic congestion, maintaining air and water quality and disposing of solid and toxic wastes.. Managing the relationship between urbanisation, quality of life and environmental quality requires carefully devised and implemented planning strategies. This will ensure that Sydney maintains its stance as a vibrant and desirable city of international relevance and the quality of live of its inhabitants can be improved.

A significant future challenge for Sydney is accommodating its growing population. Sydney’s population will continue to grow at an annual rate exceeding 60,000 people for the foreseeable future. This rate of growth is considered unsustainable. With Australia seen as a favourable living location, new immigrants represent such a large proportion of the cities annual population. As a result the government as called for the implementation of an immigration program, in order to control increasing numbers or move migrants into regional areas. 30% of the population growth will be accommodated within the boundaries of the existing metropolitan area via the process of urban consolidation and infilling, with most settling in new suburbs around the outskirts. Foe example the North sector from Parklea onwards is expected to house 100,000 people by 2011.

The protection of Sydney’s biophysical and built amenities is also a significant challenge for the future. Sydney’s unique architecture, heritage and physical setting all contribute to the city’s unique “culture of place”. Protecting the biophysical environment includes the protection of parks and bush lands such as Bicentennial Park and the Royal Botanical Gardens, as well as the Harbour foreshores and beaches such as Bondi and Cronulla. This can be achieved through carefully planned management with the assistance of agencies such as the Environmental Protection Authority who carry out Environmental Impact Assessments. It is vital not only Environmentalist highlight the significance of Sydney's natural beauty but also the inhabitants themselves. Aspects of the built environment worth preserving include significant architectural and historical sites such as the Opera House, Customs House and the Capital Theatre, as well as distinctive streets such as, Bridge and Oxford. In the future, such sites many be redeveloped to preserve their historical and cultural significance, as it is often not economically viable to retain such buildings in their original form.

One of the major management problems involved in achieving these aspirations associated with access and movement of people is traffic congestion, which is expected to significantly increase in the near future. The State Government has responded through the provision of transport infrastructure, which has emphasised the building of new toll roads, such as the M2, M5, the Eastern Distributor and the M4, which connects the West with the Blue Mountains area. However this has and will continue to fuel the problem, as car ownership is expected to increase by 20% from 2000 to 2010. This is expected to see the emergence of further adverse trends such as urban sprawl and atmospheric pollution, particularly carbon dioxide emanating from motor vehicles. It is also expected to lead to the social isolation of those without a car and large areas of land being devoted to parking space and roads at the expense of other much needed facilities such as healthcare.

Air and water pollution is also expected to significantly increase in the future, as a result of Sydney’s population explosion. The huge demand on natural resources and higher waste production has seen the need for ecologically sustainable practices. The increased erection of industrial factories and man-made features has seen an increase in the amount of carbon emmision and thus contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. For example, Harbour precinct, once a dock side has been transformed to create and area with built up buildings and local attraction sites resulting in increased pollution levels. Furthermore the industrial areas away from the coast also tend to create air pollution problems throughout Sydney because of the way in which air moves across the city. Furthermore water is a significant challenge for the future. It is a scarce and valuable commodity in Sydney, and with increasing populations, water availability is becoming minimal. As pollution increases, water quality decreases linearly. The suspended solids that are flushed into waterways from industrial sources and manufacturing agents lead to bioaccumulation, which not only decrease water quality but also kill and infect marine organisms. Furthermore as the cost of waste disposal increases the illegal dumping of wastes is becoming a major environmental problem. This illegal act is not only damaging biophysical environment in so many ways, it is also decreasing the aesthetic and intrinsic value of Sydney.

Sydney as an emerging international city, has already developed many links to the global economy, which will continue with the economic growth of the Asia-Pacific Region. However this will come at a cost, with its population reaching an unsustainable level thus putting pressures on the environment. Thus ecological sustainable practices need to be implemented to ensure that Sydney can enjoy all the benefits from its increasing global prominence.