Development Plan - City of Playford - SA.Gov.au

overall terms are well-recognised - especially in the context of delivering mixed use
development where a minimum housing density is required to sustain non-residential uses.
Some people continue to equate higher densities with poor urban quality, such as overcrowding
and reduced space standards. This misses a fundamental point. Density is only a measure. It
is a product of design, not a determinant of it. The aim should therefore be not to achieve a
given residential density, but to generate a critical mass of people able to support urban
services such as public transport, local shops and schools.
3.2.7 Open Space Connectivity
The Urban Design Compendium outlines the following benefits of connecting the open space
network.
Open space networks are often more useful for visual amenity, recreational use and wildlife
corridors than isolated and unrelated landscape elements. They not only serve to organise
larger projects but also create linkages to existing urban areas, other sites and the wider
landscape.
Networks may join up linear parks, road reserves, playing fields, parks, allotments, private
gardens, buffer planting and surface drainage corridors. Greenways can be created to run
through or alongside linear elements such as natural streams, wooded belts or canals and
connect with parks and footpaths in nearby neighbourhoods. These can plug into
neighbourhood streets that have cycle routes, reduced car levels and mature tree planting -
creating a network of what the City of Vancouver calls ‘Green Ways - Public Ways.’
.
The 400m walkable catchment radii focussed on neighbourhood focal points forms the starting
principle for network design. Aim for major open spaces to adjoin at least one quadrant of the
circle, but never more than two. This avoids isolation between developments and allows linear
networks to be provided that are no more than 1.2 km (15 minutes walk) away from the majority
of people.
3.2.8 Dual Footpaths
One of the key aims for the development of the Area Affected is to create a community that is
sustainable and an improvement upon what has been delivered in outer suburban developments
over the past few decades. This means some aspects of the physical infrastructure that creates the
public realm will be different from residential estates that have been developed in recent times.
The public realm of estates such as nearby Andrews Farm, Munno Para West and Blakeview is
quite poor with few street trees and limited footpaths. This is accompanied by dwellings that do not
really engage with the street (most houses orient towards the rear yards) and needing to get in cars
to access most shops and other facilities/services. This formula does not create a community.
In order to create healthy and vibrant communities there is a need to encourage more walking.
This is based on well founded research:
“Not surprisingly, people walk more when there are sidewalks and less if they are forced to
walk in a street or a ditch.” p 142 Charter of the New Urbanism. Douglas Farr Congress for
the New Urbanism 2000
“while pedestrian and bike friendly streets are more expensive to build at the outset, each
street will be viewed as an extension of “the village” – and will command price premiums to
match.” p 25 The New Shape of Suburbia – Trends in Residential Development. Urban
Land Institute 2003
“Upto 75% of all household trips are non-job related. Many of these trips can be captured
within the TOD or within short transit connection… Interruptions in the path and
inconvenient walking routes discourage pedestrian travel for these types of trips. p 101
The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community and the American Dream. Peter
Calthorpe 1993
Playford North DPA -35-
Jul 08
Final DPA 20 August 08.doc Version 3