Grim future for Australia’s ‘new city’

Bradfield City Centre is the NSW government’s latest billion-dollar investment presently in the works with the goal of becoming “Australia’s newest city for the 22nd century”.

Located 56 kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD and adjacent to the new Western Sydney international airport, the city is being built on government land near Badgerys Creek Road.

A number of parks, plazas and water features spanning across 36 hectares are included in the development plans as well as a national security quarter, advanced manufacturing skills centre, hi-tech research facility and visitor centre.

There will also be commercial and community facilities including retail, childcare and carparks, a new metro station just minutes from the international airport and dining, entertainment and leisure space around public waterways.

It’s hoped the development will “supercharge the creation of jobs and economic opportunities”, with technology companies, universities and schools to be constructed alongside hundreds of living spaces.

But while it may sound like every other major city around the state, its location poses a number of challenges most CBDs across the country are yet to face.

Situated within the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, the new city is being developed in an extreme heat prone area where temperatures can already climb up to 10 degrees higher than the Sydney CBD.

“Western Sydney is among the most affected regions of Australia when it comes to extreme heat,” the Australia Institute said in a report last year, HeatWatch: Extreme Heat in Western Sydney.

“Its inland position at the foothills of the Blue Mountains prevents the cooling impact of a coastal breeze and works to trap heat. Human influence compounds this through the removal of heat-reducing green spaces, replacing them with materials such as concrete and asphalt. As a result, some suburbs of western Sydney are already experiencing temperatures between 8 degrees and 10.5 degrees hotter than eastern Sydney.”

The report warned that climate change will increase the frequency and severity of extreme heat days in the western Sydney region.

“Under a high emissions scenario, western Sydney could experience up to 46 days of extreme heat (defined as over 35C) annually by 2090,” it said.

“This is a fivefold increase from the historical average of just under nine days of extreme heat per annum.”

That means Bradfield will need to be designed with heat-reduction measures in mind.

Western Parkland City Authority chief executive Sarah Hill said such measures will be revealed in the first Bradfield City building which is set to be completed by the end of this year the earliest.

“Our first building really reflects how we want to design our city going forward,” Dr Hill said, later hinting that minimising heat was at the forefront of the design plan.

To reduce heat, commercial and residential buildings would need to have light-coloured roofs made out of materials that deflect the heat generated by the sun.

The state government’s goal of cutting emissions by 70 per cent before 2035 were also kept in mind for the city’s development with Dr Hill stating its plan came with a “high level of environmental design”.

“It has been designed to ensure that it can operate off the grid using its own solar panels, designed to use recycled water, but also it‘s been designed with low carbon embodied materials,” she said.

She added the materials will be Australian-made and the buildings will reflect “country” and connect with the Aboriginal culture.

Not all are convinced

While the plans sound great on paper, some Sydneysiders remain sceptical about the true intentions behind the city where construction for the first building commenced on September 29 last year.

The first concerns relate to global warming as deforestation from construction in surrounding areas over recent years has potentially accelerated climate change in the vicinity.

“The loss of greenery over the years makes this area very vulnerable to climate change,” Tooran Alizadeh, an urbanism professor at the University of Sydney, told Bloomberg.

Several other Sydneysiders who commented on a social media post where former Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the beginning of the city’s development, backed Prof Alizadeh’s concerns.

“This looks like a flood plain disaster that is already proven to happen,” one said.

“Bradfield is another flood prone noxious development,” a second added.

Meanwhile some online conspiracy theorists have attacked the thinking behind Bradfield — suggesting it is part of an nutty “15-minute city” conspiracy theory about keeping people locked in their suburbs.

Smart cities or “15-minute cities” is an urban planning concept where everything you need access to is located within a short distance.

The notion is the brainchild of Franco-Colombian urbanist Carlos Moreno who came up with the idea to prompt more sustainable, convenient and healthier living.

These spaces encourage walking and cycling, leading to a multitude of health, environmental and economic benefits.

However, some conspiracy theorists appear to believe the 15-minute city is a Stalin-style plot by governments to keep people locked down and controlled.

Key elements of the theory include keeping essential services close, creating a sense of community solidarity and inspiring green urban living.

Online conspiracy theorists claimed on social media Bradfield will become a “smart city” distraction to dozens of other issues faced in other parts of the state.

“Smart city is it? Can’t spend money on towns that were flooded but let’s create new towns. There are people still homeless from the Feb-March floods but you don’t care,” one person said.

“Is this one of the new ‘districts’ or ‘smart cities’ that you’ve been secretly rolling out in plain sight? I’ll wait,” another said.

Concerns aside, it’s anticipated three million people will call Bradfield home by 2030, with the city expected to open its doors in 2026 alongside the opening of the International Airport.

Keep the conversation going. Get in touch – rebecca.borg@news.com.au