Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 163 Some lessons Sydney can learn from Shanghai and Singapore While the popular image of the Asian city is often one of endless high rise towers the reality is much more complex. What cities like Shanghai and Singapore have achieved over the last 40 years is inspirational. They have strongly grasped the concept of being a global city. They have understood that the economics comes first so that economies are strong leading to good jobs for those living in the cities. But the civic leaders have underpinned economic prosperity with a boost in public amenities, particularly with public transport including metro rail networks. They have also managed the balance between increased density and liveability. Shanghai and Singapore have many areas that Sydney can learn lessons from. While many commentators of world cities love to refer back to the comfort levels of old European cities like Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Vienna the Urban Taskforce believes that this needs to be balanced by the economic successes of Asian cities and how they are balancing inevitable increased densities with amenities and lifestyle. Sydney is also increasing densities and we must do this in ways that maintain our world renowned lifestyle. 1.CITIES WITH GLOBAL CONNECTIONS GET THE BEST JOBS The jobs of the future are related to the global flows of large businesses who operate across borders and see cities rather than countries as the places to interact with. Sydney is the most likely Australian city to be part of this global network but it is already behind Shanghai and Singapore. To remain relevant as a global city Sydney must reach out to the flow of jobs that our Asian neighbours are already connecting to. 2. THE GARDEN CITY EPITOMISED BY SUBURBIA CAN ALSO BE URBAN In recent years Asian cities have embraced the concept of greenery within their urban areas. Singapore’s Chief Minister Lee Kwan Yew drove a policy of greening the city not only at ground level but also through roof gardens and by incorporating landscape into buildings. Shanghai mainly drives the green city at ground level with most streets lined by formal tree planting and shrubs along with a network of parks. Shanghai residents love their parks and they are often the locations for performances, group exercises and even dancing. Sydney is in the early stages of greening the city. 3. THE SPECTACLE OF THE CITY ATTRACTS TOURISM Tourism is vital for the economy of cities and the spectacle that the city presents is crucial for the vast number of photographs the tourists take home. Sydney has its Opera House and Harbour Bridge as icons but will need more spectacular images. Shanghai has the three soaring towers in Pudong, each with their viewing levels at the top. Singapore has the new Marina Bay Sands precinct with the dramatic three towers with the unifying top as a powerful image. 4. TALL BUILDINGS ARE BEST IN CLUSTERS Asian cities have grasped tall buildings but most are in dramatic clusters. Sydney is also looking at the clustering of tall towers as part of the Central Sydney Strategy. 5. METRO TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE COMES WITH DENSITY As cities grow they must move from being car dominated to being public transport driven. Essentially this will mean metro rail rapid transport networks. Sydney is beginning its move into this realm but it must have sufficient density to underpin the network. Both Singapore and Shanghai now have extensive networks of rapid metro rail and both have planned for urban densities around rail stations. 6. MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT MAKES CITIES DYNAMIC Asian cities have moved on from European restrictive planning zoning systems to encourage a dynamic mixture of uses. So cities like Singapore and Shanghai have residential, commercial, retail and cultural uses mixed up together in their centres or even within individual buildings. 7. CITY MODELS CAN BE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS Singapore and Shanghai have impressive physical models of their cities that demonstrate growth potential. Both of these cities use the models as tourist attractions. Sydney has a city model but art could be used in a much more public and interactive manner. 8. PUBLIC SPACES MUST INTERACT WITH URBAN FORM Public space becomes more critical with increased densities and Asian cities have developed unique solutions. Both Singapore and Shanghai have extensive networks of parks, pedestrian streets and riverside promenades. Many of these public spaces are adjacent to urban density with taller buildings. 9. DENSER CITIES NEED MULTIPLE GROUND LEVELS As density increases the ground plane becomes congested and cities like Singapore and Shanghai have developed higher and lower level public access networks. Well-designed upper and lower level connections can be very useful for a city as densities increase.