Sue Holliday SYDNEY is the fastest-growing city in Australia - a highly complex and dynamic city whose population has passed 4 million and will reach 4.8 million in another 25 years. Sydney is also a global city, a world focus for finance, the arts, architecture and international events. A city which faces the classic challenges of pressure on land and resources. We have to balance investment and jobs with conservation. In response to the criticism of planning policy ("Dictatorship of the high-density bullies", Herald, January 14), I would point out that global research concludes that a more compact city is more sustainable. It's obvious that low density means sprawl, uniformity and lack of choice. Sprawl means higher infrastructure costs, more car travel and environmental degradation. Yes, let's call it sprawl. And without plans and policies to contain Sydney's sprawl, what would Sydney be like now? We would have had an additional 8,500 hectares of suburbs, equal to another Campbelltown, or the area from the CBD to Sydney Airport and across to the coast. We would have lost 8,500 hectares of bush, farms and market gardens. Equally important, household size and structure have changed drastically and will continue to change with an aging population and changes in lifestyle. There is a genuine demand for a variety of housing in all Sydney's suburbs. People want more choice, not less. Our planning deals in realities: Traffic: people who live in inner and middle areas of Sydney use cars less than people in outer areas. The 1996 Census revealed that only 16.5 per cent of outer-ring residents travelled to work by public transport, compared with 24.5 per cent for people in middle-ring areas, and 33.3 per cent for inner-ring dwellers. If low-density expansion had continued in Sydney since 1988, each year Sydneysiders would be driving their cars an extra 300 million kilometres, adding to road costs, smog and greenhouse gases. Housing costs: housing prices are driven by demand for land, labour and building resources. They reflect population growth and change. The past 12 years have seen growing housing demand from renters: young adults, single-parent families, empty-nesters and independent widowed and older people. Without higher-density housing, scarcity would be fuelling a much steeper rise in costs. Slowing the sprawl: we have slowed urban expansion for the first time in almost 20 years. Flats, multi-unit and villa approvals are now 54 per cent of all approvals, compared with 27 per cent 10 years ago. This lessens the impact on air quality, water supply and natural resources. The land nearest the urban fringe is particularly precious because it preserves green space near the city and supports biodiversity. Less than 30 per cent of all new housing is now built on Sydney's fringe, compared with 42 per cent six years ago. Pollution: higher-density housing and jobs located closer to transport and jobs enable viable and efficient public transport and help cut air pollution. Housing choice: we tend to have an inaccurate image of suburban Sydney dominated by detached houses on quarter-acre blocks. For most of the past century, flats, semis and terraces have made up about 30 per cent of new dwellings. Higher-density policies enable the market to meet an unprecedented demand for alternatives to the suburban detached house. Attached housing now makes up over half of all Sydney dwellings. There is variety and choice: walk-up flats, middle-ring home units, semi-detached houses, inner-city towers, conversions of non-residential buildings. There are now different lifestyles all over Sydney: the Italian renaissance in Leichhardt; beachfront chic at Coogee; inner-city convenience at Pyrmont. Manly is still a seaside resort and Paddington is still a proud conservation area. Parramatta, with its new regional plan, is set for a huge, uniquely western Sydney-style future. Councils across Sydney have tailored their housing strategies to suit their areas. They do not all choose high-rise. Different suburbs have different plans. Each plan will create more vibrant and diverse neighbourhoods. At the beginning of the 21st century, our city, like many other leading cities of the world, is planning to achieve the essential balance between the environment and development - and that means a sustainable quality of life for the future. Sue Holliday is director-general of the NSW Department of Urban Affairs and Planning. Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 20 January 2000.