Precedent Project - Western Sydney Parklands

Western Sydney (Regional) Parklands

As introduced in Antwerp, here is some background information on the Western Sydney Parklands (WSP).

Fig. 01: Regional context plan, published in the 'Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036'.

Though the scale of the project is a little larger (WSP is approx. 5,500 hectares, as opposed to our 650 hectares in Antwerp), there are some interesting parallels between the Green Singel in Antwerp and this project.

Fig. 02: Parklands Plan, published by here.

Both are born of city planning strategies. The WSP now form part of the New South Wales Government's 'Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036'. And, both the Green Singel and the WSP are considered significant and strategic open spaces within their respective metropolitan footprints.

The WSP is administered by the Parklands Trust, which, I would assume is appointed by, but independent of, the New South Wales Government. Obviously, as a trust appointed by the State Government, there is a relative amount of power through which planning and design strategies can be implemented. This is important when you consider the various local government areas within which the Parklands are located.

FYI: there are three tiers of government in Australia; the local, state, and federal. The Parklands are administered by the middle tier.

The Parklands Trust currently defines the role of the parklands as follows:

Fig. 03: Western Sydney Parklands, Draft Plan of Management (overview), published here.

The parklands are dissected by 2 major motorways, the M4 (Sydney's major western arterial) and the M7 (which is both an outer metropolitan ring road, and also a national bypass). The point at which these two motorways intersect is called the Light Horse Interchange. This is the largest traffic interchange in Australia. Despite this, according to the Trust's plans, the interchange is considered an integral part of the parklands.

Fig. 04: Light Horse Interchange, published here.

Comments? Thoughts?

Cheers,

Paul