Hatch urban designers maintain Bradfield City Centre in Sydney has the potential and gravitas to be the most environmentally responsible city in Australia, through prioritising walkability, future-proof infrastructure and job opportunities.
Hatch urban designers oversaw the masterplan for Sydney’s Bradfield City Centre – set to earn the moniker of Sydney’s ‘third city’ – and ensured global innovation and First Nations knowledge was incorporated into the design.
Urban planners envisage Bradfield functioning as a bustling and interconnected green metropolis capable of setting a benchmark for future smart cities. Western Sydneysiders will revel in an urban green paradise, with over 30 percent of Bradfield encompassing parklands.
Supporting the ballooning demands of a city
Hatch partner Stephen Moore underlined the hauntingly high expectations that hung over the masterplanning, particularly in light of unprecedented infrastructure investment.
“Sydney is facing enormous growth pressure as one of the world’s global destination cities,” he says.
“At the same time, Western Sydney is experiencing high heat, drought and flood levels and has historical inequalities across jobs, housing, transport, urbanity, greenery and health.”
Hatch relied on its Great Places™ Framework to ignite innovation and ingenuity when devising ways to tackle the complex issues facing Sydneysiders. The planning process spanned four years, Hatch principal Sam George confirmed. George was responsible for coordinating the masterplan.
“There were many voices to hear and learn from – Traditional Custodians, the community, many state and local government agencies and intra-agency sectors, as well as our project partners and experts across planning, transport, engineering and economic sectors,” he says.
Collaborating with country in an urban setting
Bradfield’s masterplan process involved rigorous collaboration with First Nations consultants and knowledge holders to deliver a connection with Country in an urban setting.
From co-designing with Country, Bradfield will feature a 2.2-kilometre First Nations ‘green loop’ cultural trail adorned with endemic plants, as well as First Nations art and stories. George hopes this ‘green loop’ can serve as a blueprint for future cities.
“This has been done in a way and to an extent that’s never been seen before,” he says.
In addition to the ‘green loop’, Bradfield intends to house dedicated First Nations health, education and community facilities.
Bradfield Development Authority is currently drafting strategies to advance First Nations employment, education and housing opportunities to ascertain self-determination for communities.
Ambitious green targets to address rising temperatures
Green streets will line 20 percent of Bradfield, while 31 percent of the city will be allocated to parks. In a bid to enrich local biodiversity, Thompson’s Creek regional park and the Wainamatta Creek corridor will undergo restoration.
George says the goal is to create a cooler and more liveable environment in an area experiencing heat waves of up to 10 degrees greater than seaside regions. “The greenery is critical for habitat, waterways, human health and amenity,” says George.
Moreover, the masterplan stipulated that a minimum of 80 percent of roofs must be covered with bio-solar surfaces to uplift passive cooling efforts. These targets alone will solidify Bradfield as Australia’s greenest urban city centre.
Bradfield’s ‘innovation ecosystem’ aims to attract a vast array of demographics from professionals, tradespeople, students, families and tourists.
Bradfield has the legs to overtake Melbourne as Australia’s cycling destination
Sydney’s ‘third city’ will have micro-neighbourhoods of 200 to 300 metres across – reminiscent of walkable European cities such as Copenhagen – boasting ‘main street’ boulevards at their peripheries for buses, traffic and bike lanes.
“We’re building Australia’s most bike-friendly city, with extensive cycleways that will rival cities like Rotterdam,” says George.
Bradfield’s delivery will be bolstered by NSW Government investment, particularly via the Metro line and bus network, which will be available to use from the first day future residents move in. Additionally, a central two-hectare park will play host to art and cultural events and foreground a sense of community.
Bradfield Development Authority understands it would be remiss to neglect future-proofing a workforce, therefore planning is already underway to establish professional sectors in Bradfield across manufacturing, aerospace, defence electronics and research and education.
George says Bradfield’s ‘innovation ecosystem’ aims to attract a vast array of demographics from professionals, tradespeople, students, families and tourists.
“From the embedded First Nations knowledge, greenery, transport and infrastructure, Bradfield has all the ingredients to become the most sustainable city in Australia,” he says.
Renders supplied by Hatch.
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