Perth Voice Interactive

IN this week’s Speaker’s Corner Coolbinia resident Jan Ravet shares some thoughts about high density housing, prompted by the ongoing proposal for five-storey apartments and shops at the corner of Walcott and Adair Parade. 

READING about Buddhism and emotions, the message comes across that emotions are more potent than rational thought.

Have you ever tried to defeat an emotional argument by using a rational one? The only way that seems to work is if the rational argument engenders an emotional response that is more potent than the one it is trying to defeat.

So, we have developers trying to foster their own financial future by selling luxurious, exclusive apartments which may or may not be “socialised” by shops and cafes at ground level. It sounds great, the emotional appeal is huge!

My own observation of apartment projects is that they try to maximise the number of units contained with the least incorporation of overheads. 

Feelgood

Just enough to make the project appear more attractive. Adding a pool and a gym may feel good, but how many of the residents will use those facilities? If there is inadequate parking for the shops and cafes, how will they be staffed, and will clients take the trouble to hunt for that elusive parking spot?

The result, all too often, seems to mature in a process of slow decline, with lifts, stairways and corridors gradually falling into disrepair. The result – after a decade or two – is a slum. 

The strata company may try to maintain standards, but the cost of doing so can follow one of two paths: higher expenses, or lower standards. But the basic design: high-density housing, is essentially flawed.

Insufficient parking, poor access to recreational space, reduced safety for pedestrians, make it harder to entertain: children, pets, friends. Little boxes are, by their nature antisocial and as selfish as the developers who build them.

But, looking from a different perspective, the world is overpopulated. This argument goes down a wonderful emotional rabbit hole.

If crowding lots of people into small boxes makes them antisocial, maybe they will breed less.

If the overflow of cars from the inadequate parking provision causes more traffic accidents, maybe the kill rate will be higher. 

If school kids figure prominently enough in those kill stats, we’ll have less breeding adults to worry about. Population might even start to shrink, thus saving stress to the planet.

Yea, Save the Planet, and make a profit on the way through!