Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
our educational institutions. At present many immigrants come from devel-
oping countries which can ill afford to lose their own skilled workers. This is
nothing short of poaching.
While some fill gaps in the workforce, and a few genuinely create jobs,
many compete with existing Australian workers, some of whom are new
immigrants themselves. There is not only competition for jobs but also com-
petition for housing. Birrell and Healy (2003) noted that the decline in
housing affordability in Australia has coincided with a sharp rise in immi-
gration. Because of its role in household formation, immigration affects
demand. Housing prices are shaped by other factors, such as the financial
environment and the capacity of the building industry to meet demand.
Nevertheless by 2021, according to Birrell and Healy's projections, the
migration component of household formation growth in Sydney will be
around 75 per cent, in Melbourne and Adelaide 60 per cent, and in Perth 54
per cent.
The higher cost of housing, resulting in part from higher demand due to
population growth, explains why many workers are working longer hours or
second jobs (when they can get them) and inevitably leads to hardship
amongst the under and unemployed.
Urban design and transport
Peter Newman (Chapter 9) argues for urban growth boundaries as an essen-
tial feature for transforming a car-dependent city into one where sustainable
transport has some possibility of succeeding. Given the imminence of the oil
crisis (production will peak and demand will then exceed supply) and the
urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 70 per cent, it is
imperative that we move away from our dependence on private cars and
redesign urban areas appropriately.
The concept of discrete cities with boundaries is an admirable one for a
range of environmental, social and economic reasons. Nevertheless, if popu-
lation growth continues so will household growth. At some point a new city
will need to be created, paving over yet more countryside and emitting ever
more greenhouse gases in the building of houses, schools, hospitals and
workplaces, even when those buildings adopt all the best features of ecologi-
cal innovation with respect to energy, water, site ecology, building materials,
and waste management.
