A Vision for Sustainable Cities And The Need for Change
They are where most of us reside but our cities will have to get greener to meet future needs
5 min
It’s remarkable how quickly notions of sustainability have gone mainstream in a few short years. From the rapid uptake of renewable power sources to the growth of the circular economy, there’s now a widespread acceptance that the earth’s resources are finite and will require more sophisticated management strategies if we wish to continue to enjoy a high quality of life.
For our built environment, sustainability in Australia has begun to move beyond the actions of individual motivated homeowners to discussions about how entire cities can and should perform to better support not just the people who live there but the entire ecosystem.
Earlier this year, Adrian McGregor, co-founder of globally recognised multi-disciplinary landscape architecture firm McGregor Coxall, released a new book, Biourbanism, a magnum opus dedicated to creating better cities for a sustainable future. McGregor says the problems we’re having now are of our own making.
“The environmental crisis is a design crisis,” he says. “We’re making a lot of poor decisions about the design of cities. Fundamentally cities are our creation and we’re not getting them right. In developed countries, there’s no reason why we should be getting these things so badly wrong.”
In his book, he argues that for too long, we have worked on the assumption that cities are somehow separate from the rest of the environment instead of being an integral part of it. Indeed, their impact is felt well beyond city fringes, with 75 percent of greenhouse gas emissions derived from cities. As countries around the world begin to feel the impact of extreme weather events, he says we need to shift to a decarbonised city model as quickly as possible.
“Those that move the fastest will be the most resilient to increasingly extreme weather events,” he says.
Along with planning for office blocks and high and low density residential releases, he says it’s crucial that ‘green’ and ‘blue’ infrastructure (landscape and water) are considered as an inherent element in design.
Shannon Foster is a D’harawal Eora Knowledge Keeper, founder of Bangawarra and lecturer at the School of Architecture at UTS. She says the balance in cities needs to fundamentally shift if they are to be sustainable places to live.
“We don’t like to talk about ‘green corridors’ because there should be ‘grey corridors’ — predominantly green space that humans can move through as well,” she says. “Not that we are going for the ‘I Am Legend’ look, but we are looking for ways we can allow for spaces to thrive.”
She points to water management in urban areas, particularly storm water, which is often considered a problem to be solved.
“It’s all about how to get it off site,” she says. “But water gives us life so how is it a problem?”
In recent years the notion of ‘sponge cities’ has gained traction among urban planners around the world as a way to mitigate flooding. It relies on sufficient green spaces, including floodable parks and wetlands within cities to manage the water onsite. The payoff is to reduce dependence on pipeline infrastructure used to redirect high volumes of water which is costly to repair and maintain.
It’s not a new concept to Indigenous knowledge keepers.
“Everything begins from country,” Foster says. “We overlap beautifully with sustainability because we are looking at country, plants and water Author of Biourbanism Adrian McGregor (above) and Indigenous knowledge keeper Shannon Foster (below).
and air are protected and sustainably managed.”
NSW chapter president, Australian Institute of Architects, Adam Haddow, says while sustainability will look different for each of the thousands of cities around the world, they all need to work harder than they do now.
“We don’t want lazy cities,” Haddow says.
“Sustainability is different for every city because every city has a different measure of what might be sustainable for site.
“Regional Victoria might be different to NSW or the NT in their ability to engage with and capture water or solar or wind. The thing that is consistent across all the cities is the question: how do we make better use of what we have?”
That includes the existing built environment, he says.
“We should consider every building as heritage,” he says. “We have made a lot of mistakes in the history of our cities and it’s about ensuring we don’t make them again by demolishing to rebuild.”
Demolishing and starting again would add to the carbon load and negative environmental impact. Haddow says there’s a better, less invasive way to approach it.
“If you think about it in medical terms, we should be focusing on urban acupuncture rather than urban surgery,” he says.
Haddow is part of a growing movement in planning and architecture circles in support of the 15-minute city, a concept where everything residents need on a daily basis, such as the office, school and shops is within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. Critics says it confines residents to Hunger Games-style districts that embed inequalities rather than eliminating them. Regardless, it relies on a higher density living and working model than currently exists in most Australian cities.
“We are still one of the least dense places in the world, and we have forgotten about the middle type of living environment — lower density projects up to six storeys,” he says.
For Fred Holt at Danish firm 3XN and lead architect on the award-winning Quay Quarter Tower, it’s about diminishing the reliance and role of motor vehicles to move about the city.
“There is always opportunity to go to other parts of the city but the idea of a sustainable city is to limit the dependence on vehicles, especially those that produce pollution,” he says. “So having a connected city is about connected precincts that are self sustaining but also having ease of transportation between various precincts.”
It’s also getting more out of the space you’re in, he says, so that they stay activated for longer.
“In the Quay Quarter Tower and Quay Quarter Laneways precinct, the idea was to create an 18-hour precinct where you could play and work within the same proximity or neighbourhood as a sustainable model for urban planning.”
His colleague, architect Dan Cruddace, led the Quay Quarter Tower project for the Australian firm, BVN. Now at 3XN, he says there’s one city he thinks of as a good model for sustainable living.
“When I was in Copenhagen, everyone cycles there, from the children to people in their 90s,” he says. “It’s a way of life. The air is clean, the streets are safe, the infrastructure is in place.
“Everything is set up correctly.”
For McGregor, there are cities around the world that have elements of sustainable living about them that we could learn from.
“I love London because of how hard it has worked over the past 20 years to enhance walkability and to increase pedestrian space which underpins that tremendous public transport system,” he says. “Singapore is really progressive in terms of urban greening. Even cities like Hong Kong are really interesting for their walkability and their density and the way they manage vertical urban activity.”
Inevitably, the commitment to sustainable cities comes down to cost. That, says McGregor, depends on where value is placed.
“Economics is the lever behind all change, it has to be,” he says.
“What sits behind all of it is giving natural capital value. When I met David Suzuki years ago, he said modern economics doesn’t give a value to natural capital. You can use your resources for free — it will cost you nothing.
“Until that is given a value in any manufacturing process or construction process, then the model is completely flawed.”
Ultimately, cities are habitat for humans, which is where their success or failure rests, says Holt.
“There is a movement towards understanding that we have a finite amount of resources and the most sustainable building or city is the one that already exists,” he says. “It’s important to not only look at a sustainable city as one focused on reducing carbon but places that are sustainable socially.
“The most sustainable place is one where people want to be and they want to be there for a long period of time, over generations.”
The future is already here.
Ophora Tallawong has launched its final release of quality apartments priced under $700,000.
International AI strategist Justin Kabbani will headline the Kanebridge Property Summit in Sydney on June 18, with tickets selling fast.
Ophora Tallawong has launched its final release of quality apartments priced under $700,000.
3 min
Ophora Tallawong has launched its final release of apartments, positioning itself as one of the last opportunities for buyers to secure a new Sydney home below $700,000.
The project, located in one of the city’s fastest-growing corridors, is offering rare buyer protections at a time when affordability is tightening and competition for quality stock is intensifying.
According to JLL’s Q2 2025 Apartment Market Overview, Sydney’s median apartment price has already climbed to $795,000, setting a record.
With interest rates now on a downward trend and supply still heavily constrained, experts warn that today’s price brackets may not exist next year.
Ronnie Rahme, Development Manager at KDMC, said buyers were responding to the combination of quality and value.
“You simply don’t see this level of finish at these price points anymore,” Rahme said. “That’s why demand has been so strong for this final release.”
Dr Andrew Wilson, Chief Economist at My Housing Market, says the economic drivers are clear. “High rents and higher prices continue to provide clear incentives for first-home buyers and investors chasing solid investment returns,” he told Kanebridge News.
“New government initiatives to support first-home buyers will also act to place upward pressure on prices.”
The bigger picture
JLL’s research reinforces that point. While over 15,700 apartments are expected to be delivered nationally this year, a 40% uplift on 2024, Sydney remains undersupplied, with demand continuing to outpace completions.
The report also notes that reductions in the RBA cash rate are expected to further fuel buyer activity, with constrained supply continuing to push prices higher into 2026.
With construction costs soaring, Government contributions climbing, and interest rates remaining high, projects are harder than ever to bring to market, putting upward pressure on newly completed apartments.
The pipeline of new supply is shrinking as developers delay or abandon projects that no longer stack up financially.
According to JLL’s overview, only 2,554 completions are forecast for Sydney this year – against annual demand exceeding 30,000 dwellings.
At the same time, population growth, rental demand, and first-home buyer incentives are intensifying competition for limited stock. The imbalance between constrained supply and resilient demand is leaving new apartments scarcer and more expensive across Sydney.
Ophora: Last Chance In Sydney’s northwest
Developed by KDMC and designed by Architex, the $50 million project has launched its final release, with limited availability of 81 brand-new residences from just $500,000 for a one-bedroom, or $625,000 for a two-bedroom, which is far below Sydney’s median and significantly cheaper than nearby competition.
The five-storey development at 37 Reis St, Tallawong, combines affordability with premium inclusions more often seen in luxury builds: ducted air-conditioning, timber floors, premium finishes, fridge cavities with water plumbing, video intercom systems, fibre internet, EV charging, landscaped gardens and a rooftop terrace with sweeping views.
It also comes with something almost unheard of at this price point, a 10-year Latent Defects Insurance (LDI) policy. Typically reserved for multimillion-dollar projects, LDI guarantees structural integrity for a decade and is only awarded to developers with a strong building track record.
SHC Insurance Brokers founder Stefan Hicks acknowledged the rarity of obtaining LDI, particularly for entry-level residential apartment complexes like Ophora.
“Gaining LDI is no mean feat. It’s offered selectively to developers and builders with a quality building history, and it requires both parties to employ an independent inspection service throughout construction,” he said.
“While this insurance is well-established around the world in about 40 countries, in Australia, we’re typically seeing high-end buildings covet LDI. The fact that Ophora has joined this exclusive list of quality-assured builds is a coup for entry-level home buyers.”
Raising the standard for affordable luxury
Rahme says the KDMC team wanted to set a new benchmark.
“Our mission with Ophora has always been clear: to raise the standard of what buyers should expect, regardless of budget,” he said.
“We’ve delivered a collection of apartments with finishes and features you’d usually only find in luxury projects, and we’ve backed it with one of the most stringent insurances available in the market. That gives buyers peace of mind that their investment is protected for the long term.
“People are walking through and realising you simply don’t see this level of quality at these price points anymore, as it’s effectively replacement cost in 2025.
“With rates coming down and limited competition, buyers and investors are moving quickly because they know the window won’t stay open. Investors, who have recently purchased at Ophora, have reported a strong rental demand, with minimum rental yields exceeding five per cent.”
Developments like Ophora, move-in ready, competitively priced and backed by rare structural protections (LDI), may represent the last chance for buyers to secure a sub-$700,000 apartment in Sydney.
Contact Ophora to arrange a private viewing or request more information. View Ophora on realestate.com.au
Australia’s housing market rebounded sharply in 2025, with lower-value suburbs and resource regions driving growth as rate cuts, tight supply and renewed competition reshaped the year.
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