The Issue
Population growth regards the increase in the number of people in an area. Population growth has various effects, influencing the employment, housing, and landscape of the area.
Background Information
The site investigated; Macquarie, is a major business and commercial district in the northern suburbs of Sydney, around 12 kilometres away from the Sydney CBD. Macquarie has a population of 8,144 people, as recorded in the 2016 Census, and a land area of 6.8 km2. This suburb is located within the City of Ryde, along with other suburbs such as Denistone, Ryde, Eastwood, Gladesville & Marsfield.
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The Topic
Macquarie is a busy hub, where crowds flock every single day. This suburb's ever-growing population has many effects on the community and landscape, as with more and more people wanting to reside in this suburb, both are continuously developing to keep up with the population.
Observations
Prior to my research, I observed that Macquarie has a smaller population per hectare than in comparison to other suburbs. As in comparison to the nearby suburb of Marsfield which has a population of 13, 297 and a land area of 3.86 km², you can clearly see that Macquarie’s population density is significantly less. The reason for this is that Macquarie is not a residential area. Rather the campus of Macquarie University, Macquarie Shopping Centres, and other various businesses take up most of the land. (seen in Figure 2). I also noted that numerous apartments were being built, redeveloping other buildings to create residences that would hold a larger amount of people. Macquarie is also observed to be the heart of the surrounding suburbs, due to its various facilities and services and the fact that there are no other areas providing similar features nearby (Figure 2).
Hypothesis
My observations guided me to hypothesize that the growth of a population varies directly with the opportunities, benefits, and economic stability of that area and that they can cause the development of that particular suburb.
Aim
My aim in this investigation is to explore the causes of population growth within Macquarie and the various effects that they have to prove whether my hypothesis is correct or not.
Focus Questions
To carry out my investigation, I established three focus Questions. These being:
- What are the causes of population growth in Macquarie?
- What effects is this growth having on Macquarie? (e.g. landscape)
- What strategies could and are used that promote a better future for Macquarie? (e.g. council plans)
Methodology
The methods I used to research this issue were the use of several websites such as “The Australian Bureau of Statistics” and the “City of Ryde”, as well as implementing a survey, interview questions for people residing in the area to answer, and photographs to support my research.
Statement of findings
Causes
Macquarie is a bustling community full of life and activity, with thousands of people traveling there on an everyday basis. Coming here for the various facilities and services available, such as transport, education, and entertainment. Making this suburb a covetable suburb to reside in, thus influencing the population growth.
To the general public, Macquarie is most well-known for its shopping center, as with over 380 stores, Macquarie Shopping Centre caters to almost every need. With a wide range of retail stores, endless opportunities for entertainment with amenities such as bowling, Event cinema, and the ice-rink available, as well as offering major supermarket chains such as Coles and Woolworths. It is no wonder, that this destination draws masses of people in from other suburbs and that Macquarie holds one of the most recognized Shopping Centres within Sydney. This key destination is one of the major factors influencing the population growth of Macquarie, as living in closer proximity to this facility is desirable. (seen in Figure 4), a pie chart denoting the reasons why people would choose to reside in Macquarie. In this graph, it is clearly seen that a large majority, exactly half of the respondents elected the Shopping Centre as the main reason. Showing that Macquarie Centre plays an influential part in the population growth.
Other causes of population growth within Macquarie, (seen in Figure 4) were the various businesses and the University. Macquarie has the second-largest business precinct in Sydney after the CBD. With over 2077 businesses recorded in the 2017 census, including offices from prominent companies such as Optus, and Microsoft. With such a large amount of businesses, there would be an immense number of workers as well. Workers for these companies would prefer or choose to live closer to the business they work in, as it would be more convenient due to the shorter commute. Thus influencing the population growth of Macquarie.
Furthermore, Macquarie University has over 44,000 students with there being a noted increase of 6.4% of students from 2015-2016. From this statistic, we can expect the number of students enrolling each year to increase over time. Many of these students live on campus or near the university, as there are various accommodations in Macquarie specifically for students, such as Morling Residential College, Dunmore Lang College, and Herring Road Apartments. Thus showing how the University has an influence on population growth as more and more students enroll and live here. This was shown in the 2016 Census where in the data results for age (Figure 5), there was an increased amount of people aged 20-34 living in Macquarie, an approximate age range for a University student. Proving that the University is one of the causes of population growth.
Effects
Macquarie’s incessantly growing population has had many effects on the evolving community and landscape which are both developing to keep up. Seeing that in recent years Macquarie has had various redevelopments and upgrades to facilities (Figure 14, response 4), with many plans for the future as well.
One of the most notable redevelopments, is Macquarie Park Village (MPV), as seen in Figures 6, 7 & 8. MPV is part of the Government’s Communities Plus Program preparing for movements towards Macquarie and population growth. Previously the Stamford Grand Hotel, MPV encompasses around 700 residential apartments and 1000 m2 of mixed-use commercial space, this village’s seven apartment blocks were built as an effect of population growth in order for this suburb to be able to hold the new residents.
Another effect of population growth is the redevelopment of Ivanhoe Estate. This is the largest affordable housing renewal development in Australia. Planning to demolish 259 housing units (Figures 9, 10 & 11), and construct 3000 units on the 8.2 hectares of land (Figure 12). Part of the Communities Plus Program as well, this 2.2 billion dollar estate will also include a private vertical high school for around 1000 students, 2 childcare centers, a 120-bed aged care facility, a supermarket, retail stores, and a range of sporting facilities such as a gymnasium and pool. This redevelopment also includes upgrades to infrastructure, with plans for new road intersections and a new bridge across Shrimptons Creek to the nearby Business precinct of Macquarie. This redevelopment started construction in late 2017 and aims to be completed in 10-12 years.
Additionally, from my fieldwork, Figures 14 & 15 show that residents of Macquarie have observed there to be an increase in traffic and congestion as an effect of population growth.
Have you noticed any changes in Macquarie due to population growth, and what were they? I noticed that there’s more traffic and it’s more crowded I haven’t noticed many changes More shops in the Shopping Centre and upgrades to infrastructure Yes, more residential buildings are being built Yes, there is an increase in population, resulting in congestion
Due to population growth, various strategies were put in place to promote a better future for Macquarie, and to prepare the suburb for the influx of residents. These strategies include the expansion of Macquarie Centre and the Smart Cities Plan.
Macquarie is part of the Federal Government’s, Smart Cities Plan. This plan aims to improve the management of pedestrian movements in order to combat the expected population growth, tackling the rising issue of traffic and congestion. This plan intends for the Ryde Council to implement 75 pedestrian-counting sensors throughout Macquarie (Figure 16). These sensors would monitor pedestrian activity, the gathered data is used in real-time to reduce traffic and congestion.
Another strategy to combat the population growth is the renovation of Macquarie Shopping Centre. Macquarie Shopping Centre has undergone approval for development plans to increase the parking space by another three levels, build a 4 story block for more retail stores within the center, the creation of a station plaza, construct 1000 new units in 4 apartment blocks, including 2175 parking spaces as well as a public library. These upgrades to the center and its surroundings would decrease congestion, due to the increase of parking spaces at the center, causing the cars to move more smoothly and faster as there would be enough parking spaces. Thus helping to cope with the population growth.
Conclusion
Based on the data collected through my fieldwork investigation and research, it is possible to conclude that population growth was caused by the various facilities such as the Shopping Centre, businesses, and University as they made this suburb desirable to reside in. Population growth has also caused various redevelopments such as Ivanhoe Estate and MPV, as well as improvements upon Macquarie Shopping Centre. This data satisfies my aim and thus proves my hypothesis correct.
Evaluation
From completing this assessment task, I learned a lot about the changes to Macquarie that would take place in the coming years, moreover developing my understanding of population growth’s causes and effects on a suburb. Also, I learned how important it was to go out and do your own investigation, whether by emailing your local council or asking questions to your neighbors. However, I found that I had some difficulty collecting primary data during this task as I did not receive many responses, perhaps causing the data to be less reliable due to the small number of participants. This could have been improved by starting my primary investigation earlier, in order to collect more data.
Action Taken
In order to encourage the appropriate authorities on the negative effect of population growth on the community, a petition, direct appeal or letter could be produced against the council requesting for there to be a restriction on any more apartments built in the area, unless modifications to infrastructure such as roads or transport were improved to the same standard as well, thus ensuring that congestion and traffic due to population growth does not increase.
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