Before and after

Below are images of various sites in Ku-ring-gai, showing in two photos how the streetscape and character of the area have been adversely affected by higher density development. By sliding the centre bar left or right you will see a larger view of each image, either before or after  development. 

Most of the homes demolished below were family homes, with backyards, gardens and canopy trees. Most of the replacements are apartments standing on ‘landscaped’ but largely bare blocks, confronting their neighbours, showing no respect to their context, enjoying views of their neighbours’ gardens and trees, invading their privacy and providing little landscaping benefit in return.

Moreover, most have little if any architectural merit. Most are overly bulky, with little articulation and presenting a monolithic face to their neighbours.

They puncture the tree canopy, overshadow their surrounds, and allow little opportunity for canopy trees to grow nearby, and thus little chance of softening their bulk and outlines.

They pretend to offer ‘housing choice’ but in fact detract from it. Ku-ring-gai is a municipality that has always been strongly residential. The closest it has to an ‘industry’ is the many schools and colleges established within its borders. Families seeking to live near schooling, or within easy walking distance of local railway stations that service their schools, are finding ‘housing choice’ a thing of the past. They are being forced to live further and further from the railway line, leading to more and more car trips between station and home – something that Ku-ring-gai’s overloaded roads can well do without.