Sydney Metro – will it change your life or kill your suburb?

The NSW government says Sydney Metro West is set to “supercharge housing supply” by adding more stations and building high density apartments around them. “Sydney Metro West will ensure tens of thousands of people will be able to live next to a ‘turn up and go’ service,” promises the press release.

On the face of it, this is good news. We need more homes, and more stations should make life easier for more people. However, there is a lot at risk. Getting it right will require considered master planning, density and station design. Get it wrong and we’ll devalue our existing suburbs and potentially lower Sydney’s already declining liveability score.

Our falling score was revealed in the Australian Liveability Census conducted by social research company Placescore in 2023. It asked 50,000 people around the country how they feel about where they live and what their ideal suburb would look like. Not surprisingly, access to nature and amenities such as parks, shops, schools and transport ranked highly.

It’s this sometimes haphazard growth that gives a place its distinctive character

The survey also revealed something urban designers and architects already know – the best places to live offer variety. People thrive on rich and diverse experiences. In urban environments, that means a mix of scales, built forms and round-the-clock activities. To achieve this, the urban environment needs a degree of flexibility so it can change over time.

It’s why inner-city suburbs are usually the most interesting and desirable. Being older, they have evolved organically over multiple generations and economic cycles, building up cultural and architectural layers. It’s this sometimes haphazard growth that gives a place its distinctive character.

Rigidly planned places with a concentration of one type of built form work against this. Yet this seems to be the state government’s proposition. Concentrate apartment towers around Metro stations and worry about the rest later.

This approach to planning will suffocate diversity and limit future opportunities. The biggest risk is decreasing the amenity and liveability of existing suburbs, impacting property prices and overall mental health and happiness.

The better solution is to distribute density more evenly across our city at different scales, adding to diversity, with most development no higher than six to eight stories.

Infill, townhouses and medium-density apartment blocks are all part of addressing housing needs. And whilst there’s a place for towers in existing high-rise centres, concentrating high density around rail stations risks throwing the baby out with the bathwater by locking in adverse environments that are difficult to improve later and become the next generation’s problem.

Which brings us to quality, well-integrated station design. Sydney Metro will be a life changer for many people who commute to work or just want to move around the city without a car. More than this, transport hubs can and should be central to community life.

A well-designed station precinct is an enjoyable place to be – to pause, grab a coffee and perhaps pick up essential supplies.

Spatial planning, good architecture and the right mix of retail and hospitality create a great station experience. More than just a place to pass through on your way from A to B, stations should be uplifting social spaces that welcome the community they serve.

At precinct level, a well-designed station is easy to get in and out of. Entries and exits are located to be safe and accessible, and connect to parks, high streets and other services.

They accommodate passenger numbers and movement with ease. Witness how the Sydney Metro upgrade at Central Station has opened up the station, easing congestion and creating new routes into surrounding green spaces and suburbs.

The potential benefits of new stations are clear. They should add amenity to what exists, support businesses in the wider area and create places full of activity and life. The danger in concentrating high-rise development around stations is that it limits this potential. Moreover, it’s a short-term solution to a bigger problem.

The state government’s independent Sydney Metro Review recommends that Sydney Metro provides a consolidated property and placemaking strategy across all existing lines to support the government’s housing supply priorities. This is essential.

Separately, the housing crisis is a complex equation that won’t be solved by building apartment towers at rail stations. We are at a critical point in our city’s evolution. Good design and considered, human-scale density is vital. The government must demonstrate ambition and courage, and work with developers, planners and architects to leverage the investment in Sydney Metro to safeguard our city’s liveability for current and future generations.

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