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Vehicle In Canberra the peak car occupancy rateOccupancy is 1.2 persons per vehicle, the average dailyRates occupancy is 1.38. If car occupancy rates

could be doubled then a 20% fuel savingwould be possible, however, there is noobvious way in which this could be achieved.For a variety of socio-economic reasons'car pooling' is unlikely to offer asolution in this regard.

Cycleways Of the minor transport modes Canberra hasa very extensive metropolitan cycle pathsystem which is used primarily by studentsand for recreational trips. It is expectedthat ultimately its existence might reduceannual fuel consumption by about 2%.Currently there are 85km of cycleways and thecompleted network will total 180km.

Non-Transport Although the greatest scope for energyEnergy savings resides with the transport sectorConsumption because it consumes roughly 60% of all

energy used in Canberra, there are nonethelessworthwhile economies to be had in relationto domestic, commercial and industrial usage.

Canberra by virtue of its altitude has acold climate by Australian standards butwith high hours of sunshine per day and aclear atmosphere. Domestic utilisationof energy comprises

Space heating61%Water heating 20%

" Cooking, lightingetc 19%

Insulation Initial efforts at conserving domesticenergy have been directed since 1976 atimproving the insulation of houses on thebasis of estimates showing that approximately65% of all houses were poorly insulated.The capital cost of insulation improvementsfor the average house is in the range$700-$1000 and would produce savings in energycosts of $125-$175 per annum. This representsa pay-back period of 7 years and a return oninvestment of 18%. For the individualhouseholder this is a cost-effectiveinvestment where many other energyconservation measures are not.

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Sub-Division Domestic energy savings might also beDesign achieved in the case of future urban

development through improved landsubdivision design so that a highproportion of houses have a northerlyorientation. The NCDC has developedcomputer techniques which assist in theoptimisation of orientation, views, andland servicing costs, but is too early toknow whether these will lead to significantimprovements in energy utilisation. Bothhouse orientation and improved houseinsulation have been the subject ofeducation campaigns aimed at developersand consumers. These are having somebeneficial effects.

Public Buildings With regard to public buildings, such asgovernment offices, hospitals, schoolsetc, a programme of changeover fromfuel oil to natural gas is under way.This coupled with a general reductionof 2-3°C in thermostat settings isexpected to yield an overall energy-costsaving of about 10% per annum and is afairly direct consequence of nationalenergy conservation and petroleumreplacement policies.

Energy audits are currently beingprepared for government buildings andfacilities in order to draw conclusions asto revised energy and insulationstandards. It is proposed thatsubsequently 'prescriptive energy targets'for offices, schools, hospitals, etcwill be set.

Solar Energy Canberra's climate favours the use ofsolar energy, particularly to meet partof the high winter space heating load.At the present time, however, the useof solar energy is not cost-effectivebecause not only is the capital cost ofequipment relatively high but also becauseof limitations in heat storage techno1ogy,it is necessary to have supplementarymechanical plant relying on conventionalfuels. To date small scale solar plantshave been mainly confined to situationsrequiring low temperatures, such asmunicipal swimming pools and domestichot water supply. Reverse cycle heat pump

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systems have been installed in severalschools on an experimental basis inorder to discover the most economicalway of cooling and heating.

District District heating and cooling stationsPlant have been designed for inclusion in the

town centres to service primarily commercialbuildings, however, the lack of adiversified consumer demand, low urbandensities, and winter-summer temperatureextremes, render such centralised plantsuneconomic at the present time.

Water and Turning now to questions of waterEnvironment and the physical environment. Canberra

lies within the larger area of theAustralian Capital Territory (ACT) covering2356 sq. km. Of this approximately 50%is reserved as proclaimed water catchmentsin which only a limited amount of farmingand recreational activity is allowed so asto avoid contamination of the reservoirs.The urban area of Canberra itself currentlyoccupies just under 300 sq km and is situatedat the extreme northern end of the A.C.T.downstream from the catchment areas.

Water Canberra is planned as a 'garden city'Consumption and accordingly makes lavish use of water.

In a climate of relatively low rainfall(6,000 mm per year) and high summerevaporation, the daily average consumptionis 670 litres per head per day of which51% is used for watering domestic gardensand public parks. This is one of theinevitable consequences of low densitydevelopment. The quality of the urbanwater supply is high largely because ofrestrictions applying to activity in thecatchment areas and the reservoirs. Theincreasing use of native plants and treesin large scale landscape programmes ishelping to curb the growth of waterconsumption.

High Cost During the past decade as Canberra'sof population has risen to 223,000 it hasEnvironmental become apparent that the inland waterways -Protection particularly the Nurrumbidgee River system -

are in danger of being degraded due to thedischarge of treated sewage and stormwaterrunoff. With regard to sewage disposal

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a major sewage treatment plant has recentlybeen completed at a cost of $50 milliondesigned to eliminate virtually all solids,nitrogen and phosphorous but with consequenthigh annual operating and maintenance costs.With conventional urban water supply andsewerage systems high capital and operatingcosts are virtually unavoidable. Highdensity development tends to reduce thedemand for water but otherwise pricing policiesseem to offer the only mechanism foreconomising on water usage.

Environmental In order to understand the nature of thePlanning physical environment of the A.C.T. and the

extent to which it is being subjected toadverse impacts as a result of urbanisation,the NCDC has adopted two basic procedures oneconcerned with research the other with planningstandards. A series of scientific programmesis concerned with the nature of air, water,flora and fauna ecosystems and monitors the wayin which these systems are responding to urbanimpacts. Water quality monitoring stationshave been established in a limited mannersufficient to provide data for research on'model' catchments and to observe environmentalchanges in the urban lakes system. Similarlythere is a limited air quality monitoringprogramme.

Complementary programmes are concerned withthe formulation of performance standardsand design and development practices sothat planners and engineers can minimiseadverse impacts of urban development.

Stormwater The principal objective of urban drainageDrainage networks has traditionally been to remove

surface runoff as quickly and as economicallyas possible, with not much concern for itsimpact on the receiving waters, which inCanberra's case is the Murrumbidgee Riverhaving highly variable seasonal flows.Stormwater systems are now being designedto increase assimilative capacity in thenetwork and hence reduce turbidity andpollutents in the river itself. Within eachtown special measures are taken to regulateurban run-off, one of the most effective beingthe construction of artificial lakes andstormwater ponds designed to trap pollutants

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a major sewage treatment plant has recentlybeen completed at a cost of $50 milliondesigned to eliminate virtually all solids,nitrogen and phosphorous but with consequenthigh annual operating and maintenance costs.With conventional urban water supply andsewerage systems high capital and operatingcosts are virtually unavoidable. Highdensity development tends to reduce thedemand for water but otherwise pricing policiesseem to offer the only mechanism foreconomising on water usage.

Environmental In order to understand the nature of thePlanning physical environment of the A.C.T. and the

extent to which it is being subjected toadverse impacts as a result of urbanisation,the NCDC has adopted two basic procedures oneconcerned with research the other with planningstandards. A series of scientific programmesis concerned with the nature of air, water,flora and fauna ecosystems and monitors the wayin which these systems are responding to urbanimpacts. Water quality monitoring stationshave been established in a limited mannersufficient to provide data for research on'model' catcbments and to observe environmentalchanges in the urban lakes system. Similarlythere is a limited air quality monitoringprogramme.

Complementary programmes are concerned withthe formulation of performance standardsand design and development practices sothat planners and engineers can minimiseadverse impacts of urban development.

Stormwater The principal objective of urban drainageDrainage networks has traditionally been to remove

surface runoff as quickly and as economicallyas possible, with not much concern for itsimpact on the receiving waters, which inCanberra's case is the Murrumbidgee Riverhaving highly variable seasonal flows.Stormwater systems are now being designedto increase assimilative capacity in thenetwork and hence reduce turbidity andpollutents in the river itself. Within eachtown special measures are taken to regulateurban run-off, one of the most effective beingthe construction of artificial lakes andstormwater ponds designed to trap pollutants

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and sediments before reaching the main streamsand minor watercourses.

Environmental Major planning proposals and urban developmentImpact projects of significant size require anAssessments environmental impact assessment to be carried

out in order that reasonable steps can be takento minimise adverse impacts on the naturalenvironment. This requirement exists underfederal government legislation, stategovernment requirements in this regard beingless stringent.

National In terms of the necessarily brief discussionPolicies offered so far it may be observed that on thelikely to basis of Canberra's experience nationalexert only policies relating to energy, water anda marginal environment are likely to exert only a marginalinfluence influence on both the functioning and future

development of the city. On the other handurban management and urban planning appear tobe much more significant in this regard.It is probable that cities elsewhere willfind that national policies are, generallyspeaking, not very helpful in achievingconservation objectives at the level ofthe city itself.

Linear Plan Canberra's linear plan (Y Plan) lends itselfAdvantages to energy efficient public transport,

particularly in relation to the inter-townline-haul services which allow uniformlyhigh speed and satisfactory levels of patronage.The concentration of employment and tertiaryservices along the linear spine tends toproduce an introverted trip pattern due togravity distribution within the corridorand this is the type of movement patternthat public transport can most readilyservice.

Value of The linear plan bounded at the periphery by asharp urban parkway system produces a sharp distinctionboundaries between 'town and country'. Inhabitants

of urban areas have typically short traveldistances before reaching rural areas andopen spaces in the non-urban areas outsidethe parkways. For these reasons environmentalprotection is facilitated and there is anabsence of the urban sprawl that occurs atthe fringe of most other cities whose townplanning controls are relatively weak.

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Transport Because urban transport systems, includingPlanning and the private motor car, are major users ofManagement petroleum cities everywhere will need toare critical find ways and means of influencing travelto the efficient patterns with the aim of reducing theuse of energy frequency and length of trips. Canberra's

experience demonstrates the value of atown planning and urban management policywhich links together the three essentialelements of the overall transport system,namely, road space, parking space andpublic transport capacity. Unless a balanceis maintained between each of these factorsthen no effective regulation can be exertedand thus average vehicle speeds in urbanareas will continue to decline because ofcongestion. Other consequences are thatcongestion will cause further air pollution,public transport will not provide an attractivealternative transport mode and operatingdeficits will accordingly worsen.

Lessons for Canberra is increasingly being recognised asDeveloping one of the world's outstanding examples ofNations planned urban development providing as it

does an attractive 'garden city' environmentand an efficient urban structure. Canberrahas managed to avoid most of the adverseeffects of urbanisation that characterisethe modern metropolis because of its townplanning methods and its highly co-ordinateddevelopment programme. For this reason agrowing number of developing nations inAsia and Africa have sought assistance fromthe Australian Government in order to helpsolve problems arising out of the rapidgrowth of their cities and towns, particularlyin relation to the planning of 'new towns'.

New Capital City The NCDC has been involved in a variety ofof Tanzania overseas-aid programmes concerned with urban

development. The greatest effort since 1975has been the provision of assistance tothe Government of Tanzania to develop a newcapital city at Dodoma situated 500 km inlandfrom the East African coast. AlthoughCanberra is a very different city to that whichDodoma is likely to become nonetheless it hasbeen found that many of the town planningand development methods which have been usedin Canberra are readily applicable to Tanzania.

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Following the decision to establish Dodomaas the new capital in 1973 work commencedalmost immediately on the Capital Master Planwhich was completed by Canadian consultantsin 1976. Progress on the subsequentimplementation of the Plan has been slow giventhat the initial programme was to transferthe principal government agencies to Dodomaover a 10-year period commencing in 1975.By 1979 roughly 10% of government andparty employees had been transferred andsome 600 houses completed. None of theprincipal government buildings have yetbeen finished save for a residence for thePresident.

Weakness of As a general rule European and North Americanthe Master town planners tend to favour the use ofPlan detailed master plans drawn up on the basisApproach of sophisticated economic analysis and complex

computer programmes. These master plansusually define land use zones, the locationof key urban functions and the road and utilitiesnetworks as a setpiece for target populationsoften 20-30 years in advance. In thecircumstances that usually prevail in manydeveloping nations, where physical resourcesand skilled personnel are scarce, suchmaster plans often prove to be inflexible andthus unable to meet changing circumstancesas the initial development stages occur.

The Master Plan for Dodoma is a typical'western' plan which lays down a precise patternof land use zones and complex road networkwhose capacity is unlikely to be fullyutilised for many years. The location ofretail, commercial and service industry arescattered at well beyond walking distancesin a city where pedestrians and cyclists areprevalent. The residential areas bearlittle or no relationship to the philosophyof small, mutually supporting, housing cellsof ten dwellings centred on small outdoormeeting places, a physical and socialconcept strongly espoused by the government.

NCDC Advice In its advice to the Capital Developmenttries to be Authority the NCDC has suggested that theadaptive Master Plan should be re-defined so that it

serves as a generalised concept plan settingout the overall form and structure of the

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city, together with the underlying planningprinciples, in a manner similar to Canberra'sY-Plan. Detailed land use planning shouldbe confined to local development areas andshould reflect the actual scale of houses andother buildings, as well as the predominantmovement system which for the most part islikely to be pedestrian.

Implementation The NCDC has also stressed the importancemore of co-ordinated development programmes,important than particularly in relation to civil engineeringplanning works and housing. The greatest difficulty

faced by the Capital Development Authorityhas been in the realm of implementationand where the initial emphasis was placedon master planning it might have been moreappropriate to concentrate on the programmingof construction. Unfortunately most of theadvice and assistance offered by westernnations to countries like Tanzania tends tofocus mainly on policies and plans ineconomic and social realms, rather than onthe implementation of physical developmentprogrammes which are properly related to theskills and resources of the indigenouspopulation.

Landscape Canberra's emphasis on the importance of largePlanning scale landscape works as a means of modifying

micro-climate and as an embellishment, is beingfollowed in Dodoma by the establishment of aplant nursery by Tanzanian staff trained inAustralia coupled with the implementation ofmass planting programmes.

Staff Rather than assigning experts to Dodoma in theTraining same manner as the United Nations aid agencies,

staff from the Capital Development Authorityand NCDC are being exchanged periodically sothat a combination of advice and education isgenerated.

Planning more In Dodoma issues of energy, water and environmentimportant are crucial. Canberra's planning methodsthan can assist the Tanzanians to find at least somePolicies of the solutions even though they won't always

be similar to those applicable to Canberraitself. In the realm of national policiesTanzania and Australia have a similar

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experience in that national policiestend to be statements of governmentalaspirations but other means must befound if there is to be effectiveimplementation of such policies. Tothe extent that national policies areconcerned with contemporary problems ofenergy, water and the natural environment,then effective town planning methodsprovide the best basis for developmentimplementation.

Conclusions The reduced availability and increasedcost of petroleum-based fuels is having asignificant impact on all categoriesof transport. Government policies arelikely to be effective only at the margin.Already in some countries there are signsof a slowing down in the annual growthof consumption and growing investment inthe development of alternative fuels.Cities by their very nature will, however,adjust more slowly. There are bound tobe significant locational shifts of economicactivity in metropolitan areas in order toreduce the need for travel. This will inturn have implications for public transportand thus highlight the need for co-ordinatedland use/transport planning. Relativelysmall, planned cities, such as Canberra,might offer useful lessons in this regard.

Rapid urbanisation in developing countrieshas caused a pressing need for massiveimprovements to water supply and seweragesystems in most cities. The engineeringsolutions available from conventional practicein North America, Western Europe or Australia,usually involve costly and complex technologywhich can have significant adverse impactson the natural environment. There is aneed for engineers to develop new methodsbetter suited to the limited resources ofdeveloping countries. Similarly town plannersmust devise urban forms and structures for'new community' development which willinherently reduce demands for water anddrainage.

Methods for understanding and protectingthe natural environment are probably moreadvanced in the case of planned newcommunities than in most metropolitan areas

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throughout the world. Canberra offers atleast one example where monitoring ofair, water, flora and fauna eco-systemsis being progressively established andinfluencing the form and pattern of futureurban development in the city. Whethersuch methods can be applied elsewhere insituations of rapid urbanisation andlimited resources remains to be seen.

A.J.W.P.