Environment assignment essay on: Urbanization

Introduction

In all the cities and towns across the world urbanization seems to be one of the major things for developing regions and making it capable of meeting the increased population. In most of the cities and towns of Australia there have been several plans which have been made and implemented in the recent years for an entirely new neighbourhood. The Shoalhaven City which is near to the famous city of Sydney has numerous towns and villages around it. With tourism increasing and people flocking in to this area the population has increased and is expected to increase at a rapid speed in the next few years.Purpose of the Report

The issues such as employment, shopping, entertainment, and urbanization seem to be responsible for more and more people moving to bigger cities which are the same for the Shoalhaven city.

The report states that the civil authorities thus need to plan in advance for coping up with increased needs for the future generations keeping the mind that environmental damage is not done while the entire process is conducted. It is evident that the inevitable congestion would cause numerous environmental hazards and degradation which raises the need for the civil authorities to take adequate measures so that the damage is well countered. The other very important element for the environmental conditions is the ecosystem of the region. Shoalhaven being a city near to the sea is humid-tropical in nature so every step to accommodate more people should be taken by considering there is no damage to the ecosystem. These can only be done by optimum environmental strategies and plans for the specific as well as sustainable development within the region (Shoalhavenn.d.)

Proposal for conducting the entire planning process

The proposal for the entire project which needs to be implemented and the investigations for the same to be carried out by the Planning Team at the council have been explained below. It explains the criteria which the ‘Planning Team’ would be required to investigate, as part of the detailed assessment of the capacity of the existing environment to accommodate the proposal (ACCC n.d.)

Report Structure

The report conducts a qualitative assessment for identifying the potential impacts associated with the new settlement in the Shoalhaven city. The structure of the report presented below addresses the following concerns and evaluates them:Planning and Land Use Assessment

Cultural Heritage Assessment
Environmental Assessment

The Environmental Assessment considering the components has been addressed:

Geology and soils
Topography
Hydrology and hydraulics
Flora and fauna values
Bushfire management
Noise and air quality

Shoalhaven City: Background

Shoalhaven is a city which is located in the south eastern coastal region of the New South Wales, Australia. Stretching approximately over 200 kilometres it lies south of Sydney and adjacent to the Tasman Sea. Home to the Tharawal people the existence of this city dates back to the early 1797. The nearest terminus is of South Coast Railway line and the Princes Highway connects it to the nearby cities. The area is not densely populated where the last census revealed that the population of the area is 88,405. Over the years with increasing population and people from around the country moving in the area now sees an expansion with around 2,750 more people expected to be there by 2016.

Shaolhaven City has been well known for its strong commitment in the field of arts and music where it has featured the See Change and See Celebrations festivals. With tourism being one of the major drivers of people to this place the demographics of the place seems to have been largely effected through that. One of the major reasons for increase in the number of people expected to be there till 2016 is tourism (Prodile.id n.d.).

Planning and Land Use Assessment

With a significant number of people to move in to the city of Shoalhaven it demands a thorough investigation to be conducted in order to accommodate them. The Planning team needs to evaluate and hence prepare a plan which can be implemented to serve the increased number of people. The study below evaluates the place which could possibly be the location to accommodate the people. The entire investigation further is laid down in the plan which has to be presented by the year 2015 as a part of the public exhibition. As the civil and environmental engineer on the Shoalhaven City Council, NSW ‘Planning Team’ the focus has been laid on to do less damage to the environment as well as make the entire settlement a cost effective one for the council (ABC.NET n.d.). The study below lists down the planning process and the elements which need to be investigated by the planning team. Further the results of the research would help presenting a report for the Local Environmental Plan’ (Land Use Plan).

LandArea

The land release area would be contained within the boundaries of the NSW Lands Department Orthophotoplan – BRUNDEE W6432-4. It marks the boundaries of the land use for the slated neighbourhood. The entire analysis and investigation below would be done on the above mentioned area.

Infrastructural Developments: (e.g.: Road Network)

In accordance to the civil and environmental engineering norms mentioned above the new neighbourhood needs to be facilitated with adequate infrastructural developments. The planning team would have to further analyse the entire plan for assisting these developments to take place. However the components of the infrastructural developments that need to be instilled in the area are development of adequate parks, water supply lines, proper sewerage system, and highly functional solid waste management system, energy supply which is efficient, transportation services with better connectivity, housing and community development. (BVSDE.PAHO 2000,)

The planning team needs to estimate the number of civic bodies that need to be developed to cater to every need which people may have. For instance building of a dedicated school for the children of the new neighbourhood would be one of the concerns. Similarly to encourage people to move in to this a new township and not affect the other areas of the city proper roads and connectivity needs to be provided. Otherwise the people in the newly established neighbourhood would find it difficult and hence come in between the usual lives of the existing establishment in some way or the other.

Facilities/Amenities

As it seems that an entire new neighbourhood would be moving in to the Shoalhaven City an in-depth study needs to be done for what would be the requirements. The main focus would be the existing people who are staying in the nearby locality where the entire setup would be created. A proper infrastructure to back up the increase is one of the primary things which have to be looked into. Further it has to be also considered that the new developments do not affect the existing people living in the neighbourhood. Issues such as roads connectivity, basic amenities, the facilities, all need to be well taken care and looked into before the move ahead is made.

The lifeline to any neighbourhood is the availability of the civil amenities. These usually include the drainage systems, Water availability, Sewer, etc. The planning team would have to evaluate these aspects and project the things which are available as well as the things which need to be made available.

The Bearing Capacity

As laid down by the N.S.W. Department of Land and Water Conservation the team would have to carry out an in-depth study and determine the capacity of the land for being used for residential purpose. Popularly known as the Urban Capability Study the planning team needs to determine the quality of land. For example if the area where the entire settlement is to be made is primarily a rocky area it would highly affect the costs which would be incurred by the civil body.

Environment Assessment

One of the most important issues today is the affect a planned development has to the environment. The planning team needs to evaluate all the major concerns such as the existing scenario of the place in order to make the entire settlement a success. For example clearing out all the trees and making buildings over it would definitely not be the solution to build the buildings. Also it also needs to be examined whether the place or the adjoining areas have been used for industrial purposes or is a dumping ground for long. These two elements could largely effect the settlement to the area by impacting them in terms of serious health concerns to the society.

The planning team would have to value the effects of and rank urban environmental problems in accordance with health effects, amenities, productivity, and ecological values. All the concerns need to be examined and proper backup needs to be provided for it to sustain for a longer period (ACCC n.d.,)

Geology

With the qualified members from the civil planning team it needs to be evaluated whether the geology of the neighbourhood is good for the entire establishment. There are various constraints which might hamper the construction process or may even affect the longevity of the buildings built in the long run. The geological stability and the mineral value of the place need to be examined in details so that adequate measures can be taken before the entire construction process begins. For example if there are deposits of rich minerals or even basalt found below the ground could be a major constraint for the entire establishment process.Soils

The planning team needs to prepare the overlays for the unsuitable areas such as flooding, poor soils, valuable vegetation, steep slopes, high water tables, etc. This would help to carry out the entire construction process besides being handy for the society in the future as well.

Site Contamination

A review of the DECCW’s Contaminated Land Register determined that no EPA contaminated landnotices apply to land that would be impacted by, or in the vicinity of, the proposed land release area(refer to Appendix H for search results).

Topography

The planning team would need to investigate whether the concerned land in use targeted for the neighbourhood development is suitable for the residential purpose or not. It should make it clear that the land use is appropriate and in no way is related for being a place for agriculture or industrial use. Usually an undulating land is the best place for conducting a residential development. The reason for this is the aspects it takes care of such as the drainage, road construction as well as construction of the houses. In case the place is too steep it could be costly for preparing roads whereby a flat land would always be an issue for having a proper drainage. Factors such as checking out the slope, floor levels also need to be evaluated so that it reduces the long run costs for the community (ACCC n.d.,)

Hydrology

The team needs to evaluate the water level for the concerned area. If the planned neighbourhood is built over a shallow water table the civil authorities would have to make arrangements for subsoil drainage. Being near to the water body the chances for excessive water in the soil are pretty higher. If it seems evident then the civil authorities would have to place as subsoil drainage system inside the ground for removing the excessive water. These measures would have to be implemented so that the buildings after being prepared are not damaged in any manner. So the planning team needs to prepare a thorough plan for the entire setup and landscaping needs for building the entire neighbourhood (Home Improvement Pages 2011). The engineers within the team need to conduct a thorough soil analysis, water balance analysis for on-site disposal of the sewage proposed. Also a plan to make sufficient site area available needs to be made so that the entire sewage process is implemented in a well-planned manner.

Water Quality

Water regarded as the other major source for a well-planned neighbourhood should also be made available in accordance with the number of people residing. The planning team would have to take measures that pure water is available for consumption. In order to take care of sufficient supply proper storage methods need to be planned. Proper pumping stations and supply lines would have to be implemented for which the team needs to evaluate the exact need for the forecasted as well as the future increase in population within the neighbourhood.

Ecology

Environmental health engineering would be one of the important features as a part of environmental engineering. It is basically defined as “the branch of engineering that is concerned with protecting the environment from the potentially deleterious effects of human activity, protecting human populations from theeffects of adverse environmental factors, and improving environmental quality for human health and well-being.” (bvsde.paho 2000)

The composition of environmental engineering usually includes the following elements:Environmental planning of infrastructural works and services;

Resource pollution/degradation prevention (Air, Water, Land, Energy)
Waste management (liquid and solid)
Public health aspects (food safety, vector control)
Housing, institutions and the built environment
Environmental emergencies (natural and man- made)

The planning team would have to adapt to the principles mentioned above for natural physical, chemical and biological systemized for the water supply, pollution control, waste disposal, etc.

Noise and air quality

No neighbourhood would appreciate existence of high noise levels, objectionable odours, or fumes within the area. So while planning the entire city things like these needs to be examined and no industry or setup should be granted the license to hamper the noise or smell in the environment.

Bushfire

A viewing of Councils LEP Online Maps identified that bushfireprone vegetation is present within the vicinity of the future land release area. The locations of bushfireprone vegetation communities have been mapped on the constraints plan. (Annexure attached)

Calculating the area for the entire neighbourhood

The next thing to be undertaken and calculated by the planning team is the area required for the entire settlement. In order to carry out this specific the task they would need to collect various data sets and further calculate the approximate area based in that. Some of the elements which have to be collected are:

Income levels of the anticipated people moving in
The number of families moving in
Social composition of the people
Open spaces required for each dwelling

The Planning tools

There are several planning tools which the planning team may use to carry out the entire investigation. Some of the tools have been discussed below which are used for establishing environmental capacity limits as well as the human impacts of them. They are:

Ecological Footprints Analysis: Using this tool the team can actually estimate the exact land area which is required for accommodating the new neighbourhood. It takes into consideration all the human activities, which are both directly or indirectly related to the planning process. Here the degree to which the footprint exceeds the productive areas is the measure of any unsustainability.
Environmental Space: Using this popular tool the maximum sustainable rates for human use for the key resources can be estimated. Further it divides the resources evenly among the existing population for giving each individual’s entitlement.
Community based State of the Environment Reporting: Through this method the intention is developing broad perceptions of the ecosystems and the relationship of the community with them. It further identifies the ecological approaches for planning as well as designing the urban areas on which the residents and the government could ponder and act.
Other tools: Using the Sustainability Reporting and the Environmental Budgeting methods can also be one of the tools for assisting the planning process.

Moreover to investigate the above tools need to be backed up by assessment tools which include the following elements:

Socio-environmental Impact Assessment: These are very comprehensive tools which help in integrating the social and environmental considerations while planning a particular project. For planning the entire establishment of the new neighbourhood it would be highly beneficial for the planning team to use and assess the effectiveness for the development and implementation of the proposed plans.
Environmental Audit: Carrying out an environmental audit on the basis of regular assessment of environmental impacts due to the policies by the civil authorities also need to be investigated through this audit.
Some other tools: Tools such as the sustainability appraisal, environmental action planning and management, Eco-Management and Audit System, and sustainability indicators.All the above tools need to be utilised to derive the possible avenues that have to be addressed before the establishment process could be undertaken. As the entire report needs to evaluate the needs and be presented in the Local Environmental Plan’ (Land Use Plan) slated to be held in the year 2015 the planning authorities should make things perfect and planned. While civil engineering is one of the most important elements that would have to be stressed upon the growing need for addressing the environmental concerns and the developing concept of environmental engineering needs to be placed in an impressive manner. A society once established would go on for 100s of years so the foundation stone for this needs to be just perfect to ensure both the human needs and the environmental needs are well taken care of.

If you want Environment Writing Assignment Help study samples to help you write professional custom essay’s and essay writing hel p.

Receive assured help from our talented and expert writers! Did you buy assignment and assignment writing services from our experts in a very affordable price.

To get more information, please contact us or visit www.myassignmenthelp.Com