Santorini is whitewashed to help reflect the sunlight and cool down indoor temperatures.While newly built project homes in often affordable Sydney enclaves are not going to turn into the next Mykonos or Santorini, the commitment to switch to light-coloured roofs was aimed at helping NSW achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and would have enormous impact on the urban heat island effect in Sydney, the then-planning minister Rob Stokes said in November.
The Green Building Council of Australia has partnered with developers in the past to implement light-coloured roofs like the ones in Lendlease’s Alkimos Beach community in WA. For Danielle Villafana, growing up in one of these newly built homes in Sydney’s north-west meant she endured hot summers that only became hotter as rapid development transformed the suburb from grass and bushland to more concrete than ever before.
“A lot of western Sydney residents have been failed by the state government [who have] chosen to put developers and money first, rather than equitable cities and people first. “This isn’t about minimising cost but transferring costs to others. The health cost of unsafe housing will be huge. Developers won’t be paying that.”
Poulet, who is also Sydney’s central district and southern district commissioner, said consumers need to be better informed in order to make the right choices, instead of removing their options altogether.
TawarRazaghi Thanks Tawar, this is so important. I'm really interested in how we can improve new building standards without increasing upfront costs. A finance instrument that frontloads the benefits of lower energy costs over the life of the building shouldn't be too difficult to establish.
I used to be employed in the Victorian power generation sector and many years ago the Summer period used to be our peak maintenance period when power usage what at it's lowest peak. Not any more as air conditioners became vogue.