Death of Sydney’s front yards revealed as homes and driveways get bigger

It’s no secret Sydneysiders want bigger homes, with more rooms and more car spaces – but our obsession with huge houses is leading to the death of the front yard.

New research from Macquarie University shows the average front garden in Sydney’s west and north-western suburbs has declined by 46 per cent, and front yard tree canopy fell by 62 per cent when comparing homes before and after a knock-down rebuild development.

The research team looked at the redevelopment of low-density housing across 13 middle-ring suburbs in the Ryde and Parramatta local government areas.

The study found that not only were Sydney home owners opting for bigger houses and smaller gardens, but the size of driveways had also increased by 57 per cent.

“What this research is really trying to do is reveal some of these issues that are cumulative, largely under the strategic radar, but ones that come and bite us in 10 years’ time when we suddenly wake up and go ‘where have the trees gone, but don’t we have nice big houses?’” Professor Peter Davies said.

Using satellite imagery to analyse 370 front yards, the study found the original properties generally featured more lawn areas, mature trees and narrower driveways. In contrast, the redeveloped properties featured more paved frontages, wider driveways to facilitate double garages, and a reduction in grass and plants in favour of concrete.

“In Ryde, the effect is particularly pronounced due to smaller lot sizes, where the building footprint and driveway coverage dominate the frontage, leaving limited setbacks for planting,” the paper found.

Urban trees are an important way to combat the heat, and with fewer trees, leaving footpaths and streets more exposed to the sun, suburbanites are more likely to stay indoors or stick to their cars rather than walk around their home, Davies said.

One easy solution to increase Sydney’s canopy and get trees back into front yards would be mandating one canopy tree in every verge strip and front yard, Davies said.

Ryde’s development control plan mandates the retention of mature trees and requires at least one tree capable of reaching 10 metres tall in the front garden.

The study found that before redevelopment, gardens comprised 67 per cent of the front yard area, but afterwards this dropped to 44 per cent, and the driveway size nearly doubled.

A sweeping overhaul of NSW planning laws has been aimed at tackling rising temperatures and the urban heat island effect in fast-growing suburbs. Proposed alterations to the state’s climate change and natural hazards planning policy would formally recognise extreme heat as a planning hazard alongside floods, bushfires and coastal erosion.

When Sydney physiotherapist Megan Gaudry-Weir inherited her family’s Rooty Hill home, she also inherited a large front yard with nothing but grass. Instead of using the land to expand the house, Megan chose to turn the front yard into an edible garden with native plants.

Gaudry-Weir, who shares her gardening online as the Suburban Homesteader, wants more western Sydney home owners to sacrifice that extra bit of land in favour of contributing to a green and floral streetscape – and help cool down the heating suburbs.

“The joy you get from walking past a house that has all these flowers in bloom and has all these bugs and insects, it makes you happy,” Gaudry-Weir said.

“We love to be able to go out and harvest the herbs, it’s a talking point – I’ll be out gardening and people will ask what I’m up to.”

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