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Background: WestConnex overview M4-M5 Link Concept Design To bring Sydney together, WestConnex tears suburbs apart The development and construction of WestConnex has impacted and changed places. Large sections in the vicinity of Parramatta Rd in Ashfield and Concord and the western part of the suburb of Haberfield have been demolished to make way for the road development. You can read more about this here - West Connex's collision course into communities or in my previous posts. Impact at St Peters, Alexandria and Newtown Stage 2 of the WestConnex project involves the construction of a tunnel between St Peters and Kingsgrove. The King Street Gateway and the Campbell Road Green link are changing the nature of St Peters, Alexandria and Newtown. View the St Peters Overview. Links: Changes to St Peters can be seen in the link below. Sydney's WestConnex changes the face of St Peters - in pictures Information about the construction at St Peters can be found in the following article: WestConnex inflicts non-stop construction on St Peters for the next 3 weekends.  The M4-M5 link tunnels will run underneath Newtown. Many Newtown business owners have begun protesting the development, worried that congestion and bottlenecks will negatively impact retail businesses, or alternatively that clearways along King St will kill business. The Newtown WestConnex Action Group has been formed. In Alexandria a new bridge is being constructed over the canal to allow movement of traffic from the St Peters interchange.
Links: Six tunnels will be built under Andre's house in Lorde St Newtown. "Write an email": Sydney residents get no more answers as WestConnex hits Alexandria. Official: WestConnex allowed to flout environmental laws. Please see my other WestConnex posts: WestConnex Infographic WestConnex - Protest Movements and Impacts WestConnex update - Haberfield and Ashfield WestConnext - Sydney, sustainability and transport
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Dulwich Hill is a suburb located in Sydney's Inner West, surrounded by Summer Hill, Hurlstone Park, Marrickville, Petersham, Lewisham and Earlwood. It experienced growth in the late 1800s following the introduction of the tram line, and as a result contains buildings with heritage architecture, particularly Federation architecture. The tram line through Dulwich Hill was not in use as public transport from the 1950s. The Inner West light rail extension in 2013 reconnected Dulwich Hill by rail with nearby suburbs and the city. For more details see my previous post Inner West Light Rail Extension. For more information about the history and development of Dulwich Hill, visit the Dulwich Hill section of the Marrickville historical society - Dulwich Hill - a history. The Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Strategy, encompasses the suburb of Dulwich Hill, rezoning for higher density and redevelopment of older buildings. Changes to zoning as part of this strategy can be seen on the Planning NSW website - Dulwich Hill Landuse Plan. The plan for Dulwich Hill includes 2000 more dwellings, with 3 storey development along Wardell Road, and unit developments from 3-5 storeys near the Dulwich Hill station. Higher density housing developments are zoned for around the Dulwich Hill light rail station (between 3-7 storeys). 8 storey developments will be allowed around Arlington Grove Light Rail station. View the Changing Places - Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Precinct post. The Save Dulwich Hill Community Group promotes issues related to the redevelopment of the suburbs and lobbies the government to preserve the heritage of suburb. Visit the Save Dully website to read more about their actions. The NSW Government has released a revised Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Strategy for public comment. The strategy will be implemented over 20 years and sees plans for urban consolidation and retail opportunities along the a new metro line which will replace the existing train line and link with the Metroline being built in Sydney's north west. It includes the creation of over 35,000 new homes. View the Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Corridor website. Priority Precincts where development will be concentrated include Campsie, Canterbury, Lakemba and Belmore. Developments in these areas will include buildings up to 25 storeys high. Marrickville will have an increase in homes of 84%, while Canterbury will increase by 208%. and Belmore will increase 128%. Some suburbs such as Dulwich Hill and Hurlstone Park have had a reduction in the number of new dwellings proposed compared to the previous plan released. View Changing Places: Conflict over development in Dulwich Hill. The existing rail line between Sydenham to Bankstown will be converted to a Metro line. During construction the rail line will not be in operation. It is anticipated that once completed, it will reduce wait times and travel times to the city. However, the existing rail line allows commuters to connect with the existing CityRail network and travel to locations such as Chester Hill, Villawood, Cabramatta and Liverpool, without having to change trains. Commuters can then change trains to connect with the rest of the CityRail network. It is unclear at this stage how the Metro line will interact with the existing City Rail and light rail networks. Residents and community groups have expressed some concerns regarding the increased level of density and population. Concerns relate to inadequate parkland and open space, destruction of heritage architecture, new designs which are unsympathetic to the heritage nature of suburbs, and lack of supporting infrastructure. There has been limited information released regarding industrial and commercial zoning, and concerns have been raised regarding the sustainability of the development. The rezoning will also take place years before the Metro line will finished. Supporters of the developments state that high density is better for the environment than urban sprawl and increases connectivity and land values in the area.
The renewal strategy announcement has come at a time when residents of the Inner West are already dealing with a large number of new developments and there is a perception that there is an inequitable system of planning in place. For example Council targets for new housing approvals have been exceeded in Canterbury, but many other council areas such as Hunters Hill, Warringah, Pittwater, Willoughby and Manly have not met their targets. There have been a range of issues associated with the WestConnex development such as compulsory acquisition and demolition of houses, encroaching on parks, noise and construction issues. The recently announced future sale of Canterbury Racecourse for development has also been an issue of contention. These issues combined are likely to make Inner West residents less persuadable when it comes to future developments. Articles: Residents, ex-pollies baulk at high density in revised Sydneham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Strategy. Planning experts say development should be embraced and not feared along Sydenham to Bankstown corridor. Sydney's tale of two suburbs: new analysis shows the wide spread of development. Metro's on the wrong track High rise to hell Open season on high rise Heritage, character face destruction Inner West needs nine new schools You have been given the job of designing a new city. It will be located at Warnervale on the Central Coast between the M1 and the Pacific Highway. The aim of your city design is to plan the most liveable city possible. Task 1: Brainstorm your ideas and begin planning. Create a list or mind map of all the features that your city will need. At this stage you are just coming up with ideas. You may change your mind as your city design develops.
Task 2: Design your city plan You have been provided with an outline map. Use your mapping rules to begin designing your city. Include border, orientation (north point), a legend, a map title and scale. On your map label the M1 motorway, Sparks Road and the railway line. Draw and label all the key features of your city.  Task 3: Draw your CBD and a residential area.
Construct sketches of how you imagine your city will look like. Annotate your images with important features of your city (style of building, tree-lined streets, community spaces, retail spaces, etc). Task 4: Create a prospectus Write a report that addresses how you have created a "liveable" city. Refer to the questions outlined in Task 1 to help you structure your response. Scan your city plan and CBD and residential area drawings and include them in your prospectus.     Stage 1 of the WestConnex project involves the widening of the M4, a connection between Parramatta Road and the City West Link and new connections at Concord Road. A tunnel will run from the end of the current M4 to the City West Link, M4 East concept design WestConnex Stage 1 WestConnex interactive map Ashfield A section of Ashfield along Parramatta Road was acquired and demolished for WestConnex. The exit to the M4 tunnel will be opposite Bunnings Warehouse near the crossroads of Frederick St/ City West Link and Parramatta Road. Link: WestConnex plan jeered by Ashfield residents Save Ashfield Park Rally Haberfield Some of the issues raised in relation to WestConnex in Haberfield include home acquisitions, destruction of heritage architecture, noise and vibrations for homes adjacent to construction sites, changes to traffic flows and the impact of all of these factors on the nature of the suburb. Links: Haberfield homes acquired for building of WestConnex Three month closure of Ramsay Street Haberfield Talking WestConnex and Mike Baird ignoring compulsory aquisition reforms WestConnex private contractors sell items from heritage homes ahead of demolition WestConnex unused land should be handed back say inner west residents. Residents in Haberfield and Beverley Hills claim WestConnex work is cracking walls of houses near motorway construction sites. What we are facing is the destruction of Haberfield
Stage 5 Geography - Changing Places
In the previous 7-10 syllabus in Environment Issues there was a section of content where students were asked to investigate individual, groups and government responses to an issue. In the new NSW syllabus this has been removed. However, in Stage 4 Changing Places the issue of WestConnex protests (or some other protests) can be used to address the inquiry questions:
Students can examine transport networks as both a cause and consequence of urbanisation (see previous post - WestConnex - Sydney, Sustainability and Transport) Students can also use it to examine the following content dot points:
Below: The St Peters West Connex site.
Stage 6 Geography - Urban Places/Urban Dynamics In a previous post I wrote about how WestConnex could be used as a way of exploring growth, development, future trends and ecological sustainability for a Sydney case study in the urban dynamics section of the HSC course. Another way this issue could be used in this course would be to use it to explore the culture of place of a suburb like Haberfield. There have been a variety of articles regarding the nature of the suburb in terms of heritage architecture, noise, and street life, and how this has and will change as a result of WestConnex. There are also a number of articles regarding the development site at St Peters and the removal of established trees on Sydney Park. This could also be used as a way to ask problematic questions such as: - What is the cost of development?, - What kind of Sydney do we really want? - Do the benefits to the city/commuters outweigh the costs to others? - Will the project really releive traffic in the long term? 
Students can do this through the lense of community protests to examine how different groups and individuals perceive how WestConnex (both a consequence of and a response to urbanisation - i.e a response to traffic congestion, the need for transport infrastructure) impacts their community and/or environment. In the previous syllabus there was a lot of scope to do activities such as mock council meetings, mock letters to Members of Parliament, etc. A simple search on Youtube brings up many recorded meetings regarding the project. This is an ideal scenario to use in class to reenact (or participate in) this process. While NESA/BOSTES has not completed a rewrite of the Civics and Citizenship Australian Curriculum, we can assume it will be relatively similar based on the rewrites of 7-10 History and Geography. In Civics and Citizenship (AC) students examine how citizens participate in direct action and lobbying (Year 8) and how and why individuals and groups participate in and contribute to civic life (Year 9). This provides a perfect example to explore these kinds issues and to build on student knowledge in Civics and Citizenship. Resources Below is a list of links to articles and websites related to WestConnex protests. You will notice that some of these are from media outlets such as Green Left Weekly and Alt Media. In a previous post on WestConnex most of the links I provided were government websites. The two posts together provide a more balanced approach to the issue and any lesson to students should include a range of perspectives and encouraging students to do their own analysis and make their own conclusions. WestConnex: Protesters clash with Police over 800 tree-deaths Protesting businesses in Newtown and Enmore stick it to WestConnex Haberfield homes acquired for building of WestConnex Three month closure of Ramsay Street Haberfield Talking WestConnex and Mike Baird ignoring compulsory aquisition reforms WestConnex private contractors sell items from heritage homes ahead of demolition Clover Moore supports protesters at 24-hour-a-day camping blockade... WestConnex protesters arrested as Sydney Park trees come down. Protesters Clash with WestConnex workers How the 15.4b WestConnex will affect Sydney residents Baird's new protest laws used against WestConnex protesters Protests grow over WestConnex Stop WestConnex WestConnex Action Group Changing Places (Year 9) The Changing Places topic requires students to explain processes and influences that form and transform places and environments (GE5-2) and to assess management strategies for places and environments for their sustainability (GE5-5). The topic requires students to examine urbanisation, the impact of migration and strategies to address change in urban places and how they enhance sustainability. As a part of examining the causes and consequences of urbanisation, students will have investigated spatial distribution patterns of urbanisation (for example the influence of transport corridors), and the social, economic and environmental consequences of urbanisation (this could include traffic congestion, costs of tolls or costs of constructing new infrastructure, average times people spend commuting to work, the impact of car exhaust on air quality). In examining urban settlement patterns students will specifically address the impact of transportation networks in Australian and another country to explain differences in urban concentrations. While there is scope to deal with a range of issues and influences related to urbanisation and urban settlement, there is certainly an opportunity to develop a unit of work that develops students’ understanding in car dependence, traffic congestion, public transport, road networks, etc. to lead them to be able to examine this issue of the WestConnex development from a range of perspectives and with detailed background knowledge. In the last part of the Changing Places topic students investigate the management and planning of Australia’s urban future, including Australia’s population projections, implications for growth and sustainability, strategies to create sustainable urban places and ways for individuals and groups to become involved. WestConnex provides a great case study to examine this. Obviously you need to address the points at the national scale, but the WestConnex project impacts on such a large are of Sydney that you might find that many of your students are already engaged with (or at least aware of) the project in some way. Urban Places/ Urban Dynamics (Year 12) If you choose to do Sydney as a large city case study for Urban Places the WestConnex project could also tie into the - growth, development, future trends and ecological sustainability dot point.  Lesson ideas The risk of covering this as a case study is the difficulty in maintaining an apolitical discussion of the issues. It is important to provide a whole range of perspectives and interpretations to develop problematic knowledge and higher order thinking, but how do you direct the discussions to ensure that the focus of the lesson is on the content and not the politics? Some lesson possibilities: Population Growth & Transport As a group, students examine the current population projections for Sydney and consider the effectiveness of current transport infrastructure (include roads, rail, light rail, ferries, etc), taking into account commute times and traffic congestion. Suggest a range of different strategies to address transport issues in Sydney. Discuss with your group the pros and cons of each strategy. Devise a plan that you would put in place if you were Premier. Present your alternate plan to the class (include annotated maps, descriptions justifying your choices, references to economic, social and environmental sustainability of your choices). West Connex & Sustainability Examine the WestConnex development from a range of different perspectives. Assess the project for economic, social and environmental sustainability. Include maps showing where the WestConnex project is located and the changes to landuse along the corridor (for example, aquisitions and demolitions, new open spaces). What might you change to improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the project? Individual and community action Individually, examine the ways that individuals and communities have contributed to the political process and discussions about the WestConnex project. Write a paragraph about 5 actions taken by individuals and communities. Do you think these have been effective? Do you think these actions are justified? What other actions could individuals or communities take?  Resources:
The NSW Government has put out a range of resources to promote the WestConnex, including an educational package. These provide some basic information
The Inner West Council also has a large number available on their website including meeting minutes, media releases, and an online petition. ABC: WestConnex environmental impact statement projects less traffic, less pollution once M4 East completed. UNSW - West Connex – M4 East – Submission by the Healthy Built Environments Program (UNSW) West Connex Action Group There have been many protests regarding the WestConnex. Another source of information is the WestConnex Action Group website. WestConnex Action Group facebook page Please see my other WestConnex posts: WestConnex Infographic WestConnex - Protest Movements and Impacts WestConnex update - Haberfield and Ashfield WestConnex update - St Peters, Alexandria and Newtown tI have recently been running a few sessions with high schools to help with programming for the new NSW Geography syllabus incorporating the Australian Curriculum. As the year is coming to a close, and I am running out of time, I thought I would just make this available in case people want to share it or go through it with their faculties. This might be a useful resource to use for one of the last Staff Development Days or your first day back (take note Social Science/HSIE Head Teachers). If you are at a Department of Education school you can find this course on MyPL by searching for its title: Introduction to the 7-10 Geography syllabus: - Session 1 - the basic framework. Download the file to use with your staff (edit/change whatever you like). 
Why teach Geography? Given the number of teachers who teach Geography in 7-10, that aren't specifically trained in it (or perhaps interested in it), I think it is worth starting any discussion with "Why teach Geography?". Ask teachers to consider the importance of examining and promoting this subject to the individual, the community and the world. If you can encourage the staff that aren't all that engaged in Geography to develop an interest in it, then they will be much more successful in teaching the subject and engaging their students. Geography in Primary - impacts on your teaching in high school For the first time, students will be studying Geography in primary school as a stand alone subject. Most Year 7 units that are currently taught begin with "What is Geography", "What is a Geography tool/skill?", "What are the features of maps", etc. Once the new syllabus is fully implemented, students will have already covered this introductory information in primary school. So this is the first thing that will need to go. In primary school the students will have already been introduced to geographical concepts, tools, and the geographical inquiry process. Keep in mind, this may not be the case for 2017 for all students, but from 2018, you should expect that students have this prior knowledge. Obviously, do some pretesting to get an idea of the depth of students' knowledge. Components of the syllabus Continuums of learning This syllabus introduces a series of continuums of learning for students. There are three continuums: Geographical concepts, Inquiry skills and Geographical tools. These provide you with a snapshot of the learning the takes place in each stage from Early Stage 1 to Stage 5. In the previous syllabus students followed a Research Action Plan. This has been simplified in the new syllabus to a Geographical Inquiry. Students undertake a Geographical Inquiry from Early Stage 1 up to Stage 5, but as students move through the stages the process becomes more complex. However, regardless of the complexity, there are three main stages to a Geographical Inquiry - Acquiring geographical information, processing geographical information and communicating geographical information. Geographical Tools include five main categories - Maps, Fieldwork, Graphs and Statistics, Spatial Technologies and Visual Representations. In the previous syllabus, these were generally what we referred to as skills. There has been some shifting of skills/tools from the previous syllabus and the addition of some new tools. The biggest difference is in Stage 5, where in Spatial Technologies students will be expected to be proficient in virtual maps, satellite maps, global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing data and augmented reality. If this is something which staff find a little daunting, keep in mind that you could delay implementing a couple of these items until 2018, Year 10 to allow a little bit of extra time for upskilling. This way you would still be covering them for the students in Stage 5. Once teaching feeling comfortable with their own skills levels and knowledge, you might then look at shifting it earlier in the stage. Outcomes One of a major differences bewteen the new NSW syllabus and the Australian Curriculum is the integration of outcomes, which in NSW we are used to. Outcomes decribe the essential learning. You MUST cover outcomes. These must be the starting points for designing your lessons, excursions, project based learning, problem based learning, assessments and reports. There should really be a huge arrow pointing at the outcomes for each topic saying "Start here!!". Key Inquiry Questions The new NSW syllabus has included key inquiry questions which drive student learning. This inquiry strand runs parallel to the development of content knowledge. Students will use their inquiry skills (see the continuum discussed above) and geographical tools to undertake geographical inquiries. This is an opportunity for students to explore problematic knowledge, and to develop critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, personal and social capability (some of the Learning Across the Curriculum areas), Stage statements: The stage statements provide a description of what we want student to have acheived by the end of the stage. Stage statements can be used as a reference point for student acheivement. They may also be useful in making judgements about individual students in terms of decisions related to Learing and Support, Life Skills or opportunities for acceleration. If the student is performing well above or below the stage statement this will indicate that adjustments, modifications or a different course is required. Content The content is the detailed information to be covered in each topic. Each of the dot points is compulsory, while the dash points are suggested ways that you may choose to approach the dot point (not mandatory). You may come up with other ways to approach the dot point if you choose. Life Skills A specific Geography Life Skills course has been provided which could run parallel to a mainstream class. Topics, outcomes and content are similar. This will make it easier to implement if you have one Life Skills students in a mainstream class, as you will be able to use some of the basic information prepared for your mainstream class and heavily modify it, rather than create resources on a completely different topic as was the case with the provious Life Skills course. Icons and symbols The content has a series of codes and symbols throughout. The Australian Curriculum Codes are indicated after the dot points (e.g. ACHGK048). Generally teachers don't really need to worry about these, as the NSW syllabus is the absolute authority. However, if you are looking for resources shared from around Australia, it may be useful to know the Australian Curriculum code. Icons and abbreviations are also used to indicate appropriate content where tools and Learning Across the Curriculum can be covered. |
Louise SwansonDeputy Principal at a Sydney high school. Coordinating author of the new Geoactive book series. 
7-10 Geography pages have been retired due to the introduction of the new syllabus. The above links relate to current NSW syllabuses. All Commerce and Legal Studies resources have been moved onto this main site (search Commerce or Legal Studies below).
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