At the Monday 28 August Council meeting, Wollongong City Council endorsed the 'West Dapto Social Infrastructure Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis'. This document, with its rather lengthy title, is important as it identifies and guides how Council will invest in social infrastructure in West Dapto.
What is social infrastructure?
In broad terms, social infrastructure refers to the vast array of facilities, spaces, services, and networks that support our community's quality of life. These are the visible, and sometimes unnoticed, parts of our neighbourhoods that make community life enjoyable.
Social infrastructure can be broken down into two types, hard and soft infrastructure. Hard refers to physical facilities such as community centres, pools, roads, footpaths, cycleways, gardens, and parks. Soft refers to the programs, services and networks that occur in these spaces. Think, learn to swim classes, book clubs or community gardening groups.
Council's West Dapto Social Infrastructure Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis focuses on the hard infrastructure needs of the growing West Dapto community.
Planning for the future of a growing community like West Dapto is no easy feat. A Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis looks at what's missing now and predicts what facilities will be needed in the future.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said that as Wollongong's and the Illawarra-Shoalhaven's fastest growing region, West Dapto will require continued investment in social infrastructure.
"Over the next 50 years, we're expecting to see more than 19,500 new dwellings built in West Dapto to accommodate over 56,750 new residents. We're planning for this growing population by setting out what we need and when it needs to be delivered," Cr Bradbery said.
"Homes can't be built in a vacuum, they rely on social infrastructure to make these neighbourhoods safe, liveable, and welcoming. At the same time, we can't afford to build every piece of social infrastructure all at once. There's an incredible amount of work ahead of us and we need to be strategic in our approach.
"This is where the Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis comes in. This document uses the latest research and community feedback to predict future demand for social infrastructure. It looks at what social infrastructure Council has already built in West Dapto and provides guidance on what we will need to invest in for future residents."
Who are the future residents of West Dapto and what will they need?
Social infrastructure must meet the needs of the people who live in a community. Understanding how a population is changing is crucial to predicting this.
The Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis looked at key population trends to understand this. When it comes to population changes, West Dapto is a growing community for young children and families. This is driven by the number of young families settling in the area. On the other end of the spectrum, West Dapto is also experiencing a growing proportion of older people.
These trends are just some of the factors Council takes into consideration when planning social infrastructure.
"A big focus for us is the need to design social infrastructure spaces with flexibility in mind. That means making sure we invest in facilities that can be used in a variety of ways by different people," Cr Bradbery said.
"This includes social infrastructure such as a multi-purpose community centre and library space, youth-friendly spaces and youth centre, community sheds, co-working spaces for businesses, a dedicated Aboriginal community space, childcare facilities, parks and reserves.
"There's a lot of work ahead of us as we continue to invest in West Dapto. The good news is that Council has already started by setting planning rules, approving development, and designing and building new roads, paths, and stormwater structures. We'll continue to invest in this community and residents can expect to see more improvements in future years as we get to work."
