An Adelaide-based influencer and furniture designer says governments and developers have “f*cked up in a big way” when it comes to approving dense housing developments across Australia.
In a video posted to his Instagram account in early December, James Howe – who is married to controversial anti-abortion campaigner Joanna Howe – responded to a news.com.au article depicting aerial images of a mega housing estate on the outskirts of Melbourne.
The article, which was shared on social media by The Advertiser, showed rows of hundreds of near-identical townhouses with matching black roofs sandwiched on top of each other, leaving many to take to social media to express their outrage.
SIGN UP NOW FOR OUR FREE REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER
This included Mr Howe, an Instagram architecture critic, who is known for his controversial social media posts.
“A lot of people are pointing out that this is just a diabolic hell hole (and that) this is just becoming the new standard for Australia – a country where we’ve had, like, really beautiful houses, backyards, barbecues (and) you know, backyard cricket and we’re just throwing it in the bin,” he said in the video.
“Now, there’s a big shift in how we do life here in Australia (and) I think people are just starting to…wake up to that.
“And really, what I think that this shows, is that the people who are in charge of making sure that Australians can afford to buy houses, they have failed and now they are trying to scramble to appeal to voters by saying things like ‘oh look, we’ll let foreign investors come in and buy small Australian apartment blocks and knock them down and build bigger ones and that’ll make housing more affordable’.
MORE NEWS: ‘Depressing’ photo of suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne enrages Aussies
Social media influencer and furniture designer James Howe is known for his sometimes controversial posts on Instagram. Picture: Instagram
“No, you f*cked up in a big way and all of our lives are worse for it.”
The post left Mr Howe’s 148,000 Instagram followers divided.
While some agreed dense housing was becoming an issue, others pointed out that dense housing also often equated to affordable living.
“Let the market decide, if people want smaller houses on large plots then this will be a failure. On the other hand if this is the only way people can afford to own a home then this will continue. If you’re dramatically apposed [sic] to this direction don’t support it financially,” one follow commented.
Another wrote: “God it’s so bloody grim isn’t it.”
The photos of Mickleham, just under an hour’s drive north of the Victorian capital’s CBD, were taken by a traveller flying over the town in November and shared to social media.
MORE NEWS: Huge twist in stubborn Aus neighbour’s $6m deal
An aerial photo of Mickleham – dubbed Australia’s fastest growing suburb – has enraged Aussies and left experts fuming. Picture: Reddit
A “depressing welcome”, he wrote on the approach to Melbourne, prompting outrage from other Aussies.
Dr Sebastian Pfautsch, an expert in urban planning and management at Western Sydney University, said the image of Mickleham left him feeling “angry and hopeless”.
“Angry because of the continued ignorance of builders and those that approve the new settlements. Hopeless because it is obvious that homeowners don’t care either,” he told news.com.au.
MORE NEWS: “Where will all the super affordable housing be?”
The issue is not isolated to Melbourne. Suburbs such as The Ponds (above), in Sydney’s west, have also faced heavy criticism. Picture: X
Professor Pfautsch said he was stunned builders were “making the same (design) mistakes” that had been repeated for decades in Australia.
“Badly insulated, single-glazed, black roofed, entirely unshaded homes will rely entirely on airconditioning at any outdoor temperature above 28 to 30C,” he said.
“They become very expensive to operate in summer. In the cost-of-living crisis today, people already make decisions between food on the table or running the airconditioning.
“Imagine what these families will endure in 20 to 30 years.”