It was the photo that outraged Australians and made urban planners nervous.
The image, showing hundreds of similar houses with heat-absorbing black roofs in Mickleham, on Melbourne’s northern outskirts, was described as “absurd” and “depressing”.
The lack of trees and open spaces that could help soften the impact of rising temperatures was also heavily criticised, with Australians living there comparing it to a “sauna”.
Sebastian Pfautsch, professor of urban planning at Western Sydney University, said news.com.au that the photograph made him feel “angry” at the “continued ignorance of the builders and those who approve new settlements.”
He even went so far as to blame those who live there, saying, “It’s obvious that the owners don’t care either.”
But homeowners living on similar urban “heat islands” in western Sydney disagree; They do care, they just can’t do much about it.
Tens of thousands of people looking for a place to live in Australia’s most expensive city are being pushed further into isolated, basic suburbs with little defense against scorching heatwaves.
Surya Durai, 34, is one of the residents of the new Box Hill development in Sydney’s northwest, 30 miles from the CBD.
The photo of terraced houses with heat-absorbing black roofs in Mickleham, on Melbourne’s northern outskirts, went viral after being posted on Reddit.
Box Hill, in Sydney’s northwest, 30 miles from the CBD, resembles Mickleham with its sea of black roofs and little greenery.
Surya Durai, 34, and his young family are residents of the new Box Hill development.
Durai took a break from his garden work on a 33C day to tell Daily Mail Australia that he and his young family have been in the neighborhood for six months, after purchasing a 330 square meter plot of land and building in it.
When asked where he would prefer to live, he said, “definitely not on this side of town.”
“If I can, I’ll try to get something closer to the city, maybe a unit, because unit prices have gone down,” he said.
Durai, like many residents of Sydney’s outer suburbs, has had to make trade-offs with long commutes, lack of infrastructure and extreme heat, in exchange for more affordable housing.
Desert winds bring hot air to the west of Sydney during the summer, without the relief of sea breezes in the east of the city.
Durai said when the heat gets worse he resorts to running the air conditioner 24 hours a day and stays on the lower level of his house.
It has a solar panel that, according to him, “somewhat offsets” the high cost of electricity.
Her neighbor, María Faruqui, is using practically the same strategy.
María Faruqui said that if she had the option “she would definitely get closer to the CBD”
Academics say masses of black roofs on urban developments create a ‘heat island’ effect
“We just stayed inside, downstairs and used the air conditioning during the day and night,” he said.
Mrs. Faruqui and her husband bought their house for $1.3 million three years ago.
Although house prices in Box Hill are below the Sydney average of $1.5 million, many Australians wouldn’t consider them cheap: the median price is $1.2 million.
Ms Faruqui said if she had the choice, she would “definitely move closer to the CBD, of course, towards the eastern suburbs”.
Her husband works in the city, which is about an hour’s drive away during rush hours, or an hour and a half by public transportation.
Western Sydney can be up to 10C hotter than the rest of the city, and it’s not just geography that’s driving up temperatures.
Academics have criticized the urban design of developments such as Box Hill, saying masses of unshaded black roofs absorb heat and create a heat island effect.
Residents then rely on their air conditioners, which pump indoor heat outside and only compound the problem.
Dr Pfautsch has urged state governments to impose more regulations on developers, namely banning dark roofs.
Durai said that when he bought his land he was promised schools, parks and sports areas.
Box Hill is the type of development that Professor Pfautsch has criticized: a sea of dark roofs and shadeless asphalt.
Box Hill is an area of high and medium density housing surrounded by rural land, one of the areas rezoned for urban development as part of the New South Wales Government’s North West Growth Area.
It’s the kind of development Dr. Pfautsch has criticized: a sea of dark roofs and shadeless asphalt.
Residents who spoke to Daily Mail Australia were unaware of the investigations into dark roofs, but all agreed the suburb needed more parks and green spaces.
Their concerns are in line with an infrastructure trend struggling to keep pace with new housing in areas such as Marsden Park, Schofields and Oran Park.
“I would definitely like to see more trees,” Mrs. Faruqui said.
“We used to rent in Mount Colah and throughout the year we never needed air conditioning, because it has more greenery and it’s on a hill.”
The extent of vegetation on Mr. Durai’s street was a couple of saplings on the berm, planted only a few weeks ago.
He said he wanted to see more parks in the suburb.
‘When we bought the land they promised us schools, parks and sports areas. But once we got this place we had to fight for the parks.
‘We only have one, but there are no others around here. The developer is not willing to give it to the (local) government, he is asking for more money.’
Professor Pfautsch said developers should do more to inform buyers about heat regulation.
A light-colored roof costs the same as a dark-colored one, but could save customers $700 on electric bills a year, he said.
“There is still this lack of knowledge because people are very busy with their lives: when you live in the West, your work is very likely to be in the East, you travel and you have little time to listen to scientists.”
“To some extent I blame the developers, but to another extent it comes down to personal information.”
A light-colored roof costs the same as a dark-colored one, but could save customers $700 on electricity bills a year, Professor Pfautsch said.
A spokesperson for the New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure said the state has one of Australia’s most robust Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) planning measures, the tool applied to all new housing developments.
In October 2023, thermal and energy performance standards for homes were increased, aligning them with the energy efficiency requirements established in the 2022 National Construction Code.
“Under these higher standards, it is more difficult for a building to meet BASIX requirements if a dark roof is used in specific climate zones, including Greater Sydney,” the spokesperson said.
But Professor Pfautsch said an outright ban was the only way to see “change on a larger scale”.
“Every house that has a dark roof will contribute to the heat island effect and urban overheating.”