Analysis of Connectivity and Urban Development on Russell Island

This report delves into the urban planning practices and connectivity issues of Russell Island, a significant island within Redland City. It begins with an introduction to the island's geographical context, population growth, and socioeconomic challenges, including limited employment opportunities and reliance on off-island work. The vision statement emphasizes the desired lifestyle and infrastructure. The report identifies key stakeholders and analyzes the primary problems faced by residents, focusing on poor transportation infrastructure, limited services for the elderly, and the lack of vehicle access for some residents. The connectivity plan focuses on ferry terminal upgrades and repurposing existing transportation systems. Economic development aspects are discussed, including employment rates, infrastructure, and transportation services. The report also examines residential developments and their implications, including housing market issues. The report concludes with discussions on natural hazards and calamities and their impacts on the island, emphasizing the need for protective measures. The report references multiple sources to support its analysis and recommendations.

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URBAN PLANNING PRACTICE
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

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CONNECTIVITY IN RUSSELL ISLAND
INTRODUCTION.
Russell Island is based in in Redland City, it’s the largest in the Southern Moreton Bay Islands
with higher number of population and located between the mainland and North Stradbroke
Island.
The island is approximately eight kilometers in length and closely three kilometers wide. It has a
main channel that divides it from the mainland while canaipa passage separates the Russell
Island from North Stradbroke Island (Schnepel, 2015).
The island experiences substantial growth and development. There has been a significant
increase of population seen over the years. Residential developments is mostly acknowledged
and seen on the northern part of the highland. The southern part in mainly dominated as
conservational zonation and most of the services centers such as hospitals.schools,shopping
centres,supermarkets, recreational centers and many more are located within the vicinity of the
northern end. The employment on the island is also scarce or limited this forces most workers to
commute off island to work.
According to various researches undertaken as part of a larger project funded by the Australian
Housing and Urban Research Institute of Russell Island, Russell is disadvantages in social and
economic ways. Meaning the socioeconomic developments on the highland is limited and obtains
slow and unreliable growth and development. The concentration in the island is of small and low-
income households, a larger proportion of the population earns less than $600 gross income
weekly.

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The Russell Island is a third marginal suburb which is situated on the urban margin hence it
somehow not connected to the mainstream housing markets (Crooks & Sanjayan, 2013).
Most type 3 suburbs have greater residential mobility rates compared to than other suburbs.
Though this essentially comes from domestic.
Vision Statement
The Islands Vision
‘The lifestyle enjoyed by the Island residents is directly influenced by the Islands’ unique
location and environment. The built form is distinctive and reflects a style and character
consistent with the Island lifestyle sought by most residents. Appropriate public infrastructure is
in place to support this lifestyle. Development is supported by an efficient water-based transport
service between islands and the mainland. A suitable road and pedestrian/cycle network supports
the needs of residents and visitors. Employment opportunities include providing services to
residents, island based education and research activities, and catering for day tourism plus the
recreational boating industry (Lindenmayer & Fischer, 2016).’
SMBI 2030 Community Plan
Stakeholders of the Russell Island

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Stakeholder interviewee selection is to somewhat directed by a consistent gradient and list of
potentially related participants including native council officers, providers of social housing,
representatives of the police, providers of support services and education providers.
Fig 1: Showing stakeholders in Russell Island on economic development

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Problems and Goals
Most occupants of Russell Island that participated in the research actively described the Russell
Island as a place where there are various challenges that are existing in a good number of
associations on community the island (Harris, et al., 2017). The main and key challenges facing
the island and ought to be sorted includes:
Poor and limited transportation means-The poor transport infrastructures affects the potential
connectivity in the location.
Russell Island can only be accessed by ferry, regardless of deep-rooted conceptions on the
potential possibility of a bridge being established to link the island to the mainland. The main
transport system as a channel connecting to the island and the mainland is passenger ferry and
vehicular barge. The ferries run regularly from 4.00am to 11.00pm and the journey takes around
20 minutes.
The main and the only system in public transport is taxi, making the residents to exclusively
depend on private transport. According to the research on Redland City Council, most of the
residents of Russell Island; 50% of the population have one car as most of the residents depend
on the public means of transport when they reach the mainland (Horsey, Wishart & Rowland
2012).This is because the residents are trying to avoid the cost of moving vehicles on the barge.
Other 22% of residents have and can access two vehicles. Most operates in a way that they leave
one vehicle at the terminals of the ferry for mainland and they pay but this comes with additional
pay for parking space. Limited services for the elderly as there is poor and inadequate
infrastructures that supports social services in the area.

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Additional of 13% of the islanders do not have an access to a motor vehicle. This is
comparatively. This puts the residents at difficulties when considering that there is no other
forms and systems of transport on the island as well as remoteness of the southern end to be
disadvantaged from main services situated at the north (Council 2013).
The connectivity affects education centres, social health centres, infrastructure developments,
social amenities for helping the elders and many others.
There are various achievements and goals that the Russell Island wants to achieve includes:
Establishments and developments of various plans of building, constructing s and improve the
transport systems to enable and necessitate the connectivity within the Russell Island.
Improvement and development of community services for the elderly thus enabling access of
appropriate services to deal with respond in a holistic manner.
Improve the education sector by building more infrastructures of the education sector through the
collaboration between the community association and the government stalkholders.
Improve the volume of communities and services in the community to help positivity to help
encamp the challenges they face.

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Fig 2: Showing ferry at the terminal carrying the residents of the island
Fig 3: Barge ferrying vehicles from the mainland to the island.
Connectivity plan
The main connectivity plan in the Southern Moreton Bay Islands is construction of ferry terminal
and the upgrades of the same in collaboration with state government and Redland City Council.

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The Project was executed and employed on Russell Island in 2007 and was designed as a
collaboration between the State of Queensland Government departments and the government
stalkholders of Russell island (Nagelkerken, 2015).
The connectivity plan also included repurposing existing ferry for transportation and recreational
services provision.
Most Investments done are to improve the facilities to supports our businesses, creates jobs as
construction of the terminals alone creates jobs. It also helps in improving tourism sector.
Economic development
Economic development consists of various developments within a selected region. The economic
developments in Russell Island is based on the employment rate, infrastructure development and
transportation system services (American Geophysical Union, 2014).
Unemployment, limited infrastructure, low income and poor transport services depicts the level
of economic development in the island.
There are various transportation infrastructures that are designed and initiated o be build and
constructed. The bridges and the inroads that are initiated to be built improves the level of the
development hence upholding socioeconomic development.
The schools and educational training institutions that are in place to be constructed reduces the
limitation of educational training institutions and help the people of the Russell Island to have a
choice of choosing a school to attend.
The social amenities and infrastructures are limited in the area, the amenities helps to provide the
elderly people communities (Deburlo, 2012). This enables proper and eases the provision of
social service amenities.

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The above elements are the key drives in the economic development sector, the government and
the community associations in collaboration initiates the development designs in the area.
Fig 4: Shows the economic growth graph of Russell over the years.
Residential developments in Russell island
Most residential in the Russell Island is private owned .The privately owned housing system are
mostly dominated by Russell Island. Remarkably, there is low social housing provided in Russell
island. This means that low-income households are needed in the cooperation of the private
rental housing system. The occupation owner is comparatively greater on Russell Island
especially in home ownership situations (Colchester, 2013).
House and land prices are low on Russell Island, with the median vacant land price.

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The island consist of about 7000 vacant blocks that are owned by landowner in absentee. This
owners aim to construct investment properties while some of them wish to build a home to live
in.
There is problems and issues of housing the region as the number of housing is limited in the
region. The market for housing for owner occupation is reflected partly in private market rentals.
Natural hazard development
Natural hazards and calamities have impacts in socioeconomic developments worldwide. The
cost of damage of this calamities is very high both to the government and persons living in the
place as it is said, “money spent in repairing the damage caused by calamities is money lost to
the air”.
There are consequences of building and constructing infrastructures in the island as it come with
the hazardous effects (Bennett, 2016).
The potential and possible natural calamities that may affect and bring impact on Russell Island
are: Severe hurricanes, torrential rains, earthquakes, and landslides will continue to occur.
Hazard
The likelihood of natural
calamities occurring in the
area at given time and to the
extent of the damage.
Risk
The damage and loss
expectations from a specific
hazard or phenomena.
(probability, intensity,
Vulnerability
The potential of the loss of given
aspect of risk that come from the
magnitude of the calamity

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extent) and vulnerability
Fig 5: Showing how to evaluate the impact of natural hazards and calamities
Conclusion
In conclusion, Russell Island has the potential and possibility to develop and grow socially and
economically. The various challenges such as low income, limited employment opportunities,
limited social services and poor infrastructure can be solved.
The island experiences substantial growth and developments has been an increase of population
seen over the years as there has been potential residential growth and developments, many
infrastructures and services provisional such as hospitals. Schools, shopping centers,
supermarkets, recreational centers and many more have been developed and improved over the
years.
Nevertheless, this developments and growth are protected from the possible natural calamities that
might occur in the area to avoid reduce the cost of damage.
References

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American Geophysical Union, 2014. Meetings Abstracts, January-August 2006: Ocean Sciences Meeting,
Honolulu, Hawaii, 20-24 February 2006; Joint Assembly, Baltimore, Maryland, 23-26 May 2006; Western
Pacific Geophysics Meeting, Beijing, China, 24-27 July 2006. 2018 ed. Texas: American Geophysical
Union.
Bennett, A., 2016. Linkages in the Landscape: The Role of Corridors and Connectivity in Wildlife
Conservation. 2nd ed. Sydney: IUCN.
Colchester, M., 2013. Justice in the Forest: Rural Livelihoods and Forest Law Enforcement. 5th ed. New
Zealand: CIFOR.
Council, R. C. (2013). Redland Priority Development Area.
Crooks, K. & Sanjayan, 2013. Connectivity Conservation. 4th ed. Sydney: Cambridge University Press.
Deburlo, C. R., 2012. Indigenous response and participation in tourism in a southwest Pacific island
nation, Vanuatu. 3rd ed. London: University Microfilms International.
Harris, J., Holmes, C. & Russell, E., 2017. Byzantines, Latins, and Turks in the Eastern Mediterranean
World After 1150. 2nd ed. Texas: OUP Oxford.
Horsey, J., Wishart, D., & Rowland, B. (2012). Redland City Council fleet safety initiative: The road to
recovery. In Occupational Safety in Transport Conference 2012. CARRS-Q, Queensland University of
Technology.
Lindenmayer, D. & Fischer, J., 2016. Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change: An Ecological and
Conservation Synthesis. 5th ed. New Zealand: Island Press.
Nagelkerken, I., 2015. Ecological Connectivity among Tropical Coastal Ecosystems. 3rd ed. Paris: Springer
Science & Business Media.
Schnepel, B., 2015. Connectivity in Motion: Island Hubs in the Indian Ocean World. 3rd ed. London:
Springer.