But that’s now seen as luxurious by town planners, and suburbs across Perth’s north are being rezoned to allow blocks to be split up to allow multiple homes and even apartment blocks. This is because the population of the north-west sub-region is predicted to more than double from 322,490 people in 2011 to over 740,000 by 2050. Right now the population is “relatively evenly distributed” between Wanneroo and Joondalup, but post-2021 Wanneroo is expected to take the bulk of the growth and by 2050 accommodate nearly three-quarters of the population. Infill targets have been set for Joondalup and Wanneroo’s urban areas to house an extra 106,900 people from that growth. Joondalup needs an extra 20,670 infill dwellings to accommodate an estimated 45,470 people

Wanneroo needs an additional 27,920 infill premises to house 61,430 people

An example of this is Greenwood, a middle-ring northern suburb established in the 1970s whose central areas, linked to bus routes, are being rezoned to allow multiple dwellings on big blocks. Only specific areas within suburbs are being rezoned though, so only some homeowners win the development lottery. Infill is not the major sponge for growth in the north though – new suburbs created with greater density will support the region’s expansion. Greater density than Subiaco The bulk of the new urban expansion will be concentrated around three northern coastal hubs: Alkimos, Yanchep and Joondalup.

Urban expansion and investigation areas have also been tagged in East Wanneroo - including South Gnangara and West Jandabup - as well as South Pinjar. Some areas have already been rezoned from rural to urban deferred. But most of the growth will be northern and coastal. Alkimos Beach is a "master plan" community 42 kilometres north of Perth's centre. Credit:Lendlease Joondalup’s new urban areas will be mainly focused around areas of underutilised land for infill developments, such as Connect Joondalup, a precinct for a proposed 1600 new dwellings. Alkimos and Yanchep are the areas where the sprawl – or greenfields development - will go, but the key word here is density. New areas have a minimum average density target of 15 dwellings per gross hectare of urban zoned land to create mixed use community hubs. Alkimos Beach is emblematic of this new urban direction, with block sizes averaging 375 square metres with some larger ones available. It's anticipated to have 3500 dwellings to house around 12,000 people in greater density than Subiaco.

To offset the closer living arrangements, new northern suburbs like Alkimos are being built around schools, shops, nature strips, parks and transport links, creating more self-sufficient local communities. An example of this is that every home in Alkimos Beach has a solar panel. This drone shot shows Alkimos and its surrounds looking inland - the coastal strip where the north's growth will go. Wanneroo Road can just be seen in the top third, while state forest, national park and agricultural land can be seen beyond, illustrating the confines this expansion must be done within. Credit:Hamish Hastie The timeframe for this expansion to the north predicts changes will be seen in the Alkimos area between 2015 and 2021, then east Wanneroo in 2015 to 2031 and then in Two Rocks beyond 2031. So by 2050, Perth will sprawl all the way past Two Rocks – but the more modern density and energy footprints of this housing will mean more people will be able to live in the area than ever before. Yet whether you’re living in an infill suburb or a new build with density, the key ingredient to make this work is transport.

Road, rail and commuting The history of Perth’s north-west has been defined by its transport links, first with the evolution of Wanneroo Road from a bush track paved with jarrah discs to a four-lane highway, then the progressive extension of the Mitchell Freeway to unlock more land for suburban development. Loading This will continue with the freeway and railway line eventually reaching Yanchep, with plans for new stations at Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep. A series of 'high-priority' and 'high-frequency' transit corridors will be created with buses to funnel people to the train stations between activity centres, population catchments, rail stations and local bus services.

Major connections will be Two Rocks to Yanchep, Eglinton to Alkimos, Whitfords to Wanneroo and Joondalup and Whitfords to Warwick. For roads, the plan is to extend and upgrade the Mitchell Freeway, Marmion Avenue and Wanneroo Road to make them corridors for people movement. There will also be new road links to support urban growth in the east, particularly the developments in East Wanneroo like West Jandabup and South Pinjar. There will be an investigation into a rail link to east Wanneroo and plans to connect the Joondalup and Ellenbrook railways. The Whiteman-Yanchep Highway will BE the new 'primary distributor' road to connect the north-west region to the north-east and central sub regions. Neaves Road-Flynn Drive will help drive freight. Gnangara Road-Ocean Reef Road will be a major east-west link. A major new road network will be established for east Wanneroo, as well as a network for Yanchep and Two Rocks and Neerabup.

And for cyclists, a network of more cycle paths will be established. An example of infill housing in Greenwood, a suburb that originally supplied very large blocks of land. These houses have been built on the site of a former school and make more efficient use of the space. Credit:David Allan-Petale Local communities for local jobs The planning framework seeks to make local areas more self-sufficient so people don’t have to travel so far to go to work. For new jobs, the sub-region is anticipated to need 1770 more hectares of industrial land to 2050. Major industrial areas are Wangara and Neerabup, with Nowergup, North Pinjar, South Pinjar and Jandabup identified as areas for industrial investigation.