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A canal estate, canal development, waterway estate or marine suburb is a residential
subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...
made up of
canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
and
reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
, such that many or all of the lots can incorporate a private mooring or boat ramp. Canal estates are typically constructed on
floodplains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goud ...
or
swampland A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
in
estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...
, providing ready access to larger waterways and the ocean. To build the estate, civil contractors will dredge parts of the site to create deep, navigable channels, and use the resulting fill to form islands and headlands above the flood level. The resulting street layout shows a distinctive 'finger' pattern. Canal estates are distinct from earlier canal cities such as
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
and Amsterdam in that the channels serve a purely recreational, as distinct from commercial or security, purpose.


United States

Canal estates originated in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, where developer
Abbot Kinney Abbot Kinney (November 16, 1850 in New Brunswick, New Jersey – November 4, 1920 in Santa Monica, California) was an American developer, conservationist, water supply expert and tree expert. Kinney is best known for his " Venice of America" d ...
sought to create a Venice-like city in swampland on the outskirts of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Kinney's "Venice of America" opened in 1905, but pressure to accommodate automobiles saw more than half the canals filled in to create roads in 1929. The canal estate model proved more resilient on the east coast, where they are a significant part of the urban structure of
Cape Coral Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census ...
,
Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
and
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...
in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...
.


Australia

Queensland's South Coast (now known as the Gold Coast) had enjoyed rapid growth as a playground for
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...
holidaymakers. When wartime restrictions on construction were relaxed in 1952, there was considerable demand for housing in the region. Australian real estate agent Alfred Grant is credited with importing the canal estate concept from Florida and Hawaii in the United States. The Gold Coast provided the ideal conditions: expensive coastal sites bordered by cheap floodplain and
mangrove swamp Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fre ...
. Working with celebrated Austrian town planner Karl Langer, Grant created Australia’s first “man-made waterway estates”, Miami Keys and Rio Vista, at
Broadbeach Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Broadbeach had a population of 5,514 people. Geography Development in the area today mostly incorporates low rise structures, consisting of single bedroom house ...
in 1957. On the opposite side of the
Nerang River The Nerang River is a perennial river located in South East Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast local government area and covers an area of . The river is approximately in length. Course and features The Nerang Ri ...
, Bruce Small started to build Paradise City, with the Isle of Capri as its glitzy centrepiece. When his calls for a comprehensive city plan fell on deaf ears, Small entered politics and represented the area as mayor or MP from 1967 to 1978. Legislation governing these neighbourhoods followed the initial developments in the form of the ''Canals Act 1958'' (Qld). Recognising the risk of flood, the city council mandated that one pound from the sale of every lot should go to a
University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...
project studying mitigation strategies. The result of this work was the Benowa Flood By-Pass Canal, completed in 1980. Canal development emerged as the defining characteristic of the Gold Coast’s urban form: today the city is home to more than 890 kilometres of canals. Isolated examples emerged elsewhere in Australia, however. Grant himself championed Kawana Waters on the Sunshine Coast in 1961, though the project was plagued by construction delays and slow sales. Real-estate firm
LJ Hooker LJ Hooker is one of Australia's largest real estate groups, with 600 franchise offices and 6,000 people engaged in residential and commercial property sales and property management. The company was founded in 1928 by Sir Leslie Joseph ...
built Sylvania Waters in southern
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
in 1965. Further developments on the Sunshine Coast followed, as well as projects in Bunbury,
Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
, the Central Coast, Forster,
Geographe Geographe is a suburb of the Western Australian city of Busselton. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 3,622. ''Sandylands'', one of the first houses built in Busselton, was constructed in the area beginning in 1840 by Charles Bussel ...
,
Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...
,
Lakes Entrance Lakes Entrance is a seaside resort and fishing port in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is situated approximately east of Melbourne, near a managed, artificial channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to Bass Strait. At the 2016 census, Lakes Ent ...
,
Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea c ...
, Sussex Inlet,
Tweed Heads Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales. It is located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Tweed Shire, next to the border with Queensland and adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the ...
, Yamba and each of the other mainland State capitals.


References

{{Developments Planned residential developments Real estate terminology Urban studies and planning terminology Land use Gold Coast, Queensland