We should be losing the plot over this grave real estate crisis

Owning a plot of land is a way to buy roots, often giving migrants a sense of belonging and security. In my final year of school, I told my mother I had saved enough money for Contiki. She was surprisingly pleased, but I later discovered she thought Contiki was a new suburb releasing land in western Sydney.

Despite more than 66 per cent of Sydneysiders now choosing cremation, diverse religious and cultural communities will always require space for burial.

Research has found that in addition to the religious requirements to be buried, people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities “visit the cemetery more than their Anglo counterparts, and preferred to be memorialised in cemeteries to preserve a sense of belonging”.

With cremation a culturally inappropriate option for many and scarcity driving plot costs up, what are the alternatives?

Building new cemeteries isn’t a sexy political promise that’ll win elections, nor does it go down well with the affected community. Imagine pitching the idea: “So you’re getting heaps of new neighbours, don’t worry, they’re dead, so won’t be a chatty bunch or throwing house parties, but how do you feel about wailing visitors?”

It’s probably time we shifted the dial from assuming graves are the final resting place to a final-ish resting place. Perpetual tenure needs to become the exception rather than the rule.

Graves don’t have to be a “single-use” resource. Most East Asian and European countries have limited tenure for burial – this means you don’t get an indefinite lease on your plot, and it can be used by someone else as early as 25 years after you die.

Given the worsening cost-of-living crisis, future generations will be considered “privileged” to inherit a burial plot.

Using graveyards as multipurpose spaces also has support among the majority of Australians. A 2020 national survey found two-thirds of us believe that cemeteries should not be used exclusively for memorialisation.

In the US and UK, green burial grounds are increasingly popular. Rather than enclose the deceased in a concrete vault, the body is laid to rest in a biodegradable container and buried in a grave site to decompose fully and return to nature. Here, physical memorials are limited.

In places like Finland and Denmark, cemeteries are used for various purposes like jogging, walking the dog, even picnics. It won’t be frowned upon but rather considered a legitimate form of exercise to dance on your father-in-law’s grave.

Loading

Burial belts are another alternative. This involves burying the dead among newly planted vegetation belts on the fringes of cities. The architects behind burial belts say they can create near-limitless land for burial while being kind to the environment.

The basic concept is for scant grazing land to be acquired and native trees planted rather than rows of headstones. These burial spaces would be subsumed by forest, and eventually, individual cemetery sites could join together as a continuous green “belt”.

The designers say it can be done while still respecting religious and cultural practices. Locating a relative will require GPS tracking and augmented reality rather than a traditional headstone.

I’m now too old to finally go on that Contiki tour, but I am also far too young to have to worry about my death. I’d appreciate a bit of leadership here, so I can put my mind to rest and worry about my body much later.