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Presenter Abstracts Daniel O'Hare and Bhishna Bajracharya Integrating Subtropical Design in Transit Oriented Developments of South East Queensland
Transit oriented development (TOD)
has been promoted as one of the strategies to manage rapid
growth of South East Queensland (SEQ) under the SEQ Regional
Plan 2005-2026. The plan advocates the need for new developments
to reflect SEQ’s subtropical climate, reinforce local character
and achieve design excellence. Mr Ian Bentley BEYOND THE IMAGE: URBAN DESIGN AFTER HUMANISM Reviewing a long career in Urban Design with the benefit of hindsight, I see that the discipline has gone rather creakily through a series of shifts in its focus, in response to continual changes in its political, economic, social and ecological contexts. Back in the 1970s we developed a Humanist position; seeing built form essentially as a political system affecting all aspects of everyday life. We wanted to make it open up choices for as many people as possible: this was the focus which generated the classic Responsive Environments position. During the 1980s we saw the idea of Choice - though not necessarily its actual achievement - elevated to such a powerful social value that it began to erode all sense of stable foundations in many people's lives; and this triggered a widespread search for roots through various forms of fundamentalism: Urban Design too sought refuge in "Eternal Truths". Globalisation, with the rise of multicultural societies, led to a sometimes violent social clash between competing eternal truths from the 1990s onwards; and this drove a third-millenium search for ways of promoting a positive capacity for cultural co-dwelling. Most recently, a looming sense of ecological crisis has triggered the most radical shift of all: an expansion of the concept of co-dwelling beyond the boundaries of human life itself, as we seek ways of co-dwelling with the wider ecosphere we once called "Nature". After a very brief sketch of the story of these shifts, which have all left valuable legacies, Ian's presentation explores the practical implications of this posthumanist shift for today's and tomorrow's urban design.
Mr Gerald Blunt A Capital City - 'Creative Wellington Inovation Capital' This paper presents a holisitc project with the overarching objective to celebrate Wellington as the capital city of New Zealand.
This urban design project with a difference build’s on New Zealand’s Urban Design Protocol’s seven essential design qualities: • Context • Character • Choice • Connections • Creativity • Custodianship
• Collaboration difference and similarities between other capital cities such as Canberra and Ottawa. Questions that have been tested include: • What is it about the capital function of a city? • How should Wellington host this function? • How do you communicate/brand this message? • How do you tell the stories? • What are the physical manifestations? How do the public spaces operate? How do government buildings present themselves to the public realm in an environmentally sustainable manner? How should public institutions make themselves more publicly accessible?
Wellington City Council has been proactively managing this project to provide a vision for Central Government as to how the status of a capital city should be manifested.
Mr Gerald Blunt A State of Crisis: The provision of sustainable/secure affordable housing Neoliberal market forces and modes of government are largely responsible for the current lack of affordable housing. In tourist destination places, such as the Gold Coast, the production of place privileges global images and economic (financial, temporal and spatial) practices. Local placemaking techniques and practices are marginalised and often subverted to support, maintain and secure neoliberal agendas. Consequently, landscapes become inscribed with inequity and polarisation as many local residents, in particular those that work in the hospitality and tourism industries, are forced to reside on the margins with little or no housing choice. This is frequently compounded by lack of public transport and local amenities.
In this paper I will analyse relations between tourism, affordable housing and the production of place to suggest strategies for the planning and provision of secure and equitable housing outcomes. One way to achieve this is through well designed and appropriate infill development; residential development that adopts the principles of minor architecture, small localised, everyday architecture that acknowledges difference and diversity. Such an architecture has the potential to heighten images of localness in a global tourist landscape and thus broaden the tourist profile. In this way the neoliberal—economic and global— agendas are secured and at the same time local residents retain a presence and a part of the re-production of place.
A/Prof Michael Buxton Peak Oil & City Layout Ms Julie-Anne Carroll Key design aspects to connect people, place and health in an inner-city residential development There is an emergent call in both urban design and health-related literature for strengthening connections between these fields, with the aim of meshing social aspects of urban design with current efforts to generate healthier lifestyles and behavioural patterns among urban populations (Gleeson, 2004). As Jackson (2003) states, ‘while causal chains are generally complex and not always completely understood, sufficient evidence exists to reveal urban design as a powerful tool for improving human condition’ (p. 191). The Kelvin Grove Urban Village (KGUV) will be discussed in this paper as a case-study for responding to this call. The underlying design principles of KGUV, including its basis in new urbanism, social diversity, and the availability of path / bikeways and green spaces identifies it as an ideal location for addressing some long- standing questions in the research about which social and physical design features are most salient for increasing people’s propensity to engage in recommended levels of physical activity. The findings from this interdisciplinary study using an online data collection mechanism illustrate the ways in which different urban demographics engage with their neighbourhood environments for health, social and recreational pursuits. Implications rising out of these findings are two-fold: firstly, for urban designers to heed the research findings in examining ‘area effects’ on health, and secondly, for health researchers to consider aspects of urban design likely to inform the creation of campaigns and interventions that will resonate effectively within the contexts in which they are delivered and received. Dr Phil Crane "Young People & Public Spaces" The importance of public spaces to most people cannot be overestimated. Yet in a range of countries where neo-liberal values dominate young people have often been portrayed as a problematic user group of public and community accessed spaces, and left on the margins of the ‘community’ in the orientation of such spaces.
The challenges for practitioners in how such spaces should be configured and managed are substantial and complex. This paper critically examines a range of strategies which have been suggested as useful in the development of more inclusive public spaces for young people, and suggests a multi-lens framework to assist in this project.
Ms Anne D'Arcy Refining our Draft Seniors' Accommodation Planning Code Gold Coast City Council has revised its Aged Accommodation Code to address the challenges of population growth, ageing profile and increasing densities. Approximately one third of the City’s population will be aged over 55 by 2021 (2001 Census data). Ensuring sufficient suitable accommodation for our ageing population means additional smaller houses that are responsive to changing needs. The market is responding by replacing the traditional low-rise expansive facilities on the outskirts of centres with high density, high rise housing options within activity centres. Council engaged various stakeholders to guide the revision of its existing code to reflect lifestyle needs and support adoption of ageing in place principles. In particular it looked to address proximity to services and community infrastructure, equitable access, social interaction, connectivity with surrounding communities, residential mix, cultural diversity and safety. The revised draft code reflects stakeholder advice and innovative aged accommodation developments. This workshop provides a rare opportunity to capture international and national expertise in the review of that draft. Will it achieve its objective of moulding emerging forms of accommodation to deliver better outcomes for our seniors into the future? What can you suggest to develop a more effective code with application beyond our city boundary? Mr Dale Dickson Good Urban Design Meets Good Governance Public concerns and issues are not contained by boundaries. Arbitrary lines on a map will not order or confine the challenges of the future. Nor will one person, group, organisation or even sovereign country have the necessary power and authority to meet these challenges. We do not exist in isolation. And yet good governance demands that we consider both individual freedom and the collective good. It focuses on progressing ideas and views that advance the welfare of people, both individually and collectively, while ensuring that self-interest does not dominate. Good governance is, by nature, global, national, regional, local and organisational in context.
We can look to good urban design for parallels. Like governance, good urban design is focused on the welfare of people as a primary concern. Both seek to develop a sense of place and identity, engender social inclusion, encourage design quality, and achieve sustainability. Cities, like communities, require a finely-balanced symbiosis of ‘private and public’ benefit to succeed. Our cities’ designers and administrators must draw from the same bank of knowledge and creativity if our urban landscapes are to deliver a quality of life that is acceptable and sustainable. Dr Mark Diesendorf "Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy" Given the political will, Australia could halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 by means of a mix of efficient energy use, natural gas, renewable sources of energy, electric vehicles and improved urban public transport. The principal barriers are neither technological nor economic, but rather result from the political power of the big greenhouse gas emitting industries. Policies required from Federal and State governments to facilitate the transition to a sustainable energy future include: - a ban on new conventional coal-fired power stations; - an emissions trading system with a tight cap on emissions and permit allocations by auction; - expanded Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets; - mandatory energy efficiency standards for all buildings, appliances, equipment and industrial processes; - a much greater share of federal and state transport funds allocated to urban public transport and intercity rail.
Ms Ruth Durack The Non-Profit Way The role of the non-profit sector in urban development and revitalization in Australia is virtually non- existent, compared to countries like the United States where the "third sector" is a significant player in urban regeneration and maintenance and is commanding a growing share of the design and implementation challenge. The U.S. experience suggests that there are some powerful characteristics of not-for-profit organizations that Australia would do well to exploit in its struggle to achieve more exciting and liveable cities. This presentation reviews the nature of non-profit practice, identifies the types of organizations that have been most successful in generating innovation, and highlights some of the dysfunctions in Australian processes that could be ameliorated − the non-profit way.
Prof George Earl Research & Capacity Building for Sustainable Building Forms Mr Philip Follent Urban Design Capacity Building Via Local Government Ms Sarah Foster Twitching curtains in suburbia: Does surveillance limit disorder ? Ten years ago, the Liveable Neighbourhoods design guidelines were introduced in Western Australia. Based on the principles of new urbanism, the guidelines aim to enhance personal and perceived safety, and limit the potential for crime, vandalism and fear through neighbourhood design that encourages surveillance and activity. This paper explores the premise that suburban design can restrict expressions of neighbourhood disorder. Homebuyers moving to new suburban estates commonly cite safety from crime as an important factor affecting their neighbourhood selection. However, once they have relocated, the presentation and maintenance of the neighbourhood will provide important visual cues that can affect residents’ feelings of safety.
Trained raters audited street segments (n=600) in 52 housing estates in the Perth Metropolitan area during April and May 2007. Estates had previously been classified as liveable, conventional or hybrid neighbourhoods by the Department for Planning and Infrastructure (DPI). Streets were audited for various neighbourhood features that might deter crime, or influence the perception of crime among residents. Themes included neighbourhood design, surveillance from housing, demonstrations of territoriality, aesthetics and incivilities. The results presented will explore whether liveable and conventional neighbourhoods differ in terms of the potential for surveillance. Furthermore, the research will examine whether estates with superior surveillance have less visible indicators of disorder.
This research is funded by the Australian Research Council, with DPI as Industry partner. The study is part of the larger Healthway funded RESIDential Environments Project (RESIDE), a longitudinal study of people building homes in new housing estates designed to examine the impact of urban design on health.
Graham Freer and Leon Yates Transport energy audits- creating tools for carbon free cities Whilst the role of raising building standards as a means of improving the energy efficiency of buildings is widely accepted by policy makers, there is relatively little understanding of the role built form can play in reducing car dependency and hence the CO2 emissions deriving from transport.
By building dense, mixed use, well connected urban neighbourhoods public transport can be much better supported and local shops and facilities become more viable. Higher density development creates cities where work, home, shops, restaurants and schools are all located within walking distance or easily accessible by public transport, reducing car dependency.
Transport energy audits are proposed as mechanism of delivering carbon free cities, setting out measurable and mandatory standards by which all new development must accord to minimise CO2 emissions from motorised vehicles. This would include indicators relating to housing density, the connectivity of developments, the mixture of uses, car parking standards, access to public transport and accessibility by walking and cycling.
Taken together it would then be possible to determine whether a new development is sustainable in terms of minimising climate change gases emanating from transport. The concept is, if we can have energy audits of new buildings why not an audit of new developments as a whole? This approach of course raises many questions. Not least how do we change the attitudes of the public to high density urban living and how do we retrofit high density living to our existing cities.
Prof Elaine Gallagher Age-Friendly Cities and Remote and Rural Communities Seniors constitute the fastest growing population group in Canada. In 2001, 13% of Canada’s population was aged 65 or older. By 2041 – the projected peak of the aging population – this percentage is expected to rise to nearly 25%. It has been estimated that by 2015, seniors will outnumber children in Canada. Comparisons will be drawn with other cities around the world. While the majority of Canadians live in urban settings, there also remain a large proportion of seniors that live in rural or remote areas.
Current research on what makes for age-friendly cities and remote and rural communities is scarce. This talk will discuss the concept of age-friendliness, and will present results from a 26 country WHO Age-friendly Cities project and a related Canadian Study of Age-Friendly Rural and Remote Communities. The objectives of these studies was: • to increase awareness of what seniors need to maintain active, healthy and productive lives within their communities by identifying indicators of age-friendly in urban and rural/remote communities; and, • to produce practical guides that urban and rural/remote communities can use to identify common barriers, and foster dialogue and action that supports the development of age-friendly communities. Data for the two studies was collected by holding eight focus groups in each of the three Canadian cities (Halifax, NS, Portage la Prairie, MB, Saanich, BC). Two focus groups were conducted in each of 10 rural and remote communities – one with seniors and caregivers and another with a combined group of merchants, care providers and volunteers. The focus group questions were designed to illicit information on eight domains of daily life. Qualitative data was then coded and analyzed according to a pre-selected framework. The project will culminate October 1 when WHO will release an index that cities can use to judge their age-friendliness. Prof Jan Gehl Public Spaces for the 21st Century For centuries we have taken public life for granted. People would –for good reasons- be all over the place. This is certainly not more the case. Lively or lifeless public spaces are by now very much depending on the quality provided and the overall invitation which have been extended to the likely users, to walk, stay, sit or otherwise enjoy the spaces. Surveys from existing city areas as well as new city districts and new towns have shown striking differences concerning life and lifelessness. Some are lively and friendly, others are completely deserted. Everything points to the quality issues being of crucial importance. And the evidence likewise points to the need for a more systematic and careful treatment of the public realm in order to secure a good quality and good invitations. Access to other people, to possibilities for experience and recreation among others are in high demand, and these opportunities have important roles for upholding or strengthening the overall policies for friendly, humane, open, democratic and safe societies.
Prof Brendan Gleeson Future Sustainability of Urban Form Mr Peter Ham "Securing Urban Waterfuture" The Gold Coast City Council is the second largest local government in Australia, with a population predicted to grow to more than 800,000 people by the year 2026. To cater to this population growth, Gold Coast City Council, through Gold Coast Water, has established planning frameworks to ensure the viability of water resources for this booming population. Integral to securing water supplies is increasing the use of alternative water sources; this includes the use of recycled water in a residential and industrial context.
Council’s $5.8 billion Waterfuture Strategy program is designed to secure water supplies until 2056 by ultimately providing 466ML of water per day. A key element of this strategy is reducing reliance on climate dependant water sources.
The Pimpama Coomera Waterfuture Master Plan (the Master Plan) is an integral component of the Waterfuture Strategy and is Australia’s largest integrated urban water cycle management program.
The suburbs of Pimpama Coomera, located around 40km south of Brisbane at the northern end of the Gold Coast, are one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and are expected to grow from 15,000 people in 2006 to 120,000 in 2056.
The Master Plan combines many of the Waterfuture Strategy initiatives, including residential usage of Class A+ recycled water, to create a guiding blueprint for water, wastewater and stormwater management throughout the Pimpama Coomera region.
In June of this year the master Plan was globally recognised for its water saving initiatives by winning the United Nations Excellence in Water Management prize at the World Environment Day Awards (Australia Chapter) in Melbourne.
Implementation of the Master Plan will result in a variety of sustainability benefits to this rapidly growing population. The Master Plan and its benefits are transferable to a variety of suburban situations when seeking to provide sustainable solutions and include: Reduced demand for potable water by up to 84 per cent Reduced quantity of treated wastewater released back into the environment Protecting local waterways by reducing the quantity and improving the quality of stormwater runoff to waterways. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions The Master Plan also received recognition in September 2006 by taking the Global Grand Prize for water planning at the International Water Association’s Biannual Project Innovation Awards in Beijing, following receipt of the Australian and South East Asian regional category of the award and in July 2005 won the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) President’s Award.
Mr Charlie Hargroves Engineering Sustainable Solutions Mr Jeremy Harris A Planet in Peril - The Role Of Urban Design In Building Sustainable Cities With half of the world’s population now living in cities, and with urbanization occurring at an accelerating rate, human civilization has now entered the “Urban Era”. It is becoming increasingly evident, however, that up until now, the built environment has not been designed or developed in a sustainable way. The challenge of our time is to bridge the gap between the unsustainable design of the past and a new sustainable urban paradigm for the future. In the developed world, our quality of life has been achieved by building our cities on an unsustainable paradigm of consumption and waste. If the urban built environment continues to be designed in this unsustainable way, the world will face potentially catastrophic effects. To meet this challenge we must redesign our cities. Its all about holistic design, and who better to lead the world in the sustainable redesign of our cities than architects and urban designers. Architects and design professionals must take the lead in articulating a new urban agenda and they must take bold steps to redefine the architectural and design professions to encompass responsibility for the entire built environment. In his inspiring presentation, Mayor Harris will explore the complex challenges that we confront in sustainably transforming our cities thru design. He will examine the issues of green design, energy policy, urban design, sustainable transport, and sustainable urban infrastructure, and he will detail strategies and approaches that architects and design professionals can use to inspire and educate the public and government leaders in the sustainable re-design of our cities.
Professor Gordon Holden Urban Design Education
Urban Design Education
The knowledge needed for urban design practice has grown significantly over the past forty years. Initially it grew from a limited scope that borrowed heavily from the principal parent disciplines of
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