[Pil-pc-oceania] Where do the children play?: Where have all the gardens gone?

Wed Sep 5 20:39:44 EST 2007

I do believe that kerb has been developed by a landscape architect in
Melbourne... very nifty.  I believe Melbourne Water is developing it to use
in WSUD projects

-- 
Niree Bingham

Greenweave Landscape Architecture and Sustainable Property Design

0407 808 852

On 9/5/07, Deb Guildner <bocor at bigbutton.com.au> wrote:
>
> Backyards are disappearing:
> they are being subdivided off from the front of blocks, and the only
> requirement for it is having the width of a driveway down ONE side of the
> block, to provide access to new homes being constructed in what were once
> people's backyards.
>
> What is happening to the great Aussie backyard.....where is there room for
> the white mans sacred site, the sacred BBQ (barbeque).  No, nothing is
> sacred anymore.  If you want to hold an event in some of the public open
> spaces which is frequently the only choice left, guess what....in some
> parks, you have to BOOK AHEAD.
>
> The consequence of this redevelopment nightmare is that there has never
> been
> so much concrete covering urban areas.  Rain falls there but it don't
> infiltrate into the ground, and frequently it goes out to sea via
> stormwater
> channels, and even creates local flooding in urban areas where it has
> never
> been known..  There has never been so much cracking of homes on clay
> soils,
> partly due to less rain and partly due to the excessive concreting over of
> the ground. There have even been some really interting articles in 'New
> Scientist' in recent times , regarding evidence that these artificial
> albedo
> urban landscapes create their own extreme weather storms. Ithink Dallas or
> Houston, Texas,  ws used as one example....all that glass and concrete..
>
> It has also been pointed out that someone could make a tidy fortune by
> designing and patenting modular street kerbing with small predrilled holes
> drilled in to assist with groundwater infiltration. There really are
> fortunes to be made by smart thinking people designing their way out of
> this
> mess, on a large industrial scale.
>
> More alarming, in a society where kids and adults have an increasing
> tendency to obesity, smaller blocks of land now contain larger homes with
> almost NO front or backyards, so kids must either roam the streets, be
> restricted to organised sporting activities, or just sit around inside
> watching TV or sitting at a computer looking at a 2D world. What a
> joyless,
> soulless existence for a human being. What are their parents thinking?
>
> In 2002 I began a GIS (Geographic Information Systems: ie
> cartography/surveying/remote sensing) course at UniSA.  Before the course
> even began, the relevant industry bodies and the uni co-sponsored an
> awards
> presentation  day, where the winners etc presented their projects.  One
> which stuck in my mind was by the SA State Govt planning authority, who
> had
> cunningly plotted the entire metro area of Adelaide (using Arcview
> software - Adelaide was one of the first places in the world outside the
> USA
> to take up Arcview as a mapping demographic tool), to assess the
> subdivision
> potential and suitability of every single block of domestic urban land.
>
> The plot: it basically came to down to two key factors:
> 1)  Whether there was room for a driveway down one side of the block (with
> its existing domicile) to create a legal access for a separate title to be
> created - for another dwelling to be constructed at the rear, and/or
> 2)  whether the value of the existing dwelling was lower than the land
> value
> (as expensive homes would preclude the economic gain to be had from
> potential subdividsion income). if the existing home was old and
> relatively
> cheap, you could just knock it down and divide the block lengthways down
> the
> middle (from front to back) and then build two very skinny long homes
> along
> the length of the block, each having a separate title.
>
> Why have a backyard with fruit trees and space for kids if you can make a
> quick $100,000+, especially since home and land prices have doubled in the
> last 7 years?  (esp. land). Good point, seeing as the affordability of
> homes
> is well beyond many low income families reach. very tempting way out of a
> barely serviceable mortgage nightmare.
>
> I have observed this phenomenon for a couple of decades in some of the
> lovely older inner city suburbs, but now it is happening nearly
> everywhere.
>
> As I walk through my favourite suburb (where I lived on and off for 25
> years), I am haunted by the ghosts of the old people and their once
> beautiful homes and gardens which they tended with love all their
> lives.......and it makes me mad and sad, all at the same time.
> Cities just SUCK.
>
> Deb
>
> .
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andrew Leahy" <alfski at gmail.com>
> To: "permacultue discussion list"
> <pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 12:13 PM
> Subject: [Pil-pc-oceania] Where have all the gardens gone?
>
>
> > Hi, for those who are teaching urban permaculture you may want to
> > check out this recent paper from Griffith University's Urban Research
> > Program.
> >
> > If you haven't lived in or visited modern Australian 'suburbia' you
> > might be in for a shock!
> > It is certainly going to provide some design challenges.
> >
> >
> http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp/urp_publications/research_papers/URP_RP13_Hall_ResidentialForm.pdf
> >
> > "Where Have All the Gardens Gone?
> > An Investigation into the Disappearance of Back Yards in the Newer
> > Australian Suburb
> > by Tony Hall
> > August 2007
> >
> > Introduction
> >
> > The disadvantages of the low-density car-based suburbs that surround
> > Australian and US cities are well known and widely debated. These
> > include facilities located to the disadvantage of non-car users,
> > wasteful use of land, cost of infrastructure, time and energy expended
> > on driving, low incidence of social contact and lack of exercise.
> > Nevertheless, the older Australian suburb also has compensating
> > advantages for both the residents and the wider community. This
> > includes a higher degree of bio-diversity, the presence of trees also
> > provides shade, modifying the microclimate and giving aesthetic
> > pleasure. The planted areas around the dwelling also aid the process
> > of storm drainage by retaining water and reducing run-off. The private
> > amenity space around the dwelling can accommodate not just a garen for
> > the pleasure of the occupants but also barbeque facilities and an
> > in-ground swimming pool. These not only benefit the residents directly
> > but also facilitate social interaction with friends and neighbours. In
> > some parts of Australia, notably Queensland, use is made of verandas
> > to provide outdoor living sheltered from the sun. Although very large,
> > all encompassing roofs may be employed, a significant part of the
> > space under them is open to the air and to the surroundings.
> >
> > The more recent suburbs, however display a disturbing trend, signified
> > by the problematic design and layout of the dwellings. The dwelling
> > now extends near to the boundary of the plot and, in consequence, near
> > to adjoining dwellings. There is very little private amenity space to
> > the rear of the dwelling, in extreme cases none at all. Houses are
> > predominately single-storey, with only a proportion rising to 1.5 or
> > two storeys. There is little in the way of balconies and verandas. The
> > design is square of deep-plan and incorporates an integral double
> > garage greatly reducing the scope for natural lighting and
> > ventilation, windows are often small and tinted. Normally only one
> > room provides an outlook to the front and surveillance of the street.
> > While the disadvantages of suburban living still apply, the advantages
> > referred to above have disappeared.
> >
> > This paper provides a quantitative analysis of this change to the
> > morphology of the Australian suburb. Comparisons are made with
> > selected examples in the USA and UK. The effects and possible causes
> > of the change are discussed and remedies suggested."
> >
> >
> > Cheers, Andrew
> >
> > --
> > Be The Least You Can Be
> > http://idletheory.info/
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org
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>
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