I cannot design a building without knowing how many people are going to occupy it. Yet this is exactly how we are designing the future Australia – just bumbling along with no plan
Some things ARE changing, for the better and worse. Here are three…
1. Population Growth and Urban Planning – good move:
A national discussion paper on urban planning policy has been launched which has the potential to guide consistent planning policies in all our towns and cities for a long time to come – but can it cope with the kind of population growth possible in a Big Australia? More info at http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/18804
2. Population Growth and Urban Planning – bad move?:
No sooner was that announcement made, than the new Victorian government threw out Melbourne’s much-worked and reworked urban plan… probably because it had Labor fingerprints on it rather than for sound planning reasons, but perhaps this is too cynical a view. More info at http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/19027
3. Fire Management and Urban Survival – a possible run-out!:
And a spanner may have been thrown in the works of those of us who have been advocating a return to Aboriginal land management with cool micro-mosaic fire practices. According to new UNSW study, this is not something Aboriginal people ever actually did. Envirotecture has questions about the findings, as it is self-evident that in northern Australia the practice has been observed since the first explorers and is still occurring. Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary conducts early dry season micr-burns cutely called “eco-fires” with proven benefits to country in all respects. Are there other researchers with a different view to the UNSW team? Dick Clarke (Sustainability Director for Building Designers Australia, and Director of Envirotecture) is sticking to his previously published position until more research is done.
More info on the UNSW study at http://m.smh.com.au/environment/cold-water-is-poured-on-aboriginal-burnoff-culture-20101205-18leh.html
More info on the BDA proposal for sat-nav guided firestick management is available on request to Dick Clarke via the Contacts page of this website.
