What have I learned?

I guess the right thing to do for the last journal entry is to ask myself, what I have I learned about cities, planning and public spaces? Two main lessons I have learned might be:

One thing I have learned, primarily from the readings of Chicago, is the way that cities are connected to the countryside or "hinterland". I knew that cities relied on the surrounding countryside for resources, but reading about the way Chicago grew as a result of its large hinterland made me realise just how connected they are, and how defining areas as either the "country" or the "city" is potentially misleading as it poses them as two separate entities. 

Another thing I learned about was how to look at cities. Looking at (but not only) the urban form, the people, the planning policies, the economic flows etc. Previously, and in line with my Architecture degree, I would have looked only at the urban form, but I know in greater depth now how much other elements affect the final urban form and the people. Particularly the idea of "flows" discussed in the most recent lecturers  was interesting, as it identifies and emphasises how things are changeable through time and space. Previously when discussing things changing through time I would have said that something might be "transient", but it implies that this characteristic, whether it is the sunlight, weather, people, economic regimes etc  comes and then disappears. The use of the idea of flows however implies that things morph, change, collide, interact, and feed of each other. 

Of course there are more, but I feel that as I continue my architecture degree, travel, and see more of the world, what I see and experience will continue remind me of lessons learned in this course.  

Feeling

One of the things that stuck with me from the walking tour the other day in Alexandria, was when we were standing on the residential road behind the cafe and talking about the two sides of the street in relation to the way the cars were parked. Unless I am remembering incorrectly, Michael asked us how we "felt" about the space, and that how we feel about a space is generally a good indicator of its characteristics and design. I thought this was interesting, as it isn't something I have consciously asked myself regularly at all, although it is something that definitely informs how I use spaces and where I choose to position myself within a space or street. When analysing a space, I have rarely asked myself how I "feel" as I thought feeling is a more subjective, emotional method of looking at a space, rather than looking at the architectural details, or the way the light enters a room, or the use of materiality. But it makes sense - if you ask yourself "how do I feel in this space" and you decide you feel a certain way, whether you feel good, comfortable, claustrophobic, uneasy, subdued, excited etc., you can then ask yourself "why" you feel that way. Do I feel uncomfortable because of the low ceiling height? Do I feel subdued because of materiality allows for long reverberations which means any sound I make is amplified? Do I feel excited because when I enter the space (e.g. a night club), I can immediately see everyone below me interacting and dancing and having fun, and that I can't wait to go down the stairs to join them? 

For example right now sitting close to the base of the stairs of Surry Hills Library on the basement level, I can say that I feel tired but comfortable and slightly distracted. My tiredness has to do with staying up late to finish assignments, but the other two are more to do with where I am located in the library. I feel comfortable, because I am sitting at my own  small table next to a wall, and the way that I am facing means I can see the people (i.e. attractive boy) sitting in front of me, and also watch people coming and going down the stairs. It is interesting to note that 5 of the 6 people sitting at the 6 tables along this same line of desks are all orientated so they are facing the stairs.

I also have oblique, partial views towards the bookshelves, and large glazed facade to the stormy sky, which all give me a sense of my location. However my views are partially blocked by the wall I am sitting next to, the column and massing of the stairs in front of me, and a bookshelf to my left, which also make me feel enclosed and comfortable, almost like I am nested within a space. The colour scheme around me is black and white, with light shining on a beautiful timber double height ceiling. This means that I am not distracted visually by bright colours, but if I look up, the light reflected on the timber makes me feel warm and cosy, like I am in my lounge room. 

Finally I feel a bit distracted every so often from writing this post, because of the sounds of children playing on the level above travelling down the void above me. While for me the use of white noise or background noise is helpful to working, and the sounds of children playing is quite homely and comfortable, the sound of children fighting or crying are not. I feel it would be better if the children's play area were more acoustically separated from the study area, without blocking the visual access. 

The Movable Chair

Referring to William H Whyte's video The Power of the Movable Chair, I was thinking, where in Sydney, in a public space not attached to a cafe, or restaurant has movable chairs? I can't think of anywhere I have been recently that has something similar to the spaces discussed by Whyte. 

One example I can think of that has an interesting variety of seating within a highly urban space is the World Square plaza on George street. 

(From http://cdn1.agoda.net/hotelimages/108/108524/108524_080913000100182027_STD.jpg)

These seats face onto George Street, and provide various heights from which people can watch the street. 

(from http://www.bonhomiephotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130411-RE7A4635-1140x395.jpg)

Temporary and permanent chairs in the central square. These are ideal as they allow for various seating arrangements, and the ability for people to orientate themselves how they wish to face the sun, face a friend, or watch people passing by. 

(from http://www.conferenceaustralia.com/hotel_images/rydges-world-square--2018134e.jpg)

In the far back left, seating can be seen placed close to the planting so that people are given the choice of whether to sit out in a large open space, or next to a structural element or planting. 

(from http://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/system/event_images/69804/large_xmas.JPG?1321941815)

Outdoor cafe seating with sheltering elements can be seen in the far left.

(from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMikfzsVKQBGvKo9pGhc_BTP_wilIj7v0qhcanJ48JVtFMLoRIk3MYGi557Br7cmSRBLz4QetEACCeHF5BlmtZbOSMlDhH2eqP4ikXk_kLL2Gw4SgOajiP4w15fUz9yY12PpPws7aBAct/s1600/taste2.JPG)

A variety of cafe seating in the sheltered urban corridors between structural elements. These columns help define and give rhythm to the space.

Spontaneity in Surry Hills

So a little while ago, a friend and I were enjoying a beverage on the balcony of the Clock Hotel overlooking Crown Street when this happened:

Surry Hills Marching Band

One of the things I enjoy most about Crown Street is the way the suburb invites spontaneous actions and events, such as a moving marching band, or in another case a Ben and Jerry's icecream van with chalk drawing on the pavement, or even just kids playing football with their mums in the park. What makes it great is that the events, especially in the little square next to the Surry Hills Library, are so visible given the amount of restaurants in the area, and the foot traffic and car traffic passing by. And also the fact that the event in contained in a area usually bordered by low rise terrace houses that are built right up to the street, which encloses the event in what is almost like a room. Other areas off the top of my head that might be similar might be King Street in Newtown, the  promenade next to the sand down by Coogee Beach, or even the patch of grass, walkway and podium underneath and next to the Red Center. 

All these areas have high amounts of foot traffic at certain times, and, with the exception of perhaps Coogee Beach, have an almost "room" or "corridor" like quality where the space is partially enclosed, increasing the relationships people in the space might have with each other. Kind of like being at a party in a house. Certainly I feel like I'm more likely to talk to people if we are collectively sharing in an event while being forced to be in close proximity to each other. Such events might potentially increase the intensity and methods by which members of a neighbourhood interact, contributing to a neighbourhood or suburb that "feels" friendly and where you "feel" like you might belong. I certainly feel very comfortable in places such as Surry Hills, Newtown and Coogee Beach, even more so than I do my own suburb of Maroubra. This is possibly due to the high amount of people my age living in these suburbs, as well as the amount of interesting cafes, bars, galleries, and shops that I could potentially go to that suit my lifestyle. This is potentially why I choose to work in a restaurant in Surry Hills that takes me 45 minutes to get to by bus, instead of a more local job (such as my old job in a bottleshop) that I can walk to in 5 minutes.  Even at this very moment, I am on a break from work enjoying the Surry Hills Library. I guess the way I feel about Surry Hills is one of the many reasons why housing in these areas is in such demand - because people enjoy this type of urban lifestyle. 

Ash

Nutbush City Limits

On a lighter note, I just had a nostalgic moment and realised that the song we used to dance to back when I was 13 at school dances is partially to do with cities!

Nutbush City Limits - Tina Turner

Which made me think, what other popular songs talk about cities? 

Maybe Empire State of Mind - Jay Z and Alicia Keys about New York?

Or Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn?

Or referencing Sydney -Reckless - James Reyne

Angel of Harlem - U2

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

And from when I was in Ireland last year - Rocky Road to Dublin - The Dubliners

It's surprisingly difficult to find a recent song that talks about a city, not just on a superficial level, but giving a sense of the identity or urbanity of that city. And then I found this post! And also this one.

Road trip to Avoca

Last week, several friends and I drove up to Avoca for the day, where one of guys we were with grew up. Our return journey to Sydney was partly provided by my friends mother, who drove us from Avoca to Gosford Station. She obviously took a lot of pleasure in showing us around, and drove us down to a carpark on the waterfront, off the Central Coast Highway facing The Broadwater. 

What reminded me of our Urban Design course was that while we were sitting in the car looking over the water, she told us a bit of the history of the area, and a few her opinions about the local development. 

In the image above, the car park we were sitting in is the yellow circle on the right, and the yellow circle to the top is the now closed Iguanas Bar and Restaurant.  She mentioned that the addition of Iguanas was such a good thing for the area, which does lack in nice places to go for a drink or dinner, and has such amazing views of the bay, but a combination of the characteristics of the immediate area, and various local planning decisions forced the place to close down. 

Surrounding the area are various pieces of infrastructure that contribute to the public nature of the space. One of the first things she mentioned was the presence of a cycle/walking path with which you can cycle around the entire bay. The location of the car park in relation to the bike path can be seen below.

Scattered throughout the area in relatively close proximity to each other are a variety of other public space, infrastructure, or civic buildings such as:

a. Gosford Race Course 

b. Gosford Train Station

c. Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium

d. Gosford TAFE Campus

e. (the carpark location)

f. Gosford Olympic Swimming Pool

Others include shopping centers, parks, schools, and shops. 

Sitting in the car that afternoon, and that evening after I arrived home, I began to think of how all these elements contributed to the closing down of Iguanas, and could it have anything to do with the infrastructure or elements of the surrounding area. Given my limited knowledge of the area, the first two things I first observed that may have contributed could have been the presence of the Central Coast Highway, and the urban form of the blocks and buildings. 

Above is a screenshot from Google Maps of the Central Coast highway, which separates the waterfront (and Iguanas visible to the left of the highway) from the residential and commercial parts of Gosford. While the plantings and trees surrounding the highway make it relatively pleasant to walk along, it still presents a major physical barrier to pedestrians trying to access the waterfront. 

One of the most interesting things I noted while driving along the highway is the part seen above, where the highway is in extremely close proximity to both the Stadium and the waterfront. 

As it appears, most major infrastructure or public spaces that would draw crowds of people, are separated from the waterfront (and Iguanas) by the highway. This means that the venue is most easily accessed by car, and not by walking.

The other observable element that may contribute is the amount of surface space taken up by parks and setbacks. While parts of the area are fairly heavily built up, with multilevel residential, shops, offices and houses joined by small streets and laneways, significant amounts of land are also filled in with parks and green open space, especially surrounding the location of the restaurant. Contributing to this is that many of the built up areas are located along the waterfronts of the various inlets and bays in the area, which would make the ideal form of transport a car due to the distances between potential destinations.   The built up areas and location of the restaurant (in yellow) can be seen below. 

Furthermore, my friends mother mentioned that the owner of the restaurant had been reassured by the local council that the waterfront would eventually be built up. This may have encouraged people to the area as well as further infrastructure, such as bus routes or bike lanes. However this never came to be and the restaurant was forced to close. 

So from a fairly superficial analysis of the area based on observable characteristics of the suburb, as well as what my friends mother told us, I can suggest that it is potentially the low walkability of the area, due to the separating presence of the highway and amounts of open spaces that lead to the closure of the restaurant from a lack of patrons, despite promising amounts of public spaces and infrastructure available to diversity the area. 

Maroubra + Views

I was reading Kevin Lynch's The Image of the City (1960) for the project the other day, and was contemplating the sections on views. Views such as favourite views, or short views, or how views terminate etc. 

A little while later I was walking to my bus stop on a sunny morning in Maroubra Beach, thoroughly enjoying the sunshine and comparing it to where I lived in Dublin, Ireland last year. The areas were so different in many different ways, and it made me realise how much I appreciate living where I do now, even though I did enjoy my time in Dublin. 

Above: The location of my apartment in Ranelagh, Dublin 

Above: The location of my house in Maroubra, Sydney

Living in Ranelagh had many advantages. The location of my apartment was a 20 minute walk away from the main city center, or a 5 minute tram (LUAS) ride. The closest supermarket was a 5 min walk away, as were pharmacies, restaurants, bars, and retail shops. The housing was composed primarily of Georgian terraces divided up into apartments and were generally extremely well kept. The suburb has a high walkability, with high levels of infrastructure accessible to residents.  

Living in Maroubra is extremely different with many contrasts. The closest big grocery store was a 15 min bus ride away or a 45 minute walk (to Maroubra Junction). The closest bars and restaurants would be at The Spot in Randwick, which was also a 15 minute busride or 45 minute walk away. Maroubra Beach has a very low amount of shops and restaurants available to residents, and most would go to The Spot, Randwick Junction, or Maroubra Junction for main shopping activities. Streets around Maroubra are generally pleasant with stand alone houses or apartments set back from the street. Areas of Maroubra, just like in Ranelagh, are composed of social housing/community housing and are less aesthetically attractive but generally still safe. 

The main difference between the locations of my house that are apparent immediately, and that had the biggest effect on me when I arrived back home, are the views. The geography of Maroubra is such that it is is very hilly, and the location on the coast means that there are a variety of long to extremely long views. This sense of space and airiness is something that I sorely missed while living in Ranelagh. The parks and long walks along the cliffs at Maroubra enhances these views and provides easy access to areas for exercise and recreation. In Ranelagh, one would often see joggers running on the streets or along the canal that cuts through Dublin next to busy roads, however in Maroubra one has the option to run along the Coastal Walk that runs along the tops of the cliffs. I would say that I have a healthier, more outdoor lifestyle in Maroubra than I did in Ranelagh, and the variety of really beautiful views have a positive significant impact on my psychological wellbeing. 

While I would argue that infrastructure is not as accessible without a car (I do not drive) in Maroubra as it is in Ranelagh, I would still say that I have a better standard of living in Maroubra due to the access to open areas and the beach, as well as the advantages of climate.