In our never ending rush to the suburbs (the expanding universe) I have been struck by the one dimensional nature of developments. It seems to me that subdivisions are only about cars and not people.
Now this seems strange, in that, the design of where we live is all about getting there and leaving. What we do when we’re actually there seems to have been ignored completely. So, in this issue I’d like to discuss public spaces. Not the grand St Peter’s type space but the simple, humble gathering, meeting, gossiping space. Why doesn’t it exist any more? Or has it taken on another guise?
It’s pretty obvious that the car is to blame. We devote so much space, money, time and energy to our vehicles that there’s very little left over for anything else. Consider that roadways, driveways and general vehicular circulation takes up about half the land area of any subdivision. Add to this the fact that all other considerations are secondary to the road layout and you begin to get the picture. The fact is that our mobility has created a social straight jacket and changed the way we interact with each other.
I’m not suggesting that we dump the car and wear hair shirts. But I do think that along the way we’ve been seduced into giving up bits of our humanity. Now, instead of walking to the town square to do your socialising, you drive to the shopping centre. So what’s wrong with that? Quite a bit actually. First the shopping centre is there to spend your money, not for social interaction, you’re not encouraged to linger. Then, it’s not local. It’s regional, you don’t know many people there and there’s no sense of ownership. It’s not OURS, it belongs to the big boys.
But is this a problem? I think it is and so do lots of other people. Look at your own response; you visit a real village, say in Europe, or Paris or Greenwich Village in New York (Can’t go? A photo will do) and the first thing that hits you is that the spaces are filled with people not cars. The scale of the spaces is related to pedestrians and there’s always somewhere to pause, to chat, to sit and take stock.
In the modern context, in Australia, public space only happens in densely populated areas, the inner city, or tourist destinations. It never happens in regional or rural developments. Well almost never. I’m designing a town square in a small country town for the Mid Western Regional Council. Take a bow MWRC you understand about people, not just about cars. But, as far as I can see, this is the exception.
I’d like to see the public space reinvented and incorporated into all developments and subdivisions. Or maybe we don’t need social interaction any more, just roads and cars. What do you think?
Regards
Victor
Victor Pleshev Director Interface Architects Ilford NSW Australia
T: +612 63 588 511
Now this seems strange, in that, the design of where we live is all about getting there and leaving. What we do when we’re actually there seems to have been ignored completely. So, in this issue I’d like to discuss public spaces. Not the grand St Peter’s type space but the simple, humble gathering, meeting, gossiping space. Why doesn’t it exist any more? Or has it taken on another guise?
It’s pretty obvious that the car is to blame. We devote so much space, money, time and energy to our vehicles that there’s very little left over for anything else. Consider that roadways, driveways and general vehicular circulation takes up about half the land area of any subdivision. Add to this the fact that all other considerations are secondary to the road layout and you begin to get the picture. The fact is that our mobility has created a social straight jacket and changed the way we interact with each other.
I’m not suggesting that we dump the car and wear hair shirts. But I do think that along the way we’ve been seduced into giving up bits of our humanity. Now, instead of walking to the town square to do your socialising, you drive to the shopping centre. So what’s wrong with that? Quite a bit actually. First the shopping centre is there to spend your money, not for social interaction, you’re not encouraged to linger. Then, it’s not local. It’s regional, you don’t know many people there and there’s no sense of ownership. It’s not OURS, it belongs to the big boys.
But is this a problem? I think it is and so do lots of other people. Look at your own response; you visit a real village, say in Europe, or Paris or Greenwich Village in New York (Can’t go? A photo will do) and the first thing that hits you is that the spaces are filled with people not cars. The scale of the spaces is related to pedestrians and there’s always somewhere to pause, to chat, to sit and take stock.
In the modern context, in Australia, public space only happens in densely populated areas, the inner city, or tourist destinations. It never happens in regional or rural developments. Well almost never. I’m designing a town square in a small country town for the Mid Western Regional Council. Take a bow MWRC you understand about people, not just about cars. But, as far as I can see, this is the exception.
I’d like to see the public space reinvented and incorporated into all developments and subdivisions. Or maybe we don’t need social interaction any more, just roads and cars. What do you think?
Regards
Victor
Victor Pleshev Director Interface Architects Ilford NSW Australia
T: +612 63 588 511
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