Adelaide City Centre
Photos and text by Michael Robertson
Adelaide's metropolian centre is relatively compact, with a good mixture of offices, shops, eating places, public transport, housing, libraries, universities, entertainment venues and greenspaces.
Unfortunately it is cut through by numerous roads busy with motorised traffic. A 2002 inquiry, headed by Danish Architect Jan Gehl, proposed various modifications to the urban fabric to make the city's public spaces more pedestrian friendly, but it has not been acted on.
Link: Public Spaces and Public Life
Grote Street
Bus Stop Sign
Photos: Grote Street, Adelaide (2005.11)
This bus stop serves the Central Market and the Chinatown district.
The names of individual bus routes are crowded onto this bus stop sign, which makes them harder to read, but at least they can be viewed all in one glance.
Many bus stops in Adelaide, even some well-used ones, have little information about where and when buses go.
Halifax Street
House and Footpath Shading
Photo: Halifax Street, Adelaide
Houses and footpaths deserve protection from the sun on hot days. A row of bamboo plants screens the western side of this house. Pedestrians also deserve shaded footpaths.
Street Depaving
Photo: Halifax Street, Adelaide
A generous median strip with native grasses takes has reduced the amount of paved area on Halifax Street. This provides a pedestrian refuge, and helps calm traffic (reduce traffic speeds) because it reduces perceived roadway width.
Himeji Garden
Meditative Garden
The meditative calm of Adelaide's Himeji Garden. Go there. Then lobby the government to create a public meditative garden in your area, if you haven't got one already.
Hindmarsh Square
Link: Google Map
Urban Greenspace with Shade
Photo: Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide
In the north-west corner of Hindmarsh Square there is a small, well-used park with good shade. A pleasant haven in the central business district for local workers and shoppers to eat their lunch or read a book.
Hurtle Square
Urban Greenspace with Outdoor Art
Photo: Hurtle Square, Adelaide
Medium Density Housing
Photo: Hurtle Square, Adelaide
Two story housing with balcony and compact front garden.
North Terrace
See Wikipedia, Google Map
Public Courtyard with Shade
Photo: State Library Courtyard, North Terrace, Adelaide
The courtyard outside the front entrance to the State Library on North Terrace includes a sitting area shaded by large tree. People like a bit of shade on a hot day.
Luckily the recent North Terrace Redevelopment left a few trees, which will help shade-hopping pedestrians avoid expiring in the hot sun while the newly planted trees grow.
Regent Street South
Street Depaving
Photo: Regent Street South, Adelaide
Street converted to pedestrian path with abundant landscaping.
Wall Garden
Photo: Regent Street South, Adelaide
A blank, light-coloured wall provides an aesthetic backdrop for plants, and allow a household to present an interesting, garden frontage to the street while also having a private, walled garden in front of the house.
Rundle Park
Performance Garden
Photo: Rundle Park, Adelaide (2006.3)
During the Adelaide Fringe Festival, held in February-March, a small section of the Adelaide Parklands, at the edge of the Central Business district, becomes the Garden of Unearthly Delights - village of performance tents, food-stalls, art, and outdoor shows in a tree shaded, grassy landscape.
Link: Garden of Unearthly Delights
South Parklands
Bike Mounds
Earth mounds over which cyclists can jump their bikes, encourage this form of participatory sport, with benefits of fitness and comraderie.
Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga
Links: Wikipedia, Google Map, Post Card
Urban Greenspace
Photo: Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga, Adelaide
Victoria square, also known as Tarndanyangga, is grand city square precinct with many trees and grassed areas, and a variety of buildings, old and new. Unfortunately it is crisscrossed with busy, multilane roadways (not shown).
Features shown include: tram terminus, Indigenous People's flag, a Catholic cathedral (St. Francis-Xavier), and large hotel (Hilton).
2007.2.28