A Long Time to Change - Why Is There Only One Christie Walk in Adelaide?
Andrew Tidswell. Urban Ecology Australia. 2005.2
If the problems are with our cities then the answers must be in what we do with our cities.
Christie Walk
The Christie Walk project, for which the final stage is now commencing, has been highly regarded and awarded over the years for its contribution to modelling a sustainable city development.
The designers and developers of the project have worked hard to maintain the original integrity of vision to demonstrate what is physically and socially possible in an inner CBD eco-city housing development.
It has taken a long time, but as the landscaping and roof gardens are now being completed it is taking on a new sense of integrity.
With so much recognition, why then is there only one like it in Adelaide?
Many housing developments of a similar scale are being constructed, but none with anything like the environmental or community credentials of Christie Walk. (The new Adelaide City Council proposal on the corner of Sturt Street and Whitmore Square is however a welcome and encouraging sign).
With so much good publicity and commendation why haven't more like it been developed? With so many visitors on site tours commenting favourably, why haven't more like it been designed or demanded?
I don't believe there is any one answer, but I suspect it lies amongst the following:
• Developers have a successful formula for what they do, why would they change?
• Most people still want a house that is familiar, understandable and with a guaranteed resale value.
• The number of people wanting to experiment with something seemingly unconventional is still small.
• State and local governments are reluctant to change the rules to require more sustainable development, despite their rhetoric.
It is the combined conservatism and reluctance to change from those who set the rules, and those who make and purchase the products. This emphasis on housing as just another consumer product has become part of the problem, with a limited range of models being marketed. This doesn't help the general population see that there are alternatives that they can readily purchase.
Before we get too despondent, there is one area where changes are happening and it is in the area of government policies and programs.
In most states there are initiatives to introduce new ‘greener' planning regulations and develop ‘greener' trial subdivisions. The Lochiel Park proposal is the local Adelaide example of this.
Urban Ecology Australia has always said that if the problems are with our cities then the answers must be in what we do with our cities.
Thus any new subdivision developments on outer green-fields sites are only going to be part of the solution.
How we retrofit and reconfigure our existing cities and suburbs will be the most important measure of the development of sustainable and liveable urban environments.
David Holmgren
David Holmgren (the co-founder of Permaculture) spoke in Adelaide recently on his vision for retrofitting the suburbs for a sustainable future. He gave a quick history of the post-war suburban dream which created the suburban sprawl we live in today. The original benefits of garden suburbs have turned into significant dis-benefits including:
- The best agricultural land has been lost to unproductive use.
- Capital investment in residential infrastructure and speculative land values have locked up large amounts of money in unproductive physical infrastructure.
- Household debt has risen dramatically and servicing that debt has become a major focus of our working lives.
- Fewer people are living in increasingly larger houses.
- There has been a loss of local community infrastructure and activity.
- More time is spent travelling (usually by car) for work, recreation and socialisation. David's vision for reconfiguring suburbia is for personal action at a local scale over time, with incremental redevelopment of land and houses. We must be able to utilise as much of the existing built environment and services infrastructure as possible to minimise the demand for new materials, energy and other resources.
David proposed individual action to purchase properties and incrementally transform our suburbs into more sustainable neighbourhoods, with increased household food production, local water harvesting, retrofitting of houses in accordance with passive solar design principles, reclaiming the streets for more than the single function of car use and introduction of animals as an important element of a complete ecosystem.
He believes that the coming realisation that we are in an era of energy descent where the fossil fuels that have powered our economic growth are in real decline, will drive a new era of creativity in ecological design and innovation. He claims that we are now at the time of "post modern cultural crisis", where industrial ascent (of energy and resource use) has peaked and that we are confronted with four possible scenarios:
- Techno fantasy - the belief that technology will solve everything assuming enough money is available to throw at the problems.
- Green technology - where renewable technologies will take over and allow us to maintain our lifestyle. (This is most popular with governments and environmental groups).
- Earth stewardship - where we come to terms with our natural resource base, energy and material use, and respond creatively to a new sustainable lifestyle.
- Atlantis - which accepts a precipitous collapse of our society.
David naturally proposes the ‘earth stewardship' scenario which allows us to manage the energy descent in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner.
Conclusion
Such a vision will not happen by itself, and it won't happen by people believing in any of the other scenarios. It also won't happen by a few people changing what they do in their own backyard, as important as that might be.
It requires a change of approach by governments, some small signs of which we see appearing currently as outlined earlier.
It also requires a change of attitude by a lot of people, which is where Urban Ecology Australia sees a major focus of its current activity.
With our new office located in the Global Education Centre we are exploring opportunities to develop information packs for school students.
We are also looking at other means of providing an education service to the public about what a sustainable city means and how everyone can play a part in creating a more sustainable future especially at a local level.
Please contact us if you want to be part of creating a new sustainable future for our cities, ourselves and our children.
2007.10.6