Australian cities urged to go vertical and multidimensional:
Australian cities should look to Hong Kong as a model for creating more diverse, vibrant and sustainable urban environments, according to a place branding expert.
Tom Oliver Payne, Place Strategy Director at Hoyne, a place branding and property marketing agency, visited Hong Kong in 2023 and was impressed by the city’s vertical landscape. “Hong Kong is a city that defies gravity and logic. It is a city that celebrates verticality and multidimensionality. It is a city that uses every inch of available space to create different layers of activity, such as rooftop gardens, sky bridges, elevated walkways, underground malls and public transport networks,” he said.
He contrasted this with Sydney, Australia, where he lives and works, and where he sees a lack of vertical integration and diversity. He criticised the dominance of single-use towers that separate residential, commercial and retail functions, and the reliance on cars and roads that create congestion and pollution. He also noted the challenges that Sydney faces due to its rapid population growth, limited land supply and environmental pressures.
He proposed that Sydney and other Australian cities should learn from Hong Kong and adopt a more vertical and multidimensional approach to urban planning and design. He suggested that this would create more opportunities for social interaction, cultural expression, economic activity and environmental innovation. He envisioned a city where people can live, work, shop, play and connect in multiple dimensions, without having to travel long distances or compromise on quality of life.
He concluded by saying that verticality and multidimensionality are not just architectural concepts, but also cultural values that reflect a sense of curiosity, creativity and community.
The Barcelona City Council (BCC) and Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) are collaborating to produce a ‘digital twin tool’ to assist in urban planning, writes Adam Hill of ITS International.
Hill says the web platform will analyse Barcelona’s public facilities and the city’s adherence to the 15-minute city model.
Hill says, “The digital twin project seeks to understand how cities could work better by analysing data, evaluating resources, understanding the accessibility of services, and working with models that simplify the complexity, generating scenarios and visualising multiple variables (or combinations of variables) to help decision making.”
Its initial phase is now complete and shows active travel options, such as a short walk to the metro with stops before and after future L8 and L9 lines. The council and BSB say they will continue to develop this tool with more interrelated data.
The Street Furniture Australia factory, in Regents Park, Western Sydney, is both a manufacturing hub and R&D studio for our Australian-designed and made street furniture products. We run fun and informative group events for customers throughout the year, to share how products are designed, tested and built, and the latest products and projects. Director of Tract Julie Lee said: “It was a great opportunity for our team to look behind the scenes and understand the innovation, research and climate positive outcomes Street Furniture Australia is focusing on. Thank you for having us!” Place Design Group Associate, Liam Isaksen, said: “The factory tour is a fun experience to learn about the design and manufacturing process of public furniture we use in landscape architecture design. Seeing the work behind the scenes and …
Did you catch these most-read case studies, furnishing tips, new product announcements and special industry events in your StreetChat updates in 2023? Each month our StreetChat enewsletter publishes new projects, products and trends from the public domain; subscribe to receive it in your inbox. 10. Which design firm can see Longhorn Cattle from their office window? 2 countries. 9 cities. 300 landscape architects. Street Furniture Australia and USA partner Spruce & Gander visited offices in Australia and Texas. There were key similarities and some notable standouts. 9. Jazz at The Mint: Product and Book Launch Sydney landscape architects gathered at the iconic Mint Courtyard to launch a design book by our founding directors Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison, and expansions to the Linea collection. 8. 2023 Good Cause Giveaway goes to …
Street Furniture Australia has designed and built prototype charging stands as part of a Transport for NSW program to deliver free phone chargers at 15 Sydney train stations. Developed by Street Furniture Australia’s inhouse industrial designers in collaboration with Transport for NSW, the prototypes offer wireless, USB-A and USB-C charging, and can power 7 devices at once. They were built at the Street Furniture Australia factory in Western Sydney. Two Power Spots are now installed at Liverpool and Campbelltown stations. The $1 million Power Spots Project rollout to 15 transport hubs including Bankstown, Hurstville, Lidcombe, Penrith, Wynyard, Central, Town Hall and Bondi Junction will be completed by late 2024. NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the Power Spots provide peace of mind: “In the modern world, our phones are our …
How diverse places build trust and support democracy: Ryan Muldoon, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Buffalo, writes for Medium’s Reimagining the Civic Commons on diversity and how public spaces can support connection and acceptance of our differences. In his white paper, ‘Diversity Isn’t What Divides Us, Division is What Divides Us,’ Muldoon says segregation of groups isn’t good for acceptance of diversity: “When people are not exposed to others that are different from themselves, it becomes easier for them to rely on stereotypes, which are then reinforced by politicians or the media. People are only able to see evidence that supports the stereotype.” Muldoon says public spaces are critical infrastructure in reaching our goals of accepting diversity. When people come together and connect in public spaces, what …
OCULUS supports Voice to Parliament campaign: Landscape architecture and urban design firm OCULUS have shared their support for the Yes23 campaign, which recently launched to encourage Australians to respond ‘yes’ in a referendum that seeks to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the constitution. Dean Parkin, Director From the Heart says the campaign offers “a chance to explain how a ‘yes’ vote at this year’s referendum will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples a say in the laws and policies that directly impact their lives, and to deliver practical change.” Oculus says their team have been exploring this significant conversation, with in-depth discussions about the Voice, the upcoming referendum and Uluru statement. They write: “OCULUS is committed to continuing this important conversation and we encourage you …
Living a Healthy Life by Harvard University: Experts at Harvard University have released a collection of articles focusing on healthy living. The collection identifies and examines seven core precepts: ‘what we eat’, ‘how we move’, ‘what we feel’,‘how we rest’, ‘what we moderate’, ‘how we live longer’ and ‘how we find joy’. In one article they recommend to “spend time outdoors, it’ll improve your health.” This may be an obvious statement though we can easily forget this wisdom in our increasingly time-poor lives. Professor of nutrition and epidemiology Heather Eliassen says that some of the benefits include “improvements in sleep, blood pressure, cognitive function and physical activity, as well as reduced risks of chronic disease, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.” Whether it’s a picnic in the …
