A student perspective on outcomes

One of the most valuable elements to come out of my investigation was the broader relationship to strategic sources: CSIRO Future Dilemmas Report, Melbourne City Council 2010 City Plan, City of Yarra 2010 City Plan, and Melbourne 2030 Plan (implementation plans and technical reports). Part of my research was understanding the actual spatial types that existed in Melbourne, and establishing analysis across activity centre lists. This analysis enabled a different understanding of the centres, and highlights that development may not be perfect for all centres. This investigation into the types of human uses that exist in centres enabled an output with a mathematical basis, providing strong comparison between types; the below data provides an insight into my analytical proposition for activity centres.

Diversity Rating

The reasoning for going to a centre is bound by the following sets of types:

• each type reflects a different type of human activity (or use)
• combinations of these elements provides the diversity within an activity centre
• diversity is not an indication of its success or functionality, but of its ability to draw a multitude of different people
• the sum of each occurrence is therefore the diversity figure for each indicator
• The sum of the indicators gives you the final diversity rating for each centre; and Diversity (Rating) = necessity + choices + entertainment + information + transition

My analysis, while not a conclusive model, provides an edge or differentiated look at centres, something planning could be strongly critiqued on. The analysis does not predict what a centre needs or requires, but enables a certain judgement to be possible. Do we need to increase dwellings around a principal strip centre? Or is not a viable option due to the other diverse needs required in the place, with this increase. I don’t think this analysis system provides the complete solution. It seems easy for a student/landscape architect, quasi-urban designer and urban theorist to stand back and believe there is the intention to provide solutions to these problems. Perhaps the future requirement of urban design education is to provide students who will actively seek to push the limitations, challenges and possibilities of our community. We cannot actively seek a utopian get away for Melbourne, but we can seek to continually create a more sustainable community, lifestyle and a greater city for us all – as the principal role for the urban designer.