Urban change can be conceptualized at many scales: from the elemental – a single building or tree; to the systemic – a street, road or railway; to the whole precinct or neighbourhood. The tussles accompanying this change typically arise from the tension between the interests of the individual and those of the whole – roads designed for vehicles that underprovide for pedestrians or cyclists; buildings that provide for their users at the expense of neighbourhoods; waterways made inaccessible or ecologically dysfunctional; public open space lost to infrastructure. Successful urban change requires not only strategic planning and design at the macro scale but design and regulation that adjust spatial relationships and manage activity at a precinct or site-by-site scale. Given the length, complexity and number of stakeholders involved, this process can easily lose its way. Key factors in its success are who drives that change, who they involve and how.
The successful transformation of a neglected post-industrial area to a vibrant arts precinct in central Brisbane, including Richards and Spence’s mixed-use “town square,” is the result of a collaborative private delivery model that demonstrates a nuanced approach at both the strategic and the fine-grain scale.
Over the coming
