Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
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ItemConsolidating the Australian Dream: Housing Aspirations of Young Adults in Melbourne( 2022)The notion of ‘home’ as a house on a large block of land has been a key ideal of a longstanding ‘Australian Dream’. Chasing the Australian Dream is common in the psyche of a settler-colonial and immigrant society where, for several generations now, it has often meant a ticket to financial profit, conventional family comfort and a stake in the political agenda. The cultural concept is oft considered to be a powerful social norm in Australia, so much so that there continues to be de-facto democratic support for urban sprawl and restrictions on densification in established residential neighbourhoods, despite the impacts on sustainability and social equity. The thesis takes an exploratory approach to better understand how ideals of the Australian Dream may or may not be influencing the kinds of housing and neighbourhoods that young adults actually want to live in. An online survey was created in an attempt to answer the following research questions; 1) to what extent do young adults living in Melbourne aspire towards the Australian Dream?, and 2) what kinds of housing and neighbourhoods do young adults wish to see more of in Melbourne? Overall, the results show that ideals of the Australian Dream were substantially more private and inward focused than the contemporary issues that young adults were concerned about when considering notions of home. Young adults overwhelmingly prioritised proximity to services and public transport over dwelling size, amount of storage and private features. Despite some limitations in the sampling and survey methodology, the implications of this research are that much more needs to be done to plan and deliver on 20-minute neighbourhoods and to open up space for more medium density mixed use housing, particularly across established inner and middle suburbs of Melbourne.
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ItemCar dependency in metropolitan Melbourne: a travel pattern analysis of journey to work( 2022)Car dependency is one of the most complex transport issues in Australia and other developed countries worldwide. From traffic congestion to health problems, the negative impacts of car dependency are critical and multifaceted. In Melbourne, despite public transport services covering 31 local government areas (LGAs), about 64% of trips to work are made by private vehicle, making car-driving the most preferred travel mode among Melbournians and making use of public transport relatively low. This situation is due in part to the failure of policies implemented to reduce congestion and in part to politics that favoured road-oriented design. However, studies of car dependency tend to focus on broader rather than small-scall demographic and geographic aspects. Therefore, this research has focused on comparing inner with outer Melbourne LGAs by analysing Victoria Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity (VISTA) data from 2012 to 2018 to find out who is car-dependent and why they are car-dependent. The detailed analyses focus on travel to work by different demographic groups and the cost of various travel modes. The study is guided by the following research question: What makes people choose cars over other transport modes in metropolitan Melbourne? There are two sub-questions. The first relates to the demographic factors (income, age, and gender) and compares inner-city and outer-city LGAs. The second compares motor vehicle drivers, public transport users, and walking/cycling users in both inner-city and outer-city LGAs in metropolitan Melbourne, examining cost, travel time, and distance. The results reveal the distribution of motor vehicle users appears to be higher in the outer suburbs of Melbourne where there are lower incomes and longer travel distances, implying that forced car ownership affects people’s choice of travel. Furthermore, the analysis of public transport travel patterns found that people choose motor vehicles because of a lack of connectivity between home and public transport, security concerns around public transport, and the reliability and flexibility of having private transport. The cost of various travel modes is somehow difficult to measure, therefore, further studies on how policies can influence people’s travel choice will help better understand the causes of car dependency in the urban areas.
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ItemFear and Loathing in Urban Development: Examining community reactions to high-density developments( 2022)High-density developments are often perceived, by local residents, as a threat and proponents of these sorts of developments often experience high volumes of opposition. The creation and use of two broad categories of community reactions to high-density development can help to discern between two broad types of concern, that which seeks to improve planning outcomes for the benefit of the wider community and world, and that which is more self-interested and personally motivated. Such differentiation can provide clear information about the issues that communities care about and can be used to inform better development decisions by developers, local and state government. This research uses the case study of the Preston Market Precinct Structure Plan to test a method of categorising community opposition into two categories, those that are concerned with broader more global issues; ‘selfless’ concerns, and the more parochial, ‘self-interested’ forms of opposition that are often labelled by others as NIMBYism. Understanding the nature and prevalence of concerns of the two types will aid in the future management of community responses to development and help determine better development outcomes.
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ItemBetween physical and virtual space: how does Instagram affect peoples' perception of and engagement with art centres?( 2022)Place is shaped by an assemblage of diverse individuals and materials, and the relationship between space and time in a place affects individuals' feelings, recognition, behaviour, and interaction. An individuals' sense of place is created by travelling back and forth in both physical and virtual spaces, which is the so-called hybrid space. However, it is unclear how place-based information published in virtual space affects viewers' recognition of the place and to what extent it stimulates their willingness to engage in the place. This thesis examines how Instagram, a popular image-sharing social networking service, affects individuals' perceptions of and engagement with art centres. The case studies discussed in this thesis are Abbotsford Convent, Collingwood Yards, and Footscray Community Arts: all publicly accessible inner-Melbourne art centres that hold Instagram accounts. Qualitative image content analysis by inductive descriptive coding was adopted to dissect the similarities and dissimilarities between art centre organisers and their users' perceptions of the place. Quantitative online questionnaires were used to understand how Instagram spurs users to visit physical places. Analysis indicates that the place organisers’ images affect users' locational perception. Also, it shows that virtual information is prioritised to that obtained through physical interaction but inferior to their personal experience of an actual place in person. The social networking service marketing theory to strengthen an individual's engagement in a brand seems not to be congruent with the physical place-based online communication context. These findings clarify the need for further studies to understand how place-makers and urban planners interact with people more effectively in virtual space to connect individuals with local stories and intangible assets in a place.
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ItemEmbedding placemaking in planning Nature-based Solutions: A complementary case study of Nature-based Solutions’ policies in Melbourne and Guangzhou( 2022)Nature-based Solutions (NBS) is an adaptative measure addressing climate change and urban regeneration by restoring the ecosystem services of the natural system. However, existing research has illustrated a lack of consideration of local context and community participation in the current planning and implementation of NBS. Therefore, there is an urgent need to promote ‘nature-based placemaking’, which embraces local context and community perspective in practice. This research examines how placemaking principles are reflected in the Nature-based Solutions policies in Melbourne and Guangzhou. This research will investigate the functions and implications of placemaking strategy in Nature-based Solutions (NBS) planning, with a complementary case study on two river management policies: 1) Yarra Strategic Plan 2022-2032 in Melbourne, Australia; 2) Guangzhou Ecological Belt Master Plan 2019-2035 in Guangzhou, China. Qualitative policy analysis is based on the five transformative elements in the ‘Nature in Place’ framework (Bush et al., 2020). The comparative analysis found that both case studies illustrate a transformative nature-based placemaking in river management, though with different focuses. Melbourne’s plan embedded placemaking principles in the planning stage, while Guangzhou’s plan embedded placemaking in co-design and co-management in the implementation stage. The different focuses of Melbourne and Guangzhou present context-specific planning governance with different levels of community participation. The top-down planning approach effectively delivers the concept of NBS and intergovernmental collaborative governance. Nevertheless, community participation and empowerment in NBS are the keys to maximising multiple co-benefits and achieving integral environmental management and nature stewardship.
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ItemDensity, mix, and access of walkable community: a spatial analysis of the urban walking environment in Shanghai( 2022)Walkability is the key to livability and sustainability in cities. As a theory for understanding the urban structure and better planning for future changes, Urban DMA demonstrates the expression of density, mix, and access in urban form, interacting with each other to affect walkability in the area. This thesis explores the Urban DMA in Old Simon Street, Huangpu District, Shanghai as a case study, by using spatial analysis. The results show that Old Simon Street has high walkability. The Urban DMA has significance for the practice of urban walkability planning in China, but it needs to be adjusted according to the urban environment and background, especially in cities that already have a high-density form and functional mixed. The recommendations include: density control; moving from quantity to quality improvement in living places; decreasing closed communities and increasing open and active streets.
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ItemNomination of Dheisheh Camp of Palestine: potential implications towards heritage practises and border thinking( 2022)Heritage identification by nation-state governments have historically favoured monumental sites with popular historical narratives, typically representing majority cultures. Recent challenges of these hegemonic selections have broadened our understanding and definition of cultural heritage and heritage values. The nomination and management by heritage bodies, of sites based on criteria which go beyond identifying physical or aesthetic characteristics has prompted greater acknowledgement of the social meaning or value of a place through heritage policies. The DAAR’s (Decolonizing Architecture Art Research) recent attempts to nominate Dheisheh camp of Palestine in the UNESCO world heritage list, explores heritage nomination and conservation in spaces of refugeehood, statelessness, contested memories and temporary urban forms. This paper attempts to identify a key challenge of recognising and conserving sites such as Dheisheh. How can we form heritage values and narratives around temporary urban structures that transcends formal state boundaries and contain complex ownership? The paper examines the Dheisheh camp to understand how it confronts this challenge by rethinking heritage and conservation through different perspectives which transcend the expectations of spectacular architecture with Outstanding Universal Value, that aids in the commodification, consumption and long-term viability through tourism revenue of specific cultural heritage sites. The DAAR’s process of rebuilding, reimagining and re-producing spaces attempts to understand and confront the paradox of creating permanence and celebrate refugeehood as a valid form of heritage. The human or social resilience of Dheisheh becomes the main theme of this case study as illustrating the site’s significance. The thesis offers new ways of understanding intangible heritage and social value in unconventional heritage places and temporally precarious environments.
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ItemDensity in the Backyard: Infill Potential of Tiny Houses on Wheels( 2022)Strategic planning documents in Victoria push for increased urban density, while also espousing the virtues and necessity of sustainable urban development. Yet, there are not clear strategies about what form these increases of density will take. It is broadly assumed that densification equates to replacing single dwellings on a lot with multi-dwelling developments such as apartment buildings. Other potential forms of densification are rarely addressed within planning strategy, and thus those alternate typologies, such as certain types of small secondary dwellings, find themselves in a liminal space, neither explicitly permitted nor disallowed within the Victorian Planning Provisions. Small secondary dwelling typologies, such as tiny houses, may provide an alternate solution to demolish-rebuild strategies for increasing urban density. An analysis of relevant Victorian planning policy documents and discussions with people looking for alternatives to traditional housing typologies suggests tiny houses have potential to be one viable method of increasing urban density and providing sustainable urban infill options in Victoria, Australia.
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ItemMelbourne on the move?: Public transport participation at South Morang( 2022)Public transport is well regarded as having numerous benefits when well implemented within urban environments. As a result, communities often demand greater public transport service and infrastructure for their neighbourhoods. Public participation can serve as a way for communities to democratically decide upon their mobility futures. However, the reality of politics often results in these demands being politically difficult to meet and genuine participation being ignored. As such, communities are required to leverage informal public participation if they desire for their mobility needs to be fulfilled. This research looks at one such case in the northern suburb of South Morang in Melbourne, Australia, where a local community organized to force their demands for a rail extension to be heard. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach across a variety of secondary data sources, this research sought to understand the extent to which the community-driven South Morang transport campaign delivered a shift in mode to public transport. The research found that community activism played a significant role in forcing the Victorian state government to support an extension of the local commuter rail line. Furthermore, it found that the eventual completion of the line extension led to a substantial shift in mode towards public transport. This paper demonstrates the possibility for community groups to advocate for themselves and to demand the mobility outcomes they need, even when the formal political system is initially stacked against them.
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ItemBarriers and facilitators to nature-based stormwater management in Melbourne’s private realm: the role of statutory planning frameworks and actors( 2021)Sustainability transitions in Australia’s Stormwater Management (SM) sector over the past two decades have led to the realisation that achieving a ‘Water Sensitive City’ is critical to ensure the health and wellbeing of urban residents and urban ecosystems, as climate change and urbanisation increase uncertainty around the quality and quantity of water in urban environments. ‘Nature-Based Stormwater Management’ (NBSM) is increasingly acknowledged as an important approach to accelerate transitions to a Water Sensitive City due to the multifunctional role of vegetation. In response to sustainability shifts in planning and urban water sectors, the Victorian state government and several municipalities across Melbourne introduced strategic plans and guidelines supporting Integrated Water Management (IWM), Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). More recently, a series of local and state-wide planning scheme amendments in the statutory system have formalised IWM, WSUD, SM and Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) requirements for development on private land. However, current literature highlights that a wide variety of systemic and actor-based factors influence uptake of NBSM in Melbourne and ultimately restrict practical implementation of NBSM systems. This thesis employed qualitative semi-structured interviews with twelve public and private statutory actors to identify barriers and facilitators in Melbourne’s inner-city statutory framework that influence uptake of NBSM on private land. Findings suggest that while more prescriptive policy requirements are important to prioritise the use of vegetation, they are insufficient in isolation to produce effective NBSM outcomes. This is due to barriers presented by competing interests, inconsistencies between councils, poor technical knowledge, and siloed decision-making. Instead, targeted collaboration between actor groups at the early stages of project development, supported by state-led knowledge-sharing initiatives, will be necessary to successfully deliver NBSM and maximise co-benefits provided by vegetated systems. Recommendations from this study can be used to inform targeted strategies for Melbourne’s public and private practitioners to establish healthier relationships with urban water systems long into the future and simultaneously achieve a wide variety of planning objectives.