Brisbane City

Brisbane has a population of 1.8 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.2%, the city has been growing steadily for many years and it is the opinion of many ‘Brisbanites’ that the population growth rate far outgrows the infrastructure to support it. Although it does seem that Brisbane City Council are implementing some quality strategies to deal with our increased population. Although I believe Brisbane has a long way to go to be considered sustainable, Brisbane City Council (BCC) certainly are trying, amidst all of their bureaucracy and conservatism. Like many cities one of the main challenges that BCC must face is traffic congestion and transport issues and although currently we aren’t seeing too much in the way of traffic alleviation, BCC has some transport strategies that should improve our transport issue in a few years to come, including;

• Creating Brisbane as a walkable city, with improved pedestrian amenity.

• Increasing cycle paths and improving bicycle infrastructure.

• Introduction of a bicycle hire scheme similar to Vélib is Paris.

• Increasing public transport including buses, trains and ferries.

• Introduction of a new mass transit system.

Although these initiatives will be welcome I believe for my city to become sustainable it will need to increase urban density and establish additional Transit Oriented Developments (TODs). TODs are high density, mixed use developments that are situated along public transport corridors or in public transport hubs. They are designed to reduce reliance on private vehicles and encourage sustainable transportation.

The South East Queensland (SEQ)Regional Plan is attempting to respond the urban density issue by increasing the number of TODs, developing around nodes and corridors and ‘prioritising locations with high levels of transit service frequency’.

The SEQ Regional Plan aims to;

‘concentrate urban development in the Urban Footprint and redirect an increased proportion of new growth to existing communities. Containing urban growth pressures will preserve the region’s landscape, open spaces and farmland, and provide significant environmental quality and health benefits. Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland makes a commitment to preserving land for nature conservation and public recreation.’

During community consultation BCC also discovered that a imperative concern for Brisbanites was access to food in the city (which is personally one of my favourite city topics). One of BCC’s Natural Environment goals in Living in Brisbane 2026 is Food in the City which include various initiatives. Food in the City is also a key component of both the CitySmart and BCCs Green Choice Gardening awareness raising campaigns. On the BCC I Green Heart BNE ‘Green Heart CitySmart’ website it  states;

Council’s vision is that Brisbane has a network of community gardens and city farms where residents can grow and access healthy and affordable food.

According to BCC at this stage there are 9 community gardens within Council’s park estate, however they aim to increase this and other sustainability community activities in the coming years. According to BCC, community members can get involved with existing community gardens and apply for a number grants, including;

• Community Grants Program.

• Lord Mayor’s Sustainability Grant.

• Environmental Grants Program.

• Senior Citizens Grants Program.

• Community Support Funding Program.

• Creative Sparks Grants Program.

If you would like to learn more about Brisbane City Council’s Food in the City initiatives check out the new Community Gardens and City Farms section of the I Green Heart BNE ‘Green Heart CitySmart website.

You could also check out two of Brisbane’s Inner City City Farms including Northy Street City Farm and Spiral Gardens.

In 2005 Brisbane City Council released Our shared vision – Living in Brisbane 2026 for the future of Brisbane. This document was developed by Neighbourhood Planning forums and community consultation activities. The Our shared vision – Living in Brisbane 2026 for the future of Brisbane document states that;

The clear message from this consultation is that, for residents and visitors, our friendliness, our green open spaces and outdoor climate are the keys to enjoying Brisbane. Planning a sustainable future for Brisbane relies on our beingresponsible today – responsible in our care of the environment, our culture, our society and our prosperity. Right now, although water is our most pressing challenge within an environmental context, we must change the way we currently think and behave in response to all of our challenges. We want you to enjoy the benefits of living in one of the world’s most livable cities and to pass on those and other benefits to our future generations of residents and visitors.

The key themes of this document are;

• Friendly, safe city

• Smart, prosperous city

• Clean, green city

• Active, healthy city

• Well-designed, subtropical city

• Vibrant, creative city

• Accessible, connected city

• Regional and world city

Our shared vision – Living in Brisbane 2026 for the future of Brisbane links with Brisbane’s 2026 Masterplan which outlines the strategy Brisbane will use this to make Brisbane Australia’s most sustainable city by 2026.

Key components of the Vision of Brisbane’s 2026 Masterplan are;

• An integrated public transport network.

• Pedestrian and cycle friendly streets and spaces.

• Welcoming urban spaces that demonstrate sustainability, innovation, vibrancy and excellence in design.

• Strong integration between the public domain and transport and private development.

• An identifiable character derived from a subtropical landscape, significant views and vistas, public art and built and cultural heritage.

• Promotion of the river as the memorable centre of the city.

• Planning that recognises and reinforces our identity and unique qualities.

• An appropriate relationship between the core and the frame.

• A high–density core of tall buildings with flexibility in design control that allows each building to respond appropriately to its environment.

• A safe and welcoming environment.

• A composition of uses that ensures a sustainable and interesting city centre.

• A tourist and event–friendly city.

If we can go by the recommendations and reports Brisbane is going to be a wonderfully green city in a few years to come… but I guess in the meantime, I’ll have to keep day dreaming about the day when I walk along and not see singular people sitting in cars built for quintets and I’ll just have to imagine that out on the edges trees are not being felled to make way for big houses, to accommodate us and our big TVs and our big SUVs.

Quandong

I was wandering around Kelvin Grove Urban Village (KGUV) this morning, which is a 16 hectare master-planned community that demonstrates best practice in sustainable, mixed-use urban development in Brisbane. While I was there I saw few dismal looking ornamental potted plants beside a street cafe and it occurred to me rather than planting a non-native water hungry species, KGUV and Brisbane City Council (BCC) should plant some native drought-resistant fruiting plants.

It ceases to amaze me how few native fruit trees are planted in our streets, in our parks and in our public gardens. I strongly believe that there should be free food in the city, and there is no better way to do this than with native fruiting plants including;

Lillypilly

Moreton Bay figs

Quandong

Bush Tomatoes

Wattle seed

Davidson Plum

Lemon Myrtle

Lilly Pilly

These fruits have been used for thousands of years by indigenous people and yet most Australian people these days wouldn’t recognise a single native fruit tree.

I think its time to plant our gardens and streets with these fruiting plants and provide some edibles not only to native bees and birds but also ourselves.

If this food were to be grown in and around Brisbane it would be important for BCC to facilitate simultaneous education regarding the use of native fruits. This could be achieved in consultation with Brisbane’s traditional owners the Turrbal people, utilsing their skills and knowledge of native foods and their uses.

Doing some native Guerrilla Gardening would be a great way to invite some native fruiting plants into your streets and our city.

Please note: When identifying native and non-native fruits always be sure that they are edible before consuming.

Guerrilla Gardening Wheels

I mentioned Guerrilla Gardening in the PARKing post and it occurred to me that some of you may not have heard of this global phenomenon, so I thought I’d write a blog about one of my favourite forms of peaceful dissent.

Guerrilla Gardening is a type of direct action where individuals or ‘troops’ identify a certain neglected piece of land and reform it into crops or gardens with all sorts of plants including flowers, vegetables and herbs. This is usually done in cities or urban spaces but this does not necessarily have to be the case.

Guerrilla Gardening is a completely voluntary activity however it is more a form of activism than voluntarism; although there is a definite element of civic voluntarism to it.  Guerrilla Gardening is a way to engage people in the urban space, a way of challenging land ownership and encouraging land rights and land reform.

Guerrilla Gardeners perform various ‘digs’, from planting singular trees in parks, or creating nature strips, beautifying council land or starting impromptu city farms. Some ‘digs’ start small and get bigger, some manifest into community gardens, whereas other ‘digs’ remain small, with a lone flower brightening a footpath.

To me Guerrilla Gardening is the most inspiring form of activism, where people take a space that is neglected and give it new life. It can provide food for urban dwellers and opportunities for community engagement, all the while greening the streets.

One of the most prominent Guerrilla Gardeners’ Richard Renyolds has set up www.guerrillagardening.org which is a website with a blog, tips and a community forum. It’s a great resource to find out more about Guerilla Gardening, with examples and stories of Guerrilla Gardening and call outs from other Guerrilla Gardeners looking for willing participants to go out on a dig.

A quick ‘how to Guerrilla Garden’

As a Guerrilla Gardener you should first find a piece of public land that is looking like it needs some love (in the form of plants), preferably one near your home (so you can water and tend to the plants), then purchase the plants (or even better germinate them yourself), then choose a night and go out on a ‘dig’ (night is best to avoid the prying eyes of the law and council workers.) If you would like more details on how you can Guerrilla Garden your neighbourhood I suggest you check out the Tips Richard Renyolds website www.guerrillagardening.org.

I think I might go out and do some Guerrilla Gardening before I head off.

Since then PARK(ing) Day has grown into a global one day event with over 200 parks being created in 50 different cities in 2008.

Brisbane is one of the biggest PARKing cities in the world and this year there were more than 50 PARKs across Brisbane, a number of these were part of a Collaborative Design unit at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), where design students teamed up with a coach to create PARKs across Brisbane.

Like Guerilla Gardening PARKing day is a form of activism, a way to reclaim the streets in peaceful and fun ways.

I went to see what these students, community groups and individuals got up to, in a bid create urban spaces that promote community and enhance the civic space.

The 8 PARKs that  I saw had used various mediums to create their spaces such as recycled timber, household items and grass and creating both beautiful and functional spaces.

I felt one of the unfortunate sides to this years PARK(ing) Day was that their we many for-profit organisations or businesses setting up PARKs, and I couldn’t help but feel that this was a publicity stunt for many of them. I don’t believe that businesses require additional space to ‘advertise’, and for me one of the liberating parts of PARKing Day  is the freedom from consumerism. PARK(ing) Day has the ability to bring quiet to vulgar streets, engender dissent in urban conformity, to construct urban spaces into relaxing sanctuaries and create a space where we can be free from corporate promotion and welcome genuine acts of sharing (of conversation, space and the streets).

I also felt that I would have liked to have seen more of the PARKers leave their parking space long enough to let citizens engage in the space, at times some of these spaces were full of the creators, leaving little room for others, some appeared intimidating and as a result I often observed them rather than engaged in them.

Through the looking glass

Sleek Scrap (QUT)

Crumpler Bags

Crumpler Bags

2 High Festival

Lavender to brighten the street

Book Swap (QUT)

Book Swap (QUT)

Deicke Richards

Deicke Richards