permaculture

[Russ Grayson <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

DE-RADBURNISING THE ESTATES
It was almost bucolic: a settlement of mixed single-family and medium density dwellings interspersed with grassy parks dotted with gum trees. Like neighbouring Claymore estate, Minto was a product of the town planning thinking of the 1970s. Designed on the American Radburn model in which dwellings face a common of public open space rather than the street, planners gave each other a hearty pat on the back when construction was finished and the first state government housing department tenants moved in.

Thirty years later, residents have grown tired of the crime, the drugs and the theft that permeates their estate and makes life miserable for many. They are taking action to deal with social problems born of unemployment and lack of opportunity.

This includes the reclaiming of the public open space from gangs and its reuse as community food gardens. In this, the large community garden on Claymore Estate has been particularly successful. The initiative was fostered by Argyle Community Housing, the agency that manages a part of the estate for the state government. When it was established, the garden formed part of a wider community-based initiative by which local people sought to regain control over their neighbourhood. That initiative saw local people collect tens of tonnes of garbage from their streets and set up their own security service.

But just as they set out on a course of self-help, the state government has stepped in to end Minto Estate's problems for good. The Department of Housing plans to remove up to 70 per cent of residents and demolish their houses. Work has already started. By the time it is completed in ten years time, it will see a rebuilt development consisting of a mix of private and government housing with only 30% of residents being clients of the housing department. Many of the present residents have lived in Minto for years.They will be moved to departmental accommodation elsewhere. As residents of nearby Claymore Estate watch anxiously, the Labour government has made known that they might be next.

The move is part of a NSW government policy that no longer builds housing estates for welfare clients. Instead, it disperses those clients to homes built among privately-owned dwellings. This is a good idea because it avoids the formation of socio-economic ghettoes. The problem, as some locals see it, is that it comes just as Minto locals start to make headway in addressing their own problems.


WHY RADBURN FAILED
The Radburn plan, on which the Minto and Claymore estates on the edge of Campbelltown have been built, has come in for particular criticism by residents and community workers. To address these problems a 'de-Radburnisation' process has been set in motion.

There is a belief among some planners and architects that the design of developments can improve the life of those living in them... that the built environment influences the quality of life. The Radburn model was an outcome of this thinking, but it is thinking that is challenged today and that the experience of the Minto and Claymore estates brings into question.

There have been successful developments based on the Radburn model. Village Homes in Davis, California, for instance, a product of the energy crisis of the 1970s with its energy efficient homes and edible landscaping. Village Homes residents have seen house and land values rise over the years - good news for sellers, not such good news for potential buyers who would like to enjoy the benefits of living in such a development but who are excluded by price.

Minto and Claymore show the poverty of the 'built environment equals quality of life' line of thinking. A model of urban environment that works in one place need not work in another, especially when the socio-econonomic characteristics of the residents is lower than that of, say, the well-to-do residents of Village Homes.

What happened at Minto and Claymore, according to community workers, was that the open space of the Radburn model became the venue where stolen cars were stripped and which was avoided residents because of the crime. More than four years ago, community workers were saying that the estates were in need of de-Radburnising and that houses would be better if they addressed the street. The street, traditionally, is where public life is acted out.

WHAT OF THE VILLAGE GREEN?
Australian social researcher, Hugh Mackay, says that people want developments with a 'village green', a place where residents can come together for social purposes.

Whether planning models such as the Radburn scheme can provide a solution to this is now open to question. If nothing else, the Minto and Claymore examples indicate the need for social planning in the design of residential developments. What works for one socio-economic group might not work for a different one. Throw in social deprivation due to lack of employment opportunities and the Radburn model becomes the scene on which social dysfunction is played out.

Claymore's community garden with its bananas and taro, its sugar cane and vegetables was the first attempt to recreate a village green on the estates. It provides an example of what people determined to improve their quality of life can do when they cooperate.

The bulldozers that will come to demolish the Minto dwellings demonstrate the bureaucratic approach to social problems. It's like the department is fixing the problems it is responsible for by destroying the evidence of their failure.

The garden, where plants and people grow, where ideas take root and cooperation blooms represent the do-it-yourself approach to community redevelopment. This, surely, must be the more enlightened path to the public housing future.

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Russ Grayson
Media services:  journalism-print/ online/ photo
TerraCircle development aid team, Oceania
pacedge@magna.com.au  Phone/ fax: 02 9588 6931
PO Box 446 Kogarah NSW 2217 Australia
http://www.magna.com.au/~pacedge/
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