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enjoyed the read on the public housing issues
in nsw. exactly like the ones that we have here! i've managed
and informally studied a number of public housing programs for folks and have
seen some really bad things happen in them. one of the things that i
learned was that the more power you can give over to the residents (ownership,
planning, decision-making, etc.), the more likely it will be successful.
this means more work initially for everyone involved and a transition from a
management-power system to a resident-power system can be extremely difficult
and painful, but is well worth it in the long run.
"...nothing can befall me in life--no disgrace, no calamity--which nature
cannot repair." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
pete's gardens.
specializing in california native plants
and wildlife gardens.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 11:26
PM
Subject: [permaculture] De-radburnising
the estates
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.
..........................................................................................................
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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