Public Space Ideas Competition

PWA’s entries to PSIC collectively advocate for accessible, landscaped and pedestrianised community spaces. The Covid-19 has revealed a comparative lack of public spaces in higher density areas. In Camperdown, we can target wider streets and rear lanes – which are swarmed by private car parking and not arterial routes. These areas can be reinvented at two scales:

At a smaller scale, we propose “Lombard” streets with landscaped steps and slow ramps. Although too steep for universal access, the inner-city laneways offer great potential as green connectors. The noise and dust of laneways can be replaced by lush, deciduous greenery for pedestrians to enjoy. In between, ramps allow easy access for bicycles, prams and wheelchairs. In addition, the character of these pocket parks can vary greatly. From productive veggie patches, to native wetlands, and children’s play parks, the potentials are limitless.

Zooming out, localised public transport nodes can take over the under-utilised allotments of our city. An RPA metro station would dramatically reduce car dependency. ‘Salisbury Steps’ can replace vehicle streets as the east-west axis intersecting at ‘Salisbury Square’. This new meeting place reclaims the lost connection that previously connected RPA to USYD. Nearby, ‘Cabbage Tree Triangle’ at the lower entry, echoes the creeks and gullies that fed Johnston’s Creek in 1788.

The Public Space Ideas Competition recognised a missing piece in our planning approach. We believe that pedestrian spaces should be the primary driver of city building. Rather than having large projects drive local developers for profit, our public space should be defined early in the process. The local community should have a voice, with clear understanding of viable possibilities.