The Symbolic Realm of Italian Migrants’ Post-WWII Houses in Australia

The Post-WWII period witnessed a large immigration flow of Italians towards Australia. This was facilitated by the assisted passage scheme funded by the Italian and Australian governments. Italian migrants, as well as diverse migrant groups, brought with them cultural practices and a way of life, which are nowadays part of the multicultural Australian society. Namely, it is argued that first generation Italian migrants’ houses are embedded by cultural meanings. Therefore, this research study investigates the symbolic realm of Post-WWII domestic dwellings built by Italian migrants in Brisbane, that is, the various meanings they associated with their homes. The data was collected from focus group discussion and in-depth interviews held at the Italian Club in Newmarket and at the residences of forty Veneto first generation migrants, who migrated to Australia in the Post-WWII period. The collected data has been subjected to thematic and to hermeneutic analysis. This procedure generated a list of various meanings embedded onto migrants’ houses in Brisbane. The revealed findings contribute (1) to explore a historically significant process of Australian domestic architectural development and (2) to expose the symbolic realm preserved into the built environment, which represent the national cultural heritage of Australia

Post-WWII Italian Migration from Veneto (Italy) to Australia and Transnational Houses in Queensland

This paper explores the phenomenon of post WWII Italian migration (from the Veneto region) to the State of Queensland in Australia. The exploration is linked with the topic of the accommodations where respondents resided since their arrival in Australia. The data was collected in Australia from semi-structured interviews conducted with ten families native to the Veneto region, who migrated to Australia after WWII. All interviews were conducted in the language preferred by participants, which corresponded to their regional dialect and the Italian language interpolated with some Austral-Italiani words. The interviews have been transcribed and subjected to the first level of analysis - thematic analysis - following orthodox practices (Kitchin & Tate, 2000; Seale, 2004). The analysis of the transcript material generated a number of themes, which, after being subjected to a second level of analysis using phenomenological hermeneutics, have been validated by the respondents. The themes have been ordered into two groups corresponding to first and last (or permanent) dwellings’ migration experiences

Built Form and Cultural Meanings of the Homes of Veneto Post WWII Italian Migrants in Australia

This study investigates the domestic dwellings built in Brisbane by twenty first-generation migrants, natives of the Veneto region in Italy, who migrated to Australia in the post WWII period and built their houses in the 1980s and 1990s in Brisbane. The purpose of this research study is to explore whether notions of culture were present in the homes migrants constructed in Brisbane, both in the material realm (interpreted as internal and external organization of space and the composition of the façade) and in the symbolic realm (the meanings attached to these houses by Italian migrants). The project is of qualitative nature and as primary sources of data uses semi-structured interviews, associated when circumstances made this possible, to photo-elicitation interviews, and focus group discussion. The semi-structured interviews were conducted both in Australia with twenty first-generation Italian migrants, and in Italy with another ten informants who are indigenous to the Veneto region and who built their homes there. These primary data are supplemented by (4) secondary data in the form of photographs and drawings. The findings reveal that home is both a physical structure and a set of meanings where these two components are tied together rather than being separate and distinct. It shows that there were two models the Veneto migrants chose for the erection of their houses in Brisbane and these correspond to: (1) the rural houses built in the 1970s and 1980s by their family and friends in the Veneto region and (2) the villas designed for noble families by the architect Andrea Palladio in the 15th century in the homeland of the respondents

The Development of Vital Precincts in Doha: Urban Regeneration and Socio-Cultural Factors

Through the past few decades, Doha, the capital of the State of Qatar, has experienced an extraordinary economic growth and transformation of its built environment. This has been caused by post-WWII oil and natural gas production, which has transformed the economy of Qatar from fishing and pearling based to a differentiated economy. The State of Qatar is currently investing large funds into the transformation of Doha’s built environment and the development of new major urban public transit networks (i.e. the Doha Metro, the Lusail light rail transit (LRT) and a bus rapid transit (BRT)). Authorities are committed to have the new transport systems operational before the 2022 FIFA World cup competition. This paper discusses the key factors and/or challenges to be studied and considered for integrating Doha metro transport system with land use. Namely it is argued that the key factors for the design and planning of successful, functional and economically vital precincts developed in the proximity of the new Doha Metro stations are related to tangible or financial-economic aspects, as well as intangible or socio-cultural aspects

Post-WWII Italian Immigration to Australia: The Catholic Church as a Means of Social Integration and Italian Associations as a Way of Preserving Italian Culture

Historically, most Italians have been Roman Catholics. Also, the majority of Italian immigrants who migrated to Australia have remained Catholics. In Brisbane, in which a large number of Italian migrants migrated in post WWII period, immigrants were actively involved in activities performed around Catholic Parishes. Concurrently, driven by the need for interaction among themselves and also with Australians, Italian migrants built ethnic clubs and associations to facilitate social interaction. This study aims to investigate the extent to which the Catholic Church and cultural clubs and associations has contributed to the social integration process of post WWII first generation Italian migrants in Brisbane. The role of the Catholic Church and cultural associations was explored, namely those activities, which majorly involved Italian migrants within the community since their arrival in Brisbane. Forty participants were interviewed about their religious beliefs and congregational/community activities, which were central for them to enhance life satisfaction and consequently to integrate within the community. The findings reveal that being involved in social activities performed within the catholic parish helped them to give a meaning to their life in the Australian host environment and provided them a supportive community. Attending religious services and congregational social activities helped migrants to find strength and comfort, to overcome hardships, and more importantly to create friendships, which provided them a tool contributing to implementing their individual quality of life or life satisfaction and finally to integrating within the Australian society. In addition, for Italian migrants, the typical national and regional clubs became a recreation/social center, which helped them to preserve their national language, culture and identity

Italo-Australian Transnational Houses: Critical Review of a Qualitative Research Study

The research study aimed to understand how first generation Italian migrants in Brisbane have influenced the form of a specific typology of dwelling, the archetypal ‘house on a quarter-acre block’, in the post WWII period. In order to understand the forces behind and outcomes of migrants’ influence on the form of their Italo-Australian transnational houses, qualitative data collected from the testimonies of Italian migrants in conjunction with evidence left from four houses were analyzed. The findings revealed that the architectural form of the house was influenced by architectural traditions, socio-cultural factors and urbanization patterns. It was shown that the form of the transnational house mirrored the cultures derived from the ways of life belonging to two societies. Therefore, the form of houses built by Italian migrants in post WWII Brisbane is the manifestation of the Italian and the Australian cultures. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and critically review the qualitative methodology adopted for the study, the limitations of the study and the recommendations for further exploration and development of both theoretical and applied areas of research

The Souq Waqif Heritage Site in Doha: Spatial Form and Livability

The aim of this paper is to examine how and the extent to which the urban form of the heritage site of the Souq Waqif in Doha (1) encourages the formation of enhanced levels of social and community engagement (i.e., social life) and (2) can be further implemented in order to enhance social interactions. (Methodology) The study investigates the relationship between the Souq Waqif’s settlement and users’ levels of social interactions. In order to provide an answer to the main questions, in this study the author explores and analyzes (A) the form of the urban fabric of the heritage site and (B) the social activities performed by the users within the settlement. Data is obtained from visual material, users’ interviews and survey that explore and reveal how and the extent to which the form of the urban fabric of the Souq Waqif’s settlement is the arena of social activities and therefore contribute to enhance the social life of citizens. (Findings) (1) The analysis indicates that, compared with car-oriented suburbs, the walkable, pedestrian oriented and mixed-use heritage site of the Souq Waqif encourage people to be socially engaged and enhance higher level of social life: the settlement is the arena where intentional or accidental interactions occur, encouraging a sense of trust and of connection between people and the places they live. (2) Furthermore, the study allows understanding how built forms of the Souq Waqif should be implemented in order to facilitate social interactions

Italo-Australian Transnational Houses: Culture and Built Heritage as a Tool for Cultural Continuity

(The Problem) The classical theorist Vitruvius celebrates architecture as an expression of societies’ cultural factors where culture has a determinant role in shaping built forms. Despite this notion of architecture has also been acknowledged by modern theorists, scholars stress that contemporary societies often ignore to consider buildings of cultural significance as an heritage asset of societies and therefore lack to protect them. (Objective) The purpose of this paper is to understand how the fulfillment of users’ needs, based on their cultural framework, had priority in the architectural design process of their houses. More specifically, the main objectives are (1) to understand the nature of the cultural factors influencing the form of Italian migrants’ transnational houses in Australia and (2) to recognize why these houses can be categorized as an heritage asset of the Australian built environment. (Methods) In order to provide an answer to the two research questions, firstly the authors review the literature supporting the significance of built and culture heritage within the development of the built environment; secondly a detailed case study in Brisbane is selected for the collection of data. (Contribution) As a result of this investigation, (1) the extent to which Italian transnational houses were conceived in response to specific cultural needs and (2) why these buildings, which are part of the multi-cultural built environment of Australia, should be preserved and restored, is revealed

Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium deposition to the Prunus laurus cerasus leaf surface as an indicator of the vehicular traffic pollution in the city of Varese area. An easy and reliable method to detect PGEs released from automobile catalytic converters

Background, aim, and scope The widespread use of some Platinum Group Elements (PGE) as catalysts to minimize emission of pollutants from combustion engines produced a constantly growing increase of the concentration of these elements in the environment; their potential toxicological properties explain the increasing interest in routine easy monitoring. We have found that leaves of Prunus laurus cerasus are efficient collectors of particulate with a dimension < 60-80 \u3bcm, and a simple and reliable procedure was developed to reveal traces of platinum, palladium and rhodium released from automotive catalysts. The analysis of the dust deposited on the foliage is a direct indicator of traffic pollution. Materials and methods Leaves of prunus laurus cerasus were washed by sonication in a mixture of water and 2 propanol and the washings, to be discarded, were separated by centrifugation to yield typically 0.05-1.2 g of dust that, after mineralization, were directly submitted to Atomic Absorption analysis. Results Comparison of the 2007 and 2004-5 results showed a dramatic reduction of the platinum levels and revealed that palladium is now the main component of this traffic related pollution. Discussion The results are consistent with the increasing diffusion of cars with a diesel engine whose catalysts are made up of Pt and/or Pd alone, and gives a significant insight into the recent evolution in catalyst design that replaces platinum for palladium. Conclusion The proposed analytical procedure is simple, with short preparation times, and greatly reduces matrix effects so that atomic absorption spectroscopy can easily detect the three noble metals at the ng/g level in the dust. Recommendation and perspectives The results clearly show that Pd concentrations have increased over time, and must be cause of concern