Coastal planning, education and the Australian context

The Victorian Planning Minister&rsquo;s response to the &lsquo;Coastal Climate Change Advisor Report&rsquo;, initiated by the Baillieu government in 2010, identified the need to &ldquo;initiate ! a skills audit with the view to developing a range of professional development courses to meet the shortfall of professionals with the capability to assess coastal climate change impacts&rdquo; (Victoria 2012). The following paper addresses this deficiency by examining how Australia&rsquo;s higher education and further education sectors currently attend to the issue of coastal planning.A detailed review of a large number of national and international planning programs was undertaken to highlight the subject matter contained in each program with a specific focus on any coastal planning courses. Working from a theoretical perspective, the first part of the paper addresses why a dedicated subject on Coastal Planning is required in the present Australian planning school syllabus, and how such a program would be positioned within the intent of PIA&rsquo;s Education Policy.Utilising the benefits of Problem Based learning and Student Centred Learning in relating to delivering a Coastal planning course, the second part of the paper provides a theoretical overview of the types of competencies which students may be expected to attain when undertaking such a course. The third part of the paper proposes a series of 12 lectures to underpin a unit titled &ldquo;Coastal Planning: The Australian Context&rdquo; which includes a draft lecture relating to the monitoring of Coastal Erosion in Adelaide.<br /

Between traditions : the villa and the country house

Sir Leslie Martin wrote in 1983, &ldquo;The formal composition used by Lutyens is something totally related to the problems and culture of his time&rdquo;. to reinforce this point Martin included a plan of Heathcote (1905) next to an illustration of one of Palladio&rsquo;s final commissions, the Villa Rotonda (1566). Comparing the planning and symmetry strategies of the two architects, Martin was able to demonstrate how Heathcote embodied an eclectic yet fundamental link between two traditions - the irregularity of an Edwardian planning arrangement, and its containment within the symmetry demanded by the &ldquo;full classical orchestra of a Doric order&rdquo; (Hussey, 1950 p128). &ldquo;Once inside the balanced mass of the exterior, the visitor&rsquo;s movement through the building is controlled by volumes and composition of a totally different kind&rdquo; 1. While Palladio appears to have been a significant influence on Lutyens, as revealed in the often quoted letter about the &ldquo;High Game&rdquo; which he wrote to Herbert Baker in 1903, few studies appear to explore the extent to which his newfound inspiration went beyond the issue of fenestration in affecting other aspects of his work. The following paper analyses Lutyens&rsquo;s relationship to Palladio with particular reference to three concepts fundamental to the work ofboth architects: proportion, plan arrangement and movement.<br /

Anticipating the uptake and possible implication of digital imaging within the construction industry

Photography within the construction industry is merging into a new form of image capture and output that is a mix of conventional photography and digital imagery. As this transition takes place it is anticipated that the credibility of the image may also change within in the communication chain that links the various disciplines within the building industry. The following paper presents the development and results of a pilot survey of building professionals, which addresses the quality, content and authenticity of both conventional photography and digitally produced images used within the construction industry.<br /

Perceptions of Place - evaluating experiential qualities of streetscapes

Working with a small set of 60 images from a collection of over 1000 digital photographs, the following paper presents ongoing research into the experiential qualities of street scapes. This paper examines the initial results of a survey of 75 voluntary based perceptive studies and focusses on a sample cohort of 30 participants (20 cognate and 10 non-cognate respondents) who were asked to evaluate a streetscape experience based on favourable and unfavourable perceptive qualities. Using a spatial sequencing process, akin to the \u27Serial Vision\u27 methodology of Gordon Cullen, respondents were asked to rate a section of urban fabric based on favourable (hot or warm) and unfavourable (cold or cool) traits and to digitally capture these images. The study yields results which highlight the importance of the quality and effect of green attributes within the overall street scape experience. The implications for urban design practice (streetscape greening), are briefly explored

Aged care provision in Greater Bendigo : current provision and future requirements

In the following paper, ratios which correlate aged care places with physical infrastructure requirements are developed for the regional Victorian Local Government Area of Greater Bendigo, by analysing its existing aged care facilities. These ratios are then used in conjunction with the federal government&rsquo;s population based measures to model scenarios of future aged care infrastructure requirements for Greater Bendigo. Strategies for the provision of additional residential aged care facilities are explored using a matrix governed by size and configuration. Variations in these two aspects are shown to affect the location options for future facilities in Greater Bendigo. <br /

Working with \u27housing variance\u27 to model urban growth futures with inner metropolitan Melbourne

Continued population growth in Melbourne over the past decade has led to the development of a range of strategies and policies by State and Local levels of government to set an agenda for a more sustainable form of urban development. As the Victorian State government moves towards the development of \u27Plan Melbourne\u27, a new metropolitan planning strategy currently being prepared to take Melbourne forward to 2050, the following paper addresses the issue of how new residential built form will impact on and be accommodated in existing Inner Melbourne activity centres. Working with the prospect of establishing a more compact city in order to meet an inner city target of 90,000 new dwellings (Inner Metropolitan Action Plan - IMAP Strategy 5), the paper presents a \u27Housing Variance Model\u27 based on household structure and dwelling type. As capacity is progressively altered through a range of built form permutations, the research attempts to assess the impact on the urban morphology of a case study of four Major Activity Centres in the municipality of Port Phillip

Air pressure and wind velocity - modelling ember attack within the urban-rural interface

As population change places pressure on expanding regional and metropolitan urban boundaries, so the threat of bushfire at the rural/urban interface increases. This paper presents a range of 2D and 3D 1:40 and full scale modelling investigations. Various relationships are explored between the urban and rural interface with respect to: air pressure; changes in wind pattern; vectorial velocity; and the deposition of hot ash and firebrand deposits around single story building forms, both as standalone and within an orthogonal array and cul-de-sac relationships

Modelling urban growth futures within inner metropolitan Melbourne

In the light of the Victorian State Government\u27s move towards the development of \u27Plan Melbourne\u27 - a new metropolitan planning strategy currently being prepared to take Melbourne forward to 2050 - the following paper attempts to address the issue of how an inner city target of 90,000 new dwellings (Inner Metropolitan Action Plan - IMAP Strategy 5) will impact on existing inner Melbourne activity centres. Working with the prospect of establishing a more compact city within the inner Melbourne region, the paper will focus on key suburbs within the Port Phillip area. Working with a \u27Housing Variance Model\u27 based on household structure and dwelling type, the paper will attempt to assess the impact on urban morphology as capacity is progressively altered through a range of built form permutations

Sustainable in 2030? The impact of population growth in Melbourne`s inner activity centres

The advent of sustainable approaches to managing an increase of population in our urban centres, such as the Melbourne 2030 planning policy, has led to questions regarding their successful implementation at local government level. Issues relating to the location of sustainable built form and infrastructure are of particular importance considering Melbourne 2030\u27s direction regarding intensification around existing activity nodes. The following paper embarks on an investigation into the impact of the projected population growth set out in the 2030 policy, focusing particularly on the consequent implications of increased residential densities in and around activity centres within the inner Melbourne region. Utilising various mapping techniques, a series of comparative built form/density scenarios will be generated that begin to explore the issues of implementation faced at a local government level.<br /