The Only Major Setback of Community and Neighbourhood - Essay Example

?Topic:  Planning in my neighbourhood The Neighbourhood The neighbourhood as defined by Clarence Arthur Perry in his 1929 Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs is a concept for the family-life community providing residents “opportunities to interact with those within the neighbourhood boundaries,” (Lawhon, 2011, 111). Ideally, the neighbourhood usually encompasses the residential houses, with school, churches, and recreational areas, specifically in the centre. Its design is expected to allow residents to walk within a quarter mile without the necessity of crossing a highway or major street so that vehicular interference is minimized if not outside the limit of the neighbourhood (Lawhon, 2011). The neighbourhood has also been envisioned with curvilinear streets, its area about 160 acres, with 10 units per acre and with about 5,000 to 9,000 residents (Perry, 1948). It is also ideal that the neighbourhood has about 10% of its area as parks or open space for recreation and enjoyment, and the school should have a play area, a community centre and church. My neighbourhood – Darling Heights, a suburb in Toowoomba City, Queensland, has about 5,035 2006 population (Australia Bureau of Statistics). Darling Heights is bordered by Drayton in the west, Kearneys Spring to the east, and Harristown to the north. Its local government is the Toowoomba Region. Toowoomba is a mountain city located southeast of Queensland and about 127 km west of the capital Brisbane. The climate is pleasant and has an altitude of an average 700 metres above sea level (Toowoomba, 2009). *How was it developed: what is the history of your neighbourhood? Hall (1975) acknowledged that “Modern urban and regional planning has arisen in response to specific social and economic problems which in turn were triggered off by the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 18th century.” The earliest human settlements were near rivers or bodies of water. These are villages with houses grouped together around a square. The square served as a meeting place or for religious purposes. It may have a shrine and the settlement may be surrounded by a wall for protection. The water source provides water supply or fertile land if not rich hunting grounds. These were seen as early examples of town planning of which location and design suited the purposes of the community (Lecture). Morris (1979) suggested that the oldest planned settlements are Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in Pakistan. The history of Darling Heights is closely linked with Toowoomba. It dates back to 1827 when English explorer Allan Cunningham discovered a rich Farming Land and named it Darling Downs (Toowoomba, 2009). Drayton, a nearby suburb, was settled as early as 1842. Toowoomba was earlier called the Swamp, and it was listed a municipality in 1860, a township in 19892, and a city by 1904 (Toowoomba, 2009). The Toowoomba Regional Council is tasked at planning and managing the Darling Heights and other areas of Toowoomba. They oversee building and development, infrastructure planning as well as delivery and local area planning. It consults with the community to ensure that council planning reflects their ideal vision for the region. Coverage includes the schemes and infrastructure for stormwater, sewerage, transport and water supply networks (Toowoomba Regional Council, 2011). *How well does it work – i.e. legibility, connectivity, accessibility, etc.? My neighbourhood in Darling Heights has a comprehensively planned lay-out. Within an estimated 170 acres area, this Toowoomba neighbourhood has a church, a school, some small commercial establishments, as well as a few large ones. Within the community, there are small streets that allow pedestrians. However, there are major streets that cross within the community which provides risks for residents. Connectivity is the ease or manner of which residents in an area move from one point to another or access areas which may have direct or indirect implication in their community life and existence (Saura and Pascual-Hortal, 2006). The connectivity in my neighbourhood is based on the available streets that are linked with one another, and with other major streets. These are Gorman Street and Wuth Street. Darling Heights is located in the outer southern suburb of Toowoomba or Garden City within a distance of about 45 kilometres to the Toowoomba City. The community has its basic service providers like water and electricity companies, communications companies, and several other industries. The division of the areas has more than 15 residential homes per block. Each block is divided by a minor street where pedestrians walk, or drive (See Appendix C). *How good is the living environment? The living environment in the neighbourhood is above average. The houses were mixtures of duplexes, large and small homes and many are about five to ten year-old homes. There are a couple of horse paddocks in the area. There are a few employment areas or industrial zones that cater to workers for their livelihood within the centre of the suburb. In addition, there are a lot of parks and open space in the area. The schools are a major feature of Darling Heights. Their presence adds diversity as well as additional income opportunities for the residents. There are also agricultural as well as manufacturing ventures in the area. However, the major feature is the University of Southern Queensland or USQ. *How good is the sense of community? The sense of community in my neighbourhood is very good. Majority of our neighbours know each other by appearance and by name. There is a sense of commitment towards keeping the neighbourhood safe. We have the darling Heights State School and also nearby is the University of Southern Queensland. We also have the Japanese Gardens which many residents flock to when relaxing, jogging, or having picnic. The sense of community is well and alive through efforts done by residents and complemented by students in the two schools. The principles laid out by Perry (1929), focuses on the physical nature of a neighbourhood concept. This has been closely patterned by the Darling Heights plan with well-spaced blocks and streets that go through them. This has been seen with relevant social implications developed by Perry as influenced by the Russell Sage Foundation which called for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States of America,” (Dahir, 1947). Intelligent town planning was developed in the early stages of Perry’s works utilizing school buildings more fully for recreation and other community activities (14). This resonates well with the USQ’s and Darling Heights State School features and facilities that completes the needs of the community. *How well does it link with the other areas of the town or city? The neighbourhood links directly to Toowoomba centre via the Stenner Street and New England Highway. An alternate route is the Drayford Road. It is serviced by Number 1 Toowoomba City Bus. The university provides other linkages as a major destination with its own terminus. The streets linked to main roads make navigation and mobility ideal. The planning of the suburb of Darlington is ideal. *What facilities does it have? The facilities in my neighbourhood include a Japanese garden, the schools, - Darling Heights State School and University of Queensland in Handley Street, a post office, a strip mall or the Uni Plaza, complexes or dormitories for students, residential colleges, with recreational centre within the Uni Plaza (Toowoomba, 2009). The facilities are considered more than what the community needs because many non-Darling Heights residents visit the place for the university – mainly students. This has added many features for the town and the thriving of small businesses specifically in the university area. The Toowoomba USQ has television studios, state-of-the-art library, performing arts theatre, concert hall, sciences and engineering laboratories, modern lecture theatres, computer laboratories, sport and recreation centre, archery range, tennis and basketball courts, five sports grounds, and the largest Japanese garden in Australia (USQ, 2011). *How would you improve it? My neighbourhood as it is has achieved major developments that many suburban areas have only in their visions and dreams. The presence of the USQ is a major force as well as benefit for all people in the community. The planning of the neighbourhood may have been based on technical objective of achieving harmonious physical environment, specifically the “needs of the mobile, relatively affluent, predominantly white males” (Lecture, USQ, 4 ) but it has successfully integrated needs of the many other members of the community such as the women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. As mentioned earlier, the university’s impact is paramount to achieve objectives of real harmony. In long-term planning, improvement for Darling Heights should focus on addressing the natural and built environment to sustain a harmonious relationship, and focus on marginalized members of the community such as the elderly and minority groups. The health improvement should also be of concern so as to have proactive, preventive lifestyles that promote exercise and more active socialization. This would mean encouragement of more relaxation areas such as parks with activities that the people will engage in such as walking, biking, public discussion, and other for a for community integration. Conclusion My neighbourhood is quite a large area when compared to other suburban areas. It encompass a university which made it a major centre for many, diverse activities. Its planning is well-conceived and properly implemented with consideration of the future. The only major setback of my community and neighbourhood is the need to address street safety as well as the social and physical well-being of its residents. By creating more pedestrian-friendly and physical activity-encouraging spaces, the Darling Heights neighbourhood will achieve an ideal neighbourhood worthy of emulation elsewhere. 1538 words Reference: Australia Bureau of Statistics. 2006. Darling Heights. Accessed from http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC35769&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401 Dahir, J. 1947. The Neighborhood Unit Plan. Sage. Hall, P. 1975, Urban and Regional Planning, Penguin, Harmondsworth. Lawhon, Larry Lloyd. 2009. The Neighborhood Unit: Physical Design or Physical Determinism?. Journal of Planning History 8:11. Morris, A.E.J. 1979, History of Urban Form, George Godwin Ltd, London. Perry, C. A. . 1929. “The Neighborhood Unit, a Scheme of Arrangement for the Family-Life Community.” Monograph one, Neighborhood and Community Planning, Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs (New York: Committee on Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs, 1929), 2-140 Saura, Santiago and Pascual-Hortal, Lucia. 2006. “A new habitat availability index to integrate connectivity in landscape conservation planning: Comparison with existing indices and application to a case study. Landscape and Urban Planning 83, 91-103. Toowoomba. 2009. Toowoomba. Accessed March 2011 from http://www.toowoomba.org/ University of Southern Queensland. 2011. USQ Toowoomba. Accessed March from http://www.usq.edu.au/toowoomba/ Toowoomba Regional Council. 2011. Town & regional planning. Accessed from http://www.toowoombarc.qld.gov.au/planning-a-building/town-a-regional-planning.html Appendix: A: Towoomba, Australia Google Maps, 2011 B: Regions in Towoomba C; Darling Heights Read More