MAKING CONNECTIONS: The City West Strategy
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
FOREWORD
CITY WEST TASK FORCE
The City West Task Force is a joint initiative of the Queensland Government
and Brisbane City Council.
The Task Force has been established to produce a framework for the
future integrated development of City West and to advise the Premier
and Lord Mayor on ways to better integrate State and local planning
and development.
The work of the Task Force sets a new benchmark for cooperative
planning between the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council.
The success of the Task Force depends on the support and cooperation
of State and City agencies.
Planning for the City West area recognises the traditional owners of
this part of Brisbane.
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‘City West’ describes the western part of
Brisbane’s central activities area. The City
West Strategy addresses issues (such as
connectivity and the public domain) that are
not limited by boundaries.
CITY WEST STRATEGY
This Strategy outlines the City West Task Force’s long-term vision for the
City West area and sets the framework for planning of City West precincts.
An outline of City West's major planning exercises is illustrated at right.
The Strategy identifies priorities to improve connectivity and the public
domain and outlines proposals to increase economic prosperity in City West.
The Task Force has consulted a wide range of government agencies, private
sector interests and the community through interviews and workshops.
This Strategy will be used to guide:
• precinct planning in City West’s localities;
• major projects in the area, particularly in terms of their integration with the
public domain; and
• further recommendations to the State Government and Brisbane City
Council on planning and development in City West.
The Task Force believes the Strategy presents a framework for transforming
City West to create a more connected, vibrant, attractive and safer place.
The title of the Strategy, Making Connections, expresses the goal of building a
public domain that both physically links places and also provides a place for
social, economic and learning exchange. The Task Force believes both
qualities are necessary for City West to be a ‘connected place’.
MAKING CONNECTIONS: The City West Strategy
MAKING CONNECTIONS: The City West Strategy
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INTRODUCTION
C I T Y W E S T: C R E AT I V E P L AC E
CONNECTIVITY AND THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
This Strategy is focused on improving City West’s public domain,
particularly its ‘connectivity’.
The ‘public domain’ is that part of the city owned by and accessible to the
community as public space. It is a seamlessly connected space that knits the
various parts of the city together. Streets and parks comprise the largest part
of the public domain.
The state of the public domain largely determines the environmental quality
of the city. It also determines residents’ and visitors’ experience of the city
because it is through the public domain that access to the city and its parts
is gained and where community (social and economic) inter-action occurs.
The public domain, while publicly owned land, is defined by the interface
with adjacent sites and development, which are largely privately owned.
Consequently, street frontages (ie the public faces of buildings or
properties facing the street) are an essential contributor to the quality of
the public domain.
‘Connectivity’ is used in this Strategy to mean both physical links and social
and economic exchange. The former provides for movement between and
through places: the latter for contact and interaction at places.
To fulfil its connecting role, the public domain must provide both for mobility
and exchange. The public domain fulfils its connectivity function by providing
social, economic and learning destinations (ie places for exchange) as well
as for efficient (and safe and pleasant) journeys.
As movement between sites is essential to the functioning of the city, the
largest part of the public domain is managed to facilitate mobility - particularly
for private vehicles. An overemphasis on mobility, however, can often be at
the expense of contact and exchange: turning streets into roads.
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Significant capital and creative energy is invested in enhancing mobility,
particularly for the movement and storage of vehicles. Little, in comparison, is
expended on designing and constructing a public domain that allows stopping
and exchange. Such investment is necessary to increase the quality and
incidence of contacts and the social and economic qualities of the city.
Despite its importance, the public domain is rarely planned and managed as
an integrated space that supports ‘connections’ (Albert Street, Grey Street
South Bank and, to an extent, Queen Street are exceptions). In practice, the
quality and character of the public domain is largely the consequence of
transport infrastructure design, individual project decisions and private
decisions on land fronting it. Rarely does the public domain reflect a shared
process of deliberation and intent. Catering for vehicular mobility is often the
highest or only objective in the design of the public domain.
A limited approach to managing the public domain often increases local
barriers to movement and results in few parts of the public domain that
encourage social or economic exchange. To that extent, an emphasis on
mobility will actually impede connections.
ROLE OF STREETS
Streets are:
• Social and meeting places
• Movement and access space
• Business places
• Ceremonial and symbolic
places
• Democratic space
• Recreation and entertainment
space
• Space for light and air
• Space for utilities
Observation and analysis shows City West has poor connectivity. This Strategy
proposes that the public domain in City West be planned to encourage:
• a range of movements (vehicles, public transport, pedestrians and
cyclists); and
• social and economic interaction and exchange.
This Strategy seeks, above all, to turn City West from an area with relatively
poor local connectivity to a well-connected place of interaction and exchange.
Albert Street (above) is a connective street
designed for both access and exchange,
whereas the Riverside Expressway (left)
excludes exchange.
MAKING CONNECTIONS: The City West Strategy
MAKING CONNECTIONS: The City West Strategy
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INTRODUCTION
PROSPERITY THROUGH A CREATIVE PLACE
The Strategy seeks to foster a higher level of economic prosperity and
improved local services in City West.
The Brisbane metropolitan area is the hub of economic activity in Queensland
and the driver of the State’s competitiveness in an increasingly global economy.
Economic growth in South East Queensland, and Queensland as a whole,
depends greatly on the continued success of Brisbane as a globally oriented city.
Brisbane must develop its knowledge base and ‘creative city’ status to
maintain growth and economic success.
Existing and potential economic opportunities:
the QUT Kelvin Grove campus (above) and
rail corridor at Petrie Terrace (below).
Economic success is tied to the city’s ability to:
• widen and deepen its pool of highly skilled labour;
• create an environment that attracts, retains and nurtures
‘creative (knowledge) workers’; and
• build physical and functional networks that support a flow of skills
and capital and the exchange of information and ideas.
The City West Strategy adopts this ‘creative city’ principle in City West as the
best way to support economic prosperity. A revitalised City West can support
Brisbane’s position in the regional, State, national and global economies.
The Strategy seeks to harness City West’s significant existing and potential
creative city resources, reflecting City West’s ‘place’ in Brisbane’s central
activities area.
5 PRIORITIES FOR A
CREATIVE CITY
1. Quality knowledge
infrastructure - quality learning
and research institutions, good
physical and digital connections
2. A deep labour market of
high-tech, advanced business
service and knowledge jobs to
provide career choice
3. Quality life-style infrastructure particularly outdoor recreation,
music, arts, nightlife
4. Quality urban places - with
quality public places and
streets, and with authentic
character and culture
5. A culture of diversity, openness
and tolerance
A successful City West will be built on the area’s existing competitive strengths
and assets by adding value to and complementing them. Numerous assets
and functional roles make City West:
• a focus of regional and national transport links;
• the main western entry to Brisbane’s central activities area;
• accessible to major City retail and commercial areas, and State cultural,
government and legal precincts;
• the location for new economic activity (Kelvin Grove Urban Village’s
‘creative industries’ and existing Milton precincts);
• accessible to major sports facilities (eg Suncorp Stadium) and the
cultural precinct of South Brisbane;
• accessible to major transport facilities (eg Inner Northern Busway,
Transit Centre);
• close to employment nodes at Milton, West End and the CBD;
• centrally located to major regional health, research and learning centres
(RBH, QIMR, QUT and UQ Graduate School of Medicine); and
• an area with a demographic profile that supports ‘creative’ industries
(ie a high proportion of young professionals and students).
These factors, together with strategically important development sites,
provide City West with immediate and longer-term redevelopment potential
and the opportunity to nurture a range of new business activities.
City West has a number of sites where development may occur in the short
and long term (in total, approximately 30 hectares). Short-term development
is likely on currently vacant or under-used sites. Longer-term development
will also occur on the extensive area of land associated with transport
infrastructure, particularly over the railway.
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CRITICAL CITY WEST ISSUES
CONNECTIVITY AND THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
The quality and extent of the public domain are critical issues in City West.
While City West is regionally accessible by rail, bus and road, major transport
infrastructure creates barriers to easy, safe and efficient local movement.
Pedestrian and cycle routes are often unclear or indirect. Public spaces are
not always seen as safe or attractive and they do not provide many settings for
social and economic activity. The public domain does not directly connect all
places.
CHARACTER AND PLACE
The character, identity and ‘sense of place’ of City West’s localities are critical
issues.
City West has places with significant character and identity. This character
is derived from significant heritage buildings, 19th century residential
neighbourhoods, dramatic topography and Brisbane ‘landmarks’
(eg William Jolly Bridge, Transcontinental Hotel, Normanby Hotel, Petrie Terrace,
Roma Street, Victoria and Police Barracks, Lang Park, street fig trees).
People who live and work in City West also contribute to its character.
While City West has a diverse population, a ‘typical’ resident is a young
tertiary educated adult, residing in a non-family household, who has a
higher likelihood of walking to work and studying.
ECONOMIC VITALITY
Harnessing economic resources is a critical issue for prosperity and vitality
for the whole city. City West incorporates and is close to State and nationally
significant learning, research and health institutions, the State’s economic
and administrative centre, important ‘creative’ industry places and the major
arts and cultural precinct. Major investment in housing, entertainment,
recreation, creative industries and transport is transforming parts of City West.
These assets along with its relatively young and well-educated population
make the area an important economic place for Brisbane.
INTEGRATING PROJECTS
Ensuring major projects enhance the local environment, contribute to a shared
place vision and provide local environmental, social and economic benefits
are critical issues in City West. The State Government and City Council have
made major investments in regional and State projects in and near City West.
Care and thought is required to ensure these projects are well integrated with
their locality. This is particularly important where a relatively small area must
host a number of major developments and regional infrastructure items.
Regional and State projects are more likely to be successful to the extent they
are integrated with and enhance the local environment.
MAKING CONNECTIONS: The City West Strategy
MAKING CONNECTIONS: The City West Strategy
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INTRODUCTION
P L A N N I N G S T U DY
R E C O M M E N DAT I O N S
CITY WEST: A PLACE FOR ‘CREATIVE WORKERS’
Making Connections is supported by a planning study1.
The Study has identified the economic importance of a quality urban
environment that attracts, retains and nurtures highly skilled creative people.
Cities need to develop strategies to achieve this through policies that
encourage diversity, and by investing in lifestyle amenities that creative
people (and the whole community) want and use.
Making Connections is a strategy to make City West a ‘place for creative
workers’ to live, work and enjoy leisure pursuits. This is vital to Brisbane’s
economy. This would not make City West exclusive, as openness and
diversity are central qualities of a creative city.
Inner Brisbane’s ‘creative nodes’.
To achieve economic and social re-vitalisation and make City West a ‘creative
place’ for creative workers, the Study recommends the following key actions:
• restoring streets as social and economic places as well as places for
mobility and access;
• encouraging diversity in population and lifestyle;
• developing the area’s potential for informal outdoor recreation;
• encouraging places for young adult entertainment: nightlife, music
and arts;
• conserving and creatively re-using heritage items and places of character
to emphasise Brisbane’s authentic and unique qualities;
• knitting the central area and inner suburbs together with high-quality
pedestrian and cycle links through the public domain;
• acknowledging the economic importance of lifestyle amenity
infrastructure;
• identifying and facilitating functional economic clusters;
• reinforcing City West’s visitor and tourist role;
• encouraging local ownership of major events;
• encouraging Local Business Development.
These principles and actions have informed the planning and project
proposals in this Strategy.
Kangaroo Point and the Brisbane River
are just two of the city’s informal
recreation resources.
1 The City West Planning Study, City West Task Force, 2003.