Darwin’s Waterfront Precinct is a revitalized setting lined with sandy lagoons, shops, restaurants, and parklands (Australian Tourism) and newly opened Charles Darwin University. Currently, business people, families and tourists socialize along the waterfront, a historical place where the Larrakia Aboriginal people, European settlers as well as Indonesian traders have left their marks. The waterfront precinct has a rich and wide history ranging from the Larrakia Aboriginal inhabitants who traded for centuries with Indonesian merchants. Another important chapter of Darwin’s waterfront cultural history is the homes of the first Malaysian and Chinese settlers. The first European settlers arrived at the front before camping at Fort Hill. Moreover, the wharf area at the precinct was the area where the first Japanese air raids brought the Second World War to Australia (Australian Tourism). The wharf is also where the first Darwin’s public gardens were established as well as a home to the railway that connected Frances Creek and the jetty that had a station near Stokes Hill. The exciting stories and events surrounding the Darwin’s waterfront are commemorated in the scattered public artworks in the buildings and public spaces within the precinct. The most outstanding historical features include the World War Two old oil storage tunnels, the Traveller’s Walk, the stone embankment dating back as early as the 20th century and the site where the South Australian prospector by the name George Woodroffe Goyder established a camp (Forster, 2006). Darwin’s waterfront marks the point at which the modern tropical city life intersect with layered history.
This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Darwin’s waterfront precinct. This was made possible by conducting an investigative critical analysis of the Darwin’s waterfront by use of both quantitative and qualitative data as well as scholarly literature. The character and the nature of the place was documented and recorded through observation and ethnographic methods.
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Aims and Objectives
The aim of the report is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Darwin’s waterfront in terms of its effectiveness in facilitating active interaction among people with regards to its location, services available and physical features. The analysis will utilize both quantitative and quality data in order to provide insight on whether the precinct provides the necessary conditions essential for developing an effective social platform both for the locals and visitors. The objective of the paper is to help everyone appreciate how the characteristics and the conditions existing in a place affect the public place and space.
Built Environment
Physical Features
The objective of establishing the Darwin’s waterfront was to revitalize the city owing to its initial lack of popularity both locally and internationally . It was meant to attract international travellers, local community and tourists. The initiative served to revitalize a derelict but historically relevant part of the city. The precincts were developed in stages with each providing a defined identity in the city. The first stage of the waterfront was completed in 2010 comprising of four distinct and interconnected buildings with an integrated basement car park. The second stage of the waterfront precinct comprised three buildings similar to those of the previous one. However, the second stage included construction of a seawall, service infrastructure, and a landscaped public domain. The developments were essential in in building upon Darwin’s rich cultural heritage by incorporating the site’s historic landforms as well as restoring vegetation. Design is an important aspect in every city’s ability to be as much inclusive as possible (Banjerjee, 2001). Appropriate designs facilitate convenient access to the city environs especially the waterfront.
The public domain of the precinct has been developed around a set of identifiable public spaces as a regional destination for business travellers, locals, and tourists. Therefore, it is a public space contained by apartment hotels and residential buildings including the Darwin Convention and Exhibition Centre. There is also the swimming lagoon and the interactive wave pool which form the heart of the Darwin waterfront. It therefore provides a space to which people visit and congregate for beach side activities on a daily basis. The public space in the precinct is edged by a public boardwalk. There are restaurants, serviced apartments, residential dwellings, offices and the Darwin’s experience center. The existing water side connection to the harbor comprises a beach with patrolled paddling pools with a lagoon that allows all-year-round swimming for visitors and locals. There are also manmade shade structures and native trees that provide shade at the sands edge.
Experiential Qualities
The experiential qualities associated with the physical features in the precinct include understanding of the history of the precinct, appreciation of the architectural designs, the high temperatures in the site as well as several cuisines in the restaurants. There were various historical features that that represent past events and cultures. There are several souvenir, clothing and convenient shops at the precinct. The vast lagoon was an interesting spectacle that captured my attention. The most important aspect of the visit was the nature of the landscape and the various initiatives that had been taken to revitalize the city. I came to realize that the wharf’s derelict condition was as a result of a Japanese World War II airstrike that left the land apparently unproductive let to the modification of the place by seasoned planners..
I was able to develop observational skills as a result of the vast characteristics of buildings, restaurants and the pathway. A modern city should provide comfort and safety to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers (Blanco et al, 2009). As such, the facilities should be accessible by all people and the services available should be affordable . The roads leading to the waterfront are not landscaped hence the pedestrians are unable to walk to the precinct during hot days. The services offered at the restaurants are expensive and few residents can afford. The precinct boasts of prestige hotels, commercial spaces, alfresco dining and cafes, wave lagoons, the golden sand beach and commercial places present an attractive feature of the place. However, the precinct has no attracted as much people as expected as the beaches remain mostly unvisited at night.
Place and Interaction
The posh establishment of the precinct and the lack of comfortable pedestrian access have left the precinct underutilized in terms of interaction. The presence of large parking spaces demonstrates that the precinct encourages overdependence on cars by people. Extensive use of car for transport limit the interaction between individuals and most of the people without cars rarely visit the place. Therefore, new urbanism has focused entirely on construction and development rather than the community and its needs (Ellis, 2002). New businesses can no longer be established to shortage of space. As such, limited economic activities limit both social and economic interactions within the precinct. The buildings in the precinct reflect modern designs instead of reflecting the rich history associated with the setting. Therefore, buildings in a given city should as much reflect the history of the place (Dovey, 2009). Relating the features of a place to its background history creates a sense of belonging among the communities surrounding the precinct hence improving patronization and interaction. Many of the vast buildings in cities can only accommodate a few residential places at higher costs (Cullen, 1971). The existing residential places around the precinct are expensive and therefore, few people can afford. This indicates that the numbers of people that can interact at the precinct are limited. The other aspect that limits interaction between people is the extensive use of private transport. When individuals drive their own cars around, the chance of meeting and interacting with other members of the community becomes limited. The built environment has become an impediment to contact between the people in the area (Dehaen & De Cauter, 2008). Some of the existing roads cannot be expanded due to the presence of buildings that have taken up much space, the mall in particular . The idea that compact urbanization promotes social cohesiveness should be reassessed as concentration of buildings in a setting may impede socialization (Mehta, 2009). Therefore, as much as buildings are essential around the precinct, they should not interfere with the public space necessary for interaction.
Transport Strategies
Physical Features
There are extensive road networks within the city that provide access to the various locations. A good transport network is a critical component in any city environment (Dear, 2000). Pedestrian paths as well as safe cycling routes have not been developed to facilitate access to the precinct. Therefore, those who drive seem to be the only advantaged segment of the society that enjoys the precinct’s facilities. Moreover, there are only two streets that lead to the waterfront. This provides limited options for accessing the precinct. One of the recent developments in transport is the new bus service for Darwin waterfront. This was made possible by the opening of the Anchorage court which allowed the bus route to loop. There are also new bus stops along Kitchener Drive near the pedestrian crossing enabling the passengers to have an option of being dropped off around the Darwin University, the precinct hub next to the university, parklands, and the restaurants.
It is however notable that the city still has some transport challenges with regard to connectivity to various parts of the city including the precinct . There are only two roads that lead to the precinct with no pedestrian shades and safe cycling routes. The ability of people to freely maneuver around any particular city is as important as the city itself (De Carteau, 1993). Therefore, the roads leading to the precinct should be landscaped in order to protect pedestrians from the weather and cycling routes should also be established to facilitate access to the precinct . Most of the roads are very narrow and they need to be widened. This may not be possible due to the limited space. Alternatively, other places can be opened up in order to provide easy access to important social places
Experiential Qualities
Generally, there is limited access to the waterfront given the blurred network of roads in the city. The narrow street networks owing to the many buildings in the city impede smooth movement around the city as well as access to the waterfront . The waterfront is always hot and the visitors cannot withstand the adverse temperatures especially during the day. This is contributed to the fact that there is no vegetation along the streets. Streetscape design and development is essential in establishing a positive statement to visitors (Donald, 1999). Good landscapes encourage walking thus facilitating interaction among people. Growing trees and construction of pedestrian shades can help in improving movement of pedestrians. Another movement challenge is posed by the lack of connection between Kitchener Street and various roads in the city making it hard to access the precinct.
Place and Interaction
The nature of the transport network does not allow smooth flow of pedestrians at the Darwin’s precinct. This poses a challenge when it comes to interaction between the people . In order to make the precinct attractive to many people, comfortable means should be provided apart from driving to the place. The extensive use of private vehicles for transport limits the likelihood of people meeting. This limits the experiences of the city inhabitants and visitors (Lynch, 1960). Vehicles act as barriers to interaction between people as they promote classism. As such, a few people will patronize the precinct and limit interaction. The interaction between people may be enhanced by establishing favorable platforms such as developing and providing convenient access to recreational sites such as the precinct. The services offered in the precinct are expensive as focus has been directed to tourists and business people leaving out the surrounding community. This considerably cuts the community from the precinct.
Public Engagement through Public Space
Physical Features
The Waterfront establishment combines world class residential, culture facilities and leisure to the visitors. There are three precincts at the Darwin Waterfront: Parkside, Pavilion and Quayside. There are boutique shops, restaurants commercial spaces, state of the art convention center, alfresco dining and cafes, golden sand beach, lush parklands, commercial spaces and the lagoon. The physical features offer a breath taking experience of the waterfront.
The Wharf One includes four unique yet interconnected buildings developed above an integrated basement car park. The buildings are multipurpose as they facilitate business, cultural as well as leisure activities. The latest addition to the water front is the Wharf Two which include buildings that are identical to those of Wharf One with basement car parking. Wharf Two has well developed roads, seawall, landscaped public domain and services infrastructure.
Experiential Qualities
The tropical architecture employed in the development of the buildings at the precinct makes them attractive and outstanding . The principles employed in the design of the buildings are informed by the natural movement of air and one can enjoy the fresh flow of the sea breeze. Moreover, the filtered light in the buildings as well as the airy connection between the indoors and outdoors offer an experience of a lifetime. Therefore, access to such a place is critical as it influences the attitude of the visitors. Making the city and its environs more accessible can enhance the experience of many pedestrians (Forster, 2006). The necessary facilities should be developed on the roads leading to the precinct to encourage patronage and interaction of the local communities in the facility. Moreover, the absence of vegetation in the second precinct exposes pedestrians to scorching sun. There is need to conduct objective landscaping around the the particular precinct to ensure the comfort of visitors.
Place and Interaction
Despite the presence of attractive features at the waterfront, limited people visit the place because of expensive services offered. Focus on tourists and business people has deprived the precinct its social element as it does not encourage interaction of the people in the surrounding community. In order to give meaning to the precinct, the authorities should find ways of effectively accommodating the local population. Moreover, more pedestrian routes should be established to ease movement (Bow, 2003). Safe biking routes should also be developed to enhance the life in the city.
Darwin waterfront, in Australia’s Northern Territory, has faced urban planning challenges due to its inability to foster social interaction among the people in the surrounding community. This has also affected people’s access to the waterfront . The lack of structures and platforms to encourage active contact between people is a cause for concern regarding the design of the city (Kenworthy, 2006). The social friction caused by the city should be reduced by initiating redesign and cohesion enhancement programs (Donald, 1999). Basically, design should be concerned with building and the community and how the two can mutually interact (Zukin, 1995). The geographical scale used should be concerned with the moral and social aspects and how they relate with the physical aspect of the waterfront. The urban design of the city failed to create attractive spaces that support various land uses, commercial activities as well making the city functional and attractive place to live. How the character, experience and feel of the city is shaped, determines how the individual parts of the city work together to make the city distinctive, commercially successful and attractive (Gehl, 2010). Therefore, the city’s design affects easy access in terms of road network to the precinct by the public making it to lose its functional mandate of connecting people. Public transport, pedestrian and bicycle access, landscaping, social parks and green spaces are some of the areas the waterfront authorities should improve on. The waterfront should focus on being inclusive, healthy, functional and productive in order to provide public spaces by offering affordable alternatives to the locals in order to encourage their patronization. The disjoint between the local community and the waterfront deprives it of social capital as it fails to effectively facilitate active interaction among the people. Moreover, the streets surrounding the waterfront have not been designed well to facilitate the safety and comfort of pedestrians, bicycles and drivers. The lack of community involvement and interaction among individuals in Darwin waterfront demonstrates lack of social capital (Zukin, 1995). In order to make the waterfront more meaningful, safe and comfortable cycling route and pedestrian pavements should be established. Moreover, the cost of services should be reduced in order to attract more people to the city who will in turn visit the precinct.
Recommendations
Based on the challenges facing the waterfront in terms of facilitating social interaction, the authorities should initiate programs that facilitate partnerships between all stakeholders in order to improve the quality of open space and public places, and address high dependency on cars as well as tackling the challenges of climate change. Therefore, a detailed economic analysis should be done based on interviews with waterfront’s retailers and demographic and social studies. The high prices charged for goods and services should be reviewed to attract more people as many people prefer online shopping than visiting the waterfront. Significant dependence on tourism, poor pedestrian movement as well as competition from online shopping should be effectively addressed. This will enable the waterfront to attract a larger population that will utilize it in terms of interaction. The services in the precincts should be made affordable to facilitate social inclusivity as the high prices discourage local visitors.
The second precinct should be cooled through better landscaping initiatives and construction of shades to protect the visitors from the effects of weather. Awnings with solar powered fans with potentially underground pipes can be used to provide geothermal cooling. Urban forests should also be planted to provide better canopy cover and improve the second precinct’s landscape.
The waterfront should be social place where people can easily interact rather than just acting as a business and tourism hub. Better road connections should be done to increase their capacity to accommodate both the public and traffic (Valentine & Hubbert, 2008). For the waterfront to improve socially, physically, and economically, the facility should be easily available and the services should be made affordable. This will increase the likelihood of visitors to access the precinct.
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