| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Editor's note
|
|
Our “Contested Spaces” series lived up to its name. Our readers have brought their own, often polarised opinions to the discussion of various public settings where everyday conflicts fester and sometimes break out into open disputes.
The feud between drivers and cyclists is clearly not easily resolved, nor do shop music lovers and haters share much common ground. But, whether it be in the built space of a mall, apartment, CBD street, residential neighbourhood or coastal property, or out in the open on a shared path, in a park or at the beach, as a society we need to have a civil discussion of how we manage our differences in wants, needs and values.
|
|
|
Contested spaces: why can't we just get along?
|
When they hear the music, some people want to dance. Other shoppers want to flee.
Justin/flickr
Michael Walsh, University of Canberra; Eduardo de la Fuente, James Cook University
Unlike vision or touch, sound is much more difficult to control or avoid; music in particular spills across thresholds and intrudes into situations where it is unwelcome.
|
People go to the beach in large numbers and for many different reasons, and sometimes that’s a recipe for conflict.
tazzymoto from www.shutterstock.com
Michelle Voyer, University of Wollongong; Natalie Gollan, University of Technology Sydney
In many ways, the conflict we see on our beaches may be a small price to pay for the free and open access to our beaches, which Australians have long fought to preserve.
|
With Australian roads originally built and designed with only motorists in mind, drivers and cyclists are still learning to share.
shutterstock
Frank Mols, The University of Queensland
Because Australian roads were built and designed with motorists in mind, it is easy for Australian motorists to feel cyclists are using 'their' roads and disrespecting the natural order.
|
Design deficiencies that contribute to conflict in public spaces often start at the edges.
Matt Novacevski, Deakin University
Redesigning spaces of conflict starts with creating life on the edges. Geelong offers contrasting examples of city centre spaces: one with problems inherent in its design and a nearby one that works.
|
It turns out cul-de-sacs may be better than we realised for creating a safe and inclusive community within a community.
Wikipedia
Cate MacMillan, University of the Sunshine Coast; Nicholas Stevens, University of the Sunshine Coast
Understanding what makes a neighbourhood street a good place to live for adults with intellectual disability can help create places that are good for everyone.
|
The original conflict between development and preservation of natural assets is broadening as the risks of climate change become ever more obvious.
Crystal Ja/AAP
Nick Osbaldiston, James Cook University
Conflicts over coastal areas have largely been between development and preserving what makes these attractive places to live. Rising sea levels are now complicating our relationship with the coast.
|
Simple features, like a thoughtfully sited bench, can make a big difference to older people’s ability to enjoy public spaces in the city.
alexkich from www.shutterstock.com
Desley Vine, Queensland University of Technology; Laurie Buys, Queensland University of Technology
Several key aspects of public open space can encourage older people to get out and about. And badly designed and maintained facilities have the opposite effect and can harm their wellbeing.
|
Early in the morning and late in the evening is when shorebirds escape disturbance on the beaches on which their survival depends.
Arnuchulo
Madeleine Stigner, The University of Queensland; Kiran Dhanjal-Adams, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Richard Fuller, The University of Queensland
We aren’t just jostling with each other for beach space. Scuttling, waddling, hopping or flying away from beachgoers all around Australia, wildlife struggles to survive the daily disturbances.
|
Flash mobs are still appearing in Melbourne, more than a decade after the city’s first in 2003, the year in which the creator of the phenomenon said it was dead.
Julian Smith/AAP
Susan Bird, CQUniversity Australia
Political street protests and even the more playful flash mobs have the power to not only disrupt flows of traffic but also assumptions about norms of behaviour in public spaces.
|
How is apartment living changing the way we get to know our increasingly diverse neighbourhoods?
from www.shutterstock.com
Edgar Liu, UNSW; Christina Ho, University of Technology Sydney; Hazel Easthope, UNSW
As increasing diversity and density come to characterise our cities, how can we build harmonious communities within apartment complexes?
|
What can we do to avoid clashes between users of shared paths?
from www.shutterstock.com
Jerome N Rachele, Australian Catholic University
The golden rule of shared paths is that the person in the less vulnerable position should be mindful of the more vulnerable user.
|
| |
Featured jobs
|
|
University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
|
|
University of Western Australia — Mount Waverley, Victoria
|
|
Australian Catholic University — Brisbane City, Queensland
|
|
Swinburne University of Technology — Hawthorn, Victoria
|
|
|
|
Featured events
|
|
CSIRO, 3-4 Castray Esplanade, Hobart, Tasmania, 7004, Australia — University of Tasmania
|
|
Old Geology Lecture Theatre, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
|
|
Macmahon Ball Theatre, Old Arts Building at the University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia — University of Melbourne
|
|
UTS Business School, level 8, 14-28 Ultimo Rd, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
