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“THIS city has a fabulous setting … but still you could spend a full fortnight in Perth without realising it’s a river city. If anything could make Perth special in the world, it would be as one of the world’s most wonderful riverside cities.”
Jan Gehl, architect and international consultant on urban design speaking on ABC Radio about his new report on Perth.
Does Perth need a new face?
How Danish architect, Jan Gehl, envisions Perth’s future: a city where people live and congregate by the river. Illustration by Gehl Architects.
IF a modern city wants lively streets and a “vibrant public realm” then it must provide attractive public space, says Jan Gehl, the Danish-born urban planner largely accredited with giving Copenhagen the world’s largest car-free shopping precinct.
After months re-examining Perth’s city centre to find what might be needed to meet changing lifestyles, Gehl has prescribed a series of “people first” strategies that would turn the riverfront into a major destination, encourage more people to live within the CBD, and progressively squeeze out private cars.
“As today’s citizens have more options on how to spend their time, they will only spend it in the public realm if it is of high quality and accessibility is easy and convenient,” he wrote in his report to the City of Perth and Department for Planning and Infrastructure.
Jan Gehl was last commissioned to assess Perth’s city-life in 1994 when he characterized the city centre as offering “an over-sized shopping mall - dominated by commercial activities during the days and very inactive, closed, and uninviting during the nights.”
A lot has changed in 15 years since, and in line with Gehl’s earlier recommendations, the environment for people has been greatly improved. In his report card on progress he notes that footpaths are wider, there are more trees and Perth has developed a lively café culture. The number of city cafés and restaurants has increased 190% and lots more people call the city home. The city now has seven times more residents than it did in 1994, more student institutions and many more places to go at night. And most importantly from Gehl’s viewpoint there are also lots more public places to sit - bench space is up 47%.
But Jan Gehl believes there is still much to do - especially if Perth is to adapt to people’s changing attitudes.
As he states in his latest study: “In western cities of the 21st century, public life can no longer be taken for granted! As cities experience declining densities, suburban sprawl, increased commuting and more knowledge intensive labour, still fewer people depend on urban public space for their day-to-day living. As much public space has lost its original function, e.g. as market or meeting places, and as increasing amounts of cars have pushed out more “soft” social activities, cities all over the world have lost valuable public space and have only then realised that public life disappeared with it.”
To help Perth reverse the trend and bring more “public life” back to the city, Jan Gehl is recommending that Perth make the most of its unique setting and “bring people to the water” and improve connections to Kings Park - an area largely split from the “city core” by the freeway.
But Gehl sees the waterfront as key to solving Perth’s demand for vibrant public space and has recommended that a “waterfront district” be created with a mixed development of apartments, shops, cafés, restaurants and interesting public squares. He also wants more educational institutions and students brought into the city to help promote a 24/7 atmosphere and end what he sees as the city’s existing “monofunctional” character.
He finds new high rise buildings are beginning to threaten the city’s existing “people friendly areas” and wants the planning authorities to encourage more bicycle use - both as a form of transport and recreation.
The scan also showed:
Healthy space
Jan Gehl’s arguments for higher quality public space are backed up in an Australian report by a multi-disciplinary group of planners and health professionals. They claim that today’s built environment rarely encourages active lifestyles and instead reinforces sedentary behaviour and car dependency. The report, “Healthy Spaces & Places: A national guide to designing places for healthy living” is described as a “unique collaboration” between the Australian Local Government Association, National Heart Foundation and the Planning Institute of Australia. The three organization have even joined forces to create a “Healthy Places” website to promote the report and its concepts. Interestingly many of the report’s photos illustrating good practice feature Perth. But the report’s main thrust is to show how well planned cities can improve people’s health and reduce the $58 billion annual health bill caused by obesity.
