Adelaide’s planning history is replete with examples of the adoption and adaptation of leading open space ideas. The making of urban open spaces, beginning with the Adelaide parklands, is a direct result of the publics’ and design professions’ understanding of the benefits that open space affords.

Shortage of natural landscape in contemporary cities causes urban environments to lose vibrancy and attractiveness for human inhabitants. Urban development is driven by excessing need for density to accommodate urban dwellers in less energy and infrastructure demanding urban settings. However, urban development – in its business as usual practice – is commonly accompanied by replacing...

This paper discusses the preliminary findings of surveys from senior primary school aged children. The questions from these surveys capture the participants’ travel patterns and their use of public places along with their play habits. The concept of ecological psychology, namely affordances, behaviour settings and accessibility, provides the framework for analysis.

Governments and cities around Australia and indeed the world have recognised the need to shift toward more inclusive decision making processes, particularly when dealing with issues of the public realm. Despite some significant efforts in this space, including in the creation of urban living laboratories, there is a continued scepticism of consultative processes, and little...

Thermally uncomfortable outdoor environments can significantly affect liveability of cities. Australia is likely to experience between 0.6 °C and 3.8 °C increase in temperature by the end of the 21st century. In warmer climates, increased demand for indoor air-conditioning results in higher energy demand and greater waste heat production. Anthropogenic heat production in the built...