Mirko Guaralda

Place Making for Knowledge Generation and Innovation: Planning and Branding Brisbane's Knowledge Community Precincts

Abstract Knowledge generation and innovation have been a priority for global city administrators particularly during the last couple of decades. This is mainly due to the growing consensus in identifying knowledge-based urban development as a panacea for burgeoning economic problems. Place making has become a critical element for success in knowledge-based urban development as planning and branding places is claimed to be an effective marketing tool for attracting investment and talent. This paper aims to investigate the role of planning and branding in place making by assessing the effectiveness of planning and branding strategies in the development of knowledge and innovation milieus. The methodology of the study comprises reviewing the literature thoroughly, developing an analysis framework, and using this framework to analyze Brisbanes knowledge community precincts—namely Boggo Road Knowledge Precinct, Kelvin Grove Urban Knowledge Village, and Sippy Downs Knowledge Town. The analysis findings generate invaluable insights into Brisbanes journey in place making for knowledge and innovation milieus and communities. The results suggest as much as good planning, branding strategies, and good practice, the requirements of external and internal conditions also need to be met for successful place making in knowledge community precincts.

Governance that matters: Identifying place-making challenges of Melbourne’s Monash Employment Cluster

Purpose: The study scrutinises the prominence of place making as a strategy in the development of knowledge and innovation spaces with a specific focus on distinguishing the role of governance. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a multidimensional conceptual framework of place making to investigate a knowledge and innovation space case through a qualitative analysis approach involving a range of key stakeholders. Findings: The study finds that governance is critical in facilitating place making in knowledge and innovation spaces, and place making practices in these locations benefit from adopting a multidimensional approach. Originality/value: The study expands our knowledge on the role of governance in place making that helps achieve desired knowledge and innovation space outcomes.

Towards an urban quality framework: determining critical measures for different geographical scales to attract and retain talent in cities

In the era of knowledge economy, offerings of urban spaces are critical for success in the tough rivalry to attract and retain knowledge workers and industries. Many cities foster knowledge-based urban developments through strategies to make urban spaces more appealing to talent and investment. These strategies focus on enhancing urban quality - that is a multidimensional phenomenon with numerous economic, social, environmental, and personal aspects. Urban quality is impacted by diverse factors at different geographic scales - i.e., regional, urban, and local levels. At present there is no clear understanding on how synergies across these different geographic scales work. This study aims to investigate the connotations and characteristics of urban quality measures at various geographic scales through the review of literature and best practice studies. Based on the review findings, the paper proposes directions to build a multidimensional and multi-scalar urban quality framework that assigns relevant quality measures to each geographic scale. This paper sheds light on the urban quality policy and performance assessment issues in the context of knowledge and innovation spaces, and generate insights for urban planners and policymakers in planning and developing appealing local conditions in their cities.

Images of Urban Happiness: A Pilot Study in the Self-representation of Happiness in Urban Spaces

In a world with an increasing urban population, understanding how built environments can facilitate psychological as well as physical well-being is an argument broadly discussed in current literature. “Urban happiness” is a field of research dealing with urban landscapes that foster positive emotions in users and visitors. Understanding the parameters of urban happiness is a complex issue due to different meanings associated with this concept from different social groups. Digital media allows us to gather an understanding of what elements the broader population might associate with happiness in the urban environment through the use of image-sharing platforms such as Instagram. This pilot study was undertaken to identify both built and natural forms that users of a city environment associated with happiness. The thematic analysis of images, which were sourced through Instagram, has allowed identification of emerging themes and features. These have been tested with residents of Brisbane, Australia, through an online questionnaire. The pilot study offers a foundation for further research aiming to understand how people’s self-representation of happiness can be translated in design principles for planners, urban designers, architects, and landscape architects.

Attributes of successful place-making in knowledge and innovation spaces: evidence from Brisbane’s Diamantina knowledge precinct

ABSTRACT Place-making in knowledge and innovation spaces is a challenging task for planners and designers due to the lack of competent conceptual frameworks and design guidelines. To address this issue, this study adopts a qualitative methodological approach to carry out an empirical investigation in a case study from Brisbane, Australia, i.e., Diamantina Knowledge Precinct. This investigation is guided by a conceptual framework derived from the interdisciplinary literature review. Interviews, supported with various data sources, are conducted among a range of key stakeholders. The findings reveal the key design attributes and considerations for successful place-making in knowledge and innovation spaces.

The contextualization of divergent outlooks in a Greenfield master-planned community: a pathway towards reflexivity

ABSTRACT Comprehensive design schemes and specifications have progressively shaped Master-Planned Communities (MPCs). The market largely predetermines these outcomes, with background input from communities. Therefore, this paper endeavours to define the fundamental structures that generate differences between market actors and residents within the North Lakes MPC. This study employs ‘habitus theory’, which is a sociological phenomenon describing the divergence of personal outlooks and expertise. The application of this theory is thus illustrative of the evolution of distinct observations within MPCs. Contemporary studies have under-researched these inherent gaps between communities, authorities, and critics, and these frictions could be exacerbated within restrictive developmental contexts. Epistemic and objectified content analyses collated over many years and sources will uncover the underlying differences between the relevant groups. These analyses will enable the progression of a framework for understanding power relation biases and how reflexivity can enhance current consultative methods.

Place(making) and interiority: A methodology to engage marginalised individuals in the Urban Design process

As diversity and populations increase within cities worldwide, there is also growing urban disadvantage for marginalised populations. In this paper, South-East Queensland, one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, is referred to as a case of traditional development in which the patterns of growth which are largely dominated by land developers and top-down processes and mechanisms, have resulted in uneven urban development socio-spatial disadvantage. This paper argues that traditional development methodologies will not be sufficient to face the existing and future challenges this presents. This study focuses on the larger contributing factors affecting the participation of marginalised people in the urban design process, and is focused on the topic of creative placemaking as a method for empowering people to contribute to their community in meaningful ways. Through a critical analysis of current literature, a theoretical framework is proposed to ground a new approach to urban development with a strong focus on people’s participation and engagement. There is a broad area of research to draw upon, but for the purpose of this paper, the discussion is limited to literature that supports a place-based approach to engaging marginalised people in the urban design process. Using theoretical paradigms typical of Interior design, such as the concept of Interiority, in conjunction with established theories such as ecology and heterotopia, new tools and a new approach to urban design could be developed, re-centring the focus of the design process on people’s experiences and needs into designs so to enhance their right to the city and produce vibrant and inclusive public spaces.

Enriching Architectural Design Education through Interactive Displays and Local Community Engagement

Abstract Designers have a social responsibility to deal with the needs, issues, and problems confronting their clients and communities. Students of design require opportunities to reflect on their role as social facilitators to develop an attitude towards community engagement through different phases and aspects of their careers. Current design courses are challenged by compressed timeframes and fragmented scenarios of different academic requirements that do not actively teach community engagement. This paper outlines a participatory and technological approach employed to address these issues within the teaching of architecture and urban design at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. A multi-phase community-based research project with stakeholders was implemented over a two-year period. Approximately 150 students in the final year of the Bachelor of Design – Architecture, ten students in the Master of Architecture, and fifteen students in the Master of Design – Urban Design informed and influenced each others’ learning through the teaching and research nexus facilitated by this project. The technical approach was implemented in the form of a bespoke digital platform that supported the display and discussion of digital media on a series of interactive touch walls. The platform allowed students to upload their final designs easily onto large interactive surfaces, where visitors could explore the media and provide comments. Through the use of this technical platform and the introduction of neogeography, students have been able to broaden their level of interaction and support their learning experience through external structured and unstructured feedback from the local community. Students have not only been exposed to community representatives, but have been working in parallel on a specific case study providing each other, across different years and courses, material for reflection and data to structure their design activities.