When A City Falls...

Last night for the two year anniversary of the devastating February 22nd Christchurch Earthquake I watched the documentary on the Earthquakes "When a City Falls" on SBS. Watching this documentary really hit home for me how great an impact the earthquakes have had on Christchurch and will continue to have on shaping the city centre for the future. What struck me most in this documentary was not only the huge gaping holes in the city where my favourite places and landmarks used to be but the continuing sense of kindness and humour seen throughout the community. 

Demolishing the Cathedral from here (sorry I couldn't find a better link)

Despite little concrete rebuild being completed, even two years down the road from the initial destruction, it would be easy to lose spirit and simple let the inner city deteriorate. This is why I am so excited by the work of Gap Filler, to ensure those empty spaces are never really empty spaces but places of excitement and intrigue (instead of just parking lots for cars that are not even there). This I think is a key element for building community resilience and ensuring people dont just forget about the inner city and become more and more entrenched in the suburbs. I am looking at making my planning thesis based around exactly how this community resilience can be achieved through the creative community action enabled by Gap Filler, so stay tuned because I will be sure to keep you updated with what I find out! 

Making the Most of Empty Spaces Recap

Okay! So I still have no internet at home and with uni starting back up I think I am going to have to resign myself to less frequent posting over here on Urban Submarine - I am thinking about three times a week (and whenever I see something too cool to not post). 

Anyway, yesterday I attended the Renew Australia "Making the Most of Empty Spaces" workshop presented by Renew Newcastle founder Marcus Westbury. While spending my day at the Bleeding Heart Gallery Space on Ann Street Brisbane I learnt some pretty awesome (and practical) things about creating temporary urban spaces and pop up shops in our cities. 

The Renew Australia group are best known for their super cool work as Renew Newcastle - effectively upgrading Newcastle from an unknown, deteriorating industrial city outside of Sydney to one of the top 10 hippest cities in the world. Acting as an "enabler" or as I like to think of it Space Curator, Renew Newcastle give "Inititavists" the opportunity to put their brilliant creative idea into action by putting them up rent free in a vacant urban space with a rolling 30 day license agreement. This process not only helps creatives get their idea up and running but creates activity in otherwise vacant areas, improving safety and vibrancy in the city centre. 

Renew Newcastle project map via Renew Newcastle

The most important elements I took away from this workshop were the need for practicality and clear solutions when starting any pop up venture and the importance of having elements like how you will organize insurance for projects understood from the beginning. I also learnt the importance of involving a large cross section of people from the community itself in order to create a self sustaining and successful pop up project, not just the people you personally think are amazing or the things you think should be there (I personally am very guilty of this one!).  

All in all it came down to initiative, passion and responsibility and it made me want to start my own venture straight away. If you are interested at all in this kind of thing I would definitely suggest you check out Renew Australia and all the awesome resources they have available on their site. 

Vietnam Recap - Volume 1 Can Tho

Okay Vietnam travels recap time! I experienced and learnt so much in such a short time I don't even know where to begin, so I thought I would do a quick recap to begin with and then maybe do a few posts with ideas I have gained from my time in Vietnam such as super active public realms, the market culture and other general urban design thoughts as they come to me! 

Can Tho

So for the first two weeks of my trip I spent my time in Can Tho, the largest city within the Mekong Delta. After arriving into the full on city that is Ho Chi Minh/Saigon, Can Tho was a beneficial place to ease into the Vietnamese culture - and to learn how to cross a road! The traffic in Vietnam was probably my first major culture shock moment, I think it took me a whole month to get use to the system of just walking out on busy roads and letting the many scooters, bikes and occasional cars go around you. The sheer volume of people that travelled via bike or scooter was also impressive, as well as the way their housing and shops were designed for convenient scooter/bike access. Almost all buildings (both commercial and residential) had ramps built within or over their stairs so scooters could be driven straight inside and almost all markets allowed for people to drive in, barter and drive out.

The traffic in Can Tho - Look at all those bikes!

Scooters and bikes parked right outside a Can Tho Cafe

Another key realisation of our time in Can Tho was the lack of OH&S and general safety regulations - there were endless WTF moments. This really embodied the attitude of the Vietnamese which was very relaxed with simple "just get it done" thinking which really allowed for some simple (and often genius) ways of doing things. 

Telecom in Vietnam - Look how far away his foot is from the ladder

A man painting the side of a Karaoke building bright blue (love colour in the urban realm)

Seeing as I spent over two weeks in Can Tho I could quite literally talk about it forever and it was definitely one of my favourite places on the trip, particularly as I really got to know the city and the people (especially my lovely homestay family). Here are just some of the  other things I loved about Can Tho; 

• The city was based on a grid system so it was exceptionally easy to walk around and find your way 
• The many markets (especially including the lolly markets leading up to the Tet Holiday) were all amazing and really felt like you were experiencing the active Vietnamese culture
• The street food at the night markets may have been the most delicious food I have ever eaten (especially after many drinks and a night of Karaoke) 
• Many of the restaurants we ate at were out in the open yet surprisingly quiet tucked back from the roads. Half the time you felt like you were eating in the middle of the jungle, not the middle of the city 
• The ability of the Vietnamese to reuse and repurpose waste was amazing and evident just about everywhere 

Can Tho Restaurant with a recycled pathway

Can Tho Restaurant with Koi Pond - This restaurant had monkeys too!

What started out as a short recap has actually turned out quite massive, especially because I spent so long in Can Tho. So I am going to post this recap in a couple of volumes, mostly just for ease of reading for you!