The next monthly Open Forum to be held by Sustainable Living Armidale (SLA) on Thursday, August 2 will look at how urban design can create livable, affordable and environmentally friendly urban communities.
A film will be shown of a small ‘urban village’ of 27 homes and gardens on half an acre, called Christie Walk. It’s in the heart of the City of Adelaide and was initiated by Urban Ecology Australia in 1999 as a demonstration project, to promote socially and environmentally sensitive urban development. It was completed in 2006.
A concern for the environment is obvious in its location, overall design and orientation, and in details ranging from the capture of stormwater to the use of solar electricity and recycled and non-toxic building materials.
Around 40 people live at Christie Walk, ranging in age from very young to over 80. A strong interactive community has developed over the past ten years. The architecture and urban design fosters social interaction and a sense of community by providing a layout that is both free from traffic and provides a number of convivial outdoor places to gather informally or to sit quietly alone.
Discussion of this community aspect will be the focus of the SLA Forum.
Do we already have examples here of cooperative neighbourhoods? Hopefully people will share stories of the power of certain kinds of spaces to bring neighbours together. How can we move to a more vibrant, equitable, socially supportive, ecologically sustaining and economically viable community?
SLA continues to bring to the community a wide range of sustainability issues in its Thursday Forums. Recent topics have included Good News Stories from Around the World; the High Country Urban Biodiversity Project (HiCUB); a Public Conversation with Council’s General Manager; and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.
The next SLA Thursday Forum Neighbourly Spaces will be held August 2 at 7pm at Kent House, 141 Faulkner Street (opposite Central Park). Everyone is welcome, light refreshments, gold coin donation appreciated. www.slaati.org.
