What is Urban Character? Defining, Constructing and Regulating Urban Place Identity
Chief Investigator: Professor Kim Dovey
Funded by: ARC Discovery-Project grant 2003-2005
Urban character has become a key concept in the discourse and practice of urban development, used to defend places against what is seen as inappropriate development at a range of scales. This project studies the three-way relations between design practice, urban regulation and urban character outcomes. How is urban character experienced in everyday life? How is it defined and constructed in public discourse? How is it created through design innovation and how is it protected through regulation? A re-thinking of urban character is crucial to the development of sustainable, equitable and innovative urban futures.
The Character of Urban Intensification report on ARC-funded research 2002-2010: download here (7.9mb)
Outcomes
Dovey, K. Wood, P, & Woodcock, I. What is Urban Character?: The Case of Camberwell, Urban Policy and Research, 2007 (in press).
Dovey, K. Woodcock, I. & Wood, S. 'Sense of Urban Character', in: Vanclay, F. & Malpas, J. (eds) Making Sense of 'Place', Canberra: National Museum of Australia, 2007 (in press).
Dovey, K. & Polakit, K. Slippery Urban Characters, in: Reclaiming the City, 4th Great Asian Streets Symposium, National university of Singapore, 2006. Pp. 2-12.
Dovey, K., Woodcock, I. & Wood, S. 'Contradictory Characters', in: Anderson, K. et al. (eds) After Sprawl: Post-Suburban Sydney, Conference Proceedings, Centre for Cultural research, University of Western Sydney, 2006.
Wood, S. Dovey, K. & Woodcock, I. 'Contesting Characters at Hedgeley Dene', in Basson, S. (ed) Contested Terrains, SAHANZ Proceedings, Perth, 2006.
Dovey, K., Woodcock, I. & Wood, S. 'What is Urban Character?', in: State of Australian Cities, Conference Proceedings, Griffith University, Brisbane, 2006. Web publication.
Woodcock, I., Dovey, K. & Wood, S. 'Limits to Urban Character', in Edquist, H. & Frichot, H. (Eds) LIMITS: SAHANZ Proceedings, Vol 2, Melbourne, 2004, pp.545-550.