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TRACES OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Ilana Hastings
One Square Mile: Curfew Exclusion Zone for Aboriginal People During the 1950s a one-square-mile boundary was marked around what was known as Brisbane Town. The aim of the divide was to separate the spaces of indigenous and nonindigenous peoples. The river boundary enforced this racial divide. Police were able to enforce the removal and prevention of “nuisances” and the exit of every Aboriginal by curfew to ensure there were no “undesirables” within the boundaries after dark. As a result of this, major postcontact campsites emerged outside the virtual space. Areas of Aboriginal Significance The Queensland Government officially adopted a policy of assimilation in 1957, and in 1965 the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders Affairs Act was passed, combining the principle of assimilation with amendments made to the 1946 Act. This eventually led to urban drift, with people moving to the city for housing and employment, particularly after 1970. Musgrave Park in South Brisbane, a traditional hunting and meeting place, became the primary gathering area for indigenous people in Brisbane. 1 South Brisbane 1885 2 Brisbane and Suburbs 1806 3 one Square Mile ONE SQUARE MILE
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4 Brisbane 1866 5 Brisbane Electoral and Town Boundaries 1886
South brisbane 2004
RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE Erica Nuttal
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6 Rail infrastructure 7 Space adjacent to rail infrastructure 8 Utilized space 9 Unutilized space RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LAND INFLUENCED BY RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
2004 South brisbane
NOISE/VIBRATION: Dba levels at Peak Times Christina Watterson
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gates and towers. The multifaceted role this infrastructure fulfilled can be described as an integrated approach to the design of physical infrastructure, integrated in the sense that through this operation not only military needs are met, but in one effort a spatial logic is formed for social, symbolic, aesthetic, economical, and cultural needs. A similar approach one finds in the vast urban transformation of 19th century Paris by Haussmann. The boulevard system laid over the city surely serves a military purpose of controlling the revolting population, making the barricade utterly impossible and allowing the military to move about the city rapidly. However the layout was also based on a symbolic connection of landmark buildings and monuments of power. Furthermore it was supported - and financed - by an advanced set of property laws, real estate redevelopment and new construction. The Haussmannian transformation of Paris draws its strength from its operational character. The city was transformed beyond the confined surface needed to build a boulevard. The services put in place for sewer and transport, flanked by new building typologies and landscaping principles, triggered a wide range of cultural and social behavior by Parisians. It goes without saying that Haussmann’s operations have induced many criticisms, however his integrated approach is widely acknowledged and might help us to redirect the current problematics experienced with more recent infrastructural works and their repercussions on the surrounding landscapes and urban fabrics.
While the design professions often criticize engineering logic for its pragmatic and narrow views, that same logic has been able to move vast resources. The necessity for flood protection is nonnegotiable, and therefore the
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SITE DOCUMENTATION UQ 137
Infrastructure that Operates on Urbanism A widely accepted definition of infrastructure does not exist. The concept of infrastructure originates in the military, referring to fixed and permanent installations and facilities allowing military forces to operate. The physical nature referred to in this definition makes it an undeniable part of the landscape and urbanity. With the current proliferation of scales this is all the more apparent. Nevertheless architects, landscapers, and urban designers have not been successful in validating their contributions to large-scale infrastructural works, if not completely excluded from the process. Engineering logic defines and guides the operations. If designers aspire to an integrated infrastructural operation as described above, there will be a need for shared languages and modes of operation between the disciplines involved.
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