Springvale Chinatown - Yang Guo

Mapping Urbanities

SPRINGVALE CHINATOWN

Course Tutor: Ha Thai Name: Yang Guo Student Number:s3798999

TABLE OF CONTENT

Abstract:

PART 1: Background of Springvale 1.1 History Background 04 1.2 Space Syntax Analysis 05 1.3 Urban Morphology Analysis 06 PART 2: Analysis of Chinatown 2.1 Building Type Analysis 08 2.2 Asia Business Analysis 09 2.3 Comparation of two commercial blocks 10 PART 3: Conclusion 3.1 Lesson & Critical Writing

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This visual essay mainly focused on the Chinatown in the Springvale.

Background analysis includes the history of Springvale and space syntax and urban morphology analysis in broder context, which shows the reasons of the formation of the ethnic district and the morphological characteristic of Chinatown.

Then analysis zoom in Chinatown area to redefine the boundary and compare it with a local business b l o c k t o f i n d t h e d i ff e r e n c e .

This research can provide some suggestions for landscape designers in the design process to make area more attractive.

PART 1 Background of Springvale

1.1 History Background 1.2 Space Syntax Analysis 1.3 Urban Morphology Analysis

HISTORY BACKGROUND

1850s Spring Vale Hotel

1955 1901 Vietnam War Breakout (Vietnamese refugees arrived) White Australia Policy

1879 Spring Vale Station

1922 Industry development Kelly & Lewis Engineering Works

1984 Springvale Neighborhood House

1971 Enterprise Migrant Hostel

1998 Springvale Shopping Centre (Asian shopping center)

Figure 1: Location & History of Springvale

Springvale is a suburb in Melbourne, which is 22 kilometers southeast of Melbourne CBD (Australian Bureau of Statistics) and it has one of the largest Vietnamese communities in Melbourne. The census data shows, we can find around 85% of population in Springvale is immigrants and immigration offspring from Asia.

The earliest history of springvale can be traced in 1850s, Springvale hotel was founded to provide water for travelers and stock. After the breakout of the Vietnam War, many refugees arrived at Australia. The government of Springvale has released some policies for housing, which promote the formation of the ethnic district.

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SPACE SYNTAX ANALYSIS Global Choice Map:

Integration Analysis:

Global choice analysis of Springvale highlights the streets that are highly globally accessible. highly attractive to vehicle movement these State Routes and National Routes.

The comparison of integration accessibility R400 meters and R800 meters has shown that the road network in Springvale is more friendly for drivers instead of pedstraines.

Chinatown is just located next to the State Route 40, which means it has attractive to cityscale movement. That is the reason why many Asia restauranteurs in other districts prefer purchasing raw materials for their restaurants in Springvale Chinatown.

Street segements with highest vehicle movement potential can be noticed in Waverley Park, which is an integrated residential community built in 2014. There is a ring road with many entrance, so it has high density of short segments in this area. Warehouse area presented the lowest accessibilty in Springvale because of its big-size street block.

However, the road network in Chinatown has weak center but clear lateral structure. Therefore, the vehicle movement potential is lower than Waverly Park but higher than warehouse area.

Figure 2: Space syntax analysis of street network in Springvale (a) Global Map, (b) Integration R400, (c) Integration R800 05

URBAN MORPHOLOGY ANALYSIS

Urban Morphology Analysis: The figure-ground map shows obvious differences of building footprint in three focused area.

Fine-grained urban fabric can be noticed in the Waverly Park area. It consists of high density of small-scale residential buildings.

Wa r e h o u s e a r e a p r e s e n t s c o u r s e grained, which consists of big land lots and buildings. It means it has less destinations for people in this district.

Unlike residential and industrial area, urban fabric in Chinatown is complex and diverse. It not only has fine-grained, but also has big-scale architecture with multiple entrance. Therefore, it has more economic potential and more attractive for people.

Figure 3: Figure-ground map of Springvale 06

PART 2 Analysis of Chinatown

2.1 Building Type Analysis 2.2 Asia Business Analysis 2.3 Comparation of Two Commercial Blocks

BUILDING TYPE ANALYSIS

Building Type Analysis: Buildings in Chinatown are mainly occupied by business and office. Therefore, activities on the street usually happened during working hours, which means this area will be super quite after the business hours.

Also, many religious architectures (including temples and cathedrals) can be noticed near Chinatown. It is mainly because many Asia immigrants live and work in this area and they bring their own culture and religion here (like Buddhism). These Asia-style temples create an atmosphere of religious pluralism, which can attract more believers of other religion.

Figure 4: Building Type Analysis of Chinatown 08

ASIA BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Ghost Map Analysis: 100-meter catchment of Asia business (especially restaurants & grocery stores) in Springvale can help redefine the boundary of Chinatown. When pedestrians walking in this area, they will feel Asia Culture from the signage and motif along the street.

LEGEND Buildings within the exsisting Chinatown's boundary Buildings outside the exsisting Chinatown's boundary Asia Business (restaurants & retail stores) 100m Catchment from Asia Business Redefined Boundary

0

100m

300m

The main difference between the original boundary and the newdefined boundary can be noticed in north part of Springvale Road.

It is mainly because these Asia businesses were newly funded (after 2015).

500m

Figure 5: Ghost Map of Chinatown

Linkage Map Analysis: Using linkage map for intensity analysis to reveal the intensity of social and economic activities in Chinatown. Less than 50 meters linkages mean strong connection between two businesses, which can show the centers area of the Chinatown.

LEGEND Buildings within the exsisting Chinatown's boundary Buildings outside the exsisting Chinatown's boundary Asia Business (restaurants & retail stores) 50 Meters Linkage 50-200 meters Linkage

0

100m

300m

The highest intensity area can be noticed on Buckingham Avenue, which is the center of the Chinatown.

500m

Figure 6: Linkage Map of Chinatown 09

COMPARATION OF TWO COMMERCIAL BLOCKS

Distribution of Ethnic Retail Buckingham Avenue is the central area of Springvale Chinatown. Most of the business owners are from China and Vietnam. Therefore, many Asia elements can be noticed on the street, especially the multi-language signage.

LEGEND

Unlike Buckingham Avenue, most business on Springvale Road are from Australia.

The analysis of this block represents the characteristics of local business street in Melbourne.

China Vietnam Thailand India Australia

Figure 6: Distribution of Ethnic Retail 10

BUCJKINGHAM AVE On Buckingham Avenue, most of the buildings are one-storey only and the landlots here are thin and long. And the main form of business in this area is smallscale restaurants and grocery store, which means those Asia shop owners don't have enough money to rent bigger building.

Also, borrowed place on the pavement is very important for street activities. Outdoor seats and fruit stands held by shop owners attract more pedestrians staying on the sidewalk, which increase the economic potential of the street. However, this unplanned borrowed place influence the accessibility of sidewalk, which can be demonstrated from space syntax analysis.

Figure 7: Plan of Buckingham Ave

Figure 8: Elevation of Buckingham Ave 11

SPRINGVALE ROAD (State Route 40) Business street on Springvale presented biggerscale business entities. Most of atchitectures are double-story buildings, those owners of retail stores usually use second floor as warehouse and office.

Also, high-quality sidewalk can be noticed in this area. There is greenbelt between sidewalk and shops, which increase the accessibility for pedestrians. However, because lack of facilities for outdoor activities, pedestrians won't stay on the pavement. Therefore, street activities on Springvale road is quite simple and boring (just walking and parking).

Figure 9: Plan of Springvale Road

Figure 10: Elevation of Springvale Road 12

PART 3 Conclusion

3.1 Lesson & Critical Writing

LESSON & CRITICAL WRITING LESSON: - In Springvale Chinatown, buildings are usually fully occupied by business area and there is no residential area in the boundary. So many shop owners have to rent houses near their working place. If there have some residential buildings with commerce at the bottom, it can lower their commuting time and cost, which can attract more business to this area.

- Also, small-scale and fined grain buildings are really important for ethnic business, if we change them into bigger building, this area will lose the existing business because they can't afford that higher rent. Although there already has some coarse-grained in recent year, shops at the bottom were still in small-size. There small-scale business can't be removed from this area.

- Borrowed place on the pavement is the main place of the public outdoor activities. However, these oudoor seats are usually offered by shop owners. Therefore, these seats are scattered haphazardly on the pavement, which influence the accessibility of the sidewalk. Local government and designers should provide more public seats in this area, which can not only offer place for staying crowds,but also improve the walking environment of the narrow sidewalk.

INNOVATION: - The essay compared an ethnic business street with a local one to identify the difference and finally find the issues and opportunities in this area. The comparation shows the accessibility for pedestrians of Chinatown was lower than in other area because of the narrow and low-quality pavement. But the economic potential in this area is quite higher because of high-density of small-scale businesses.

LIMITATION: - The definition of “Asia business” is vague and limited. Because the analysis was mainly based on secondary resources on the Internet, the chosen Asia businesses were have significant ethnic character, like some restaurants and grocery stores. However, some businesses are local companies, like some real estate agents and hair salons, but their employees and primary clients are Asia immigrants. Therefore, some physical observation and survey should be considered in further research, which can help the boundary and intensity analysis more accurate and convincing.

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REFERENCES

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Springvale (State Suburb), 2016 Census QuickStats, viewed 12 August 2021, https://quickstats.censusdata. abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC22317.

Greater Dandenong, Springvale Activity Centre: Historic Narrative, viewed 14 August 2021, https://www.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au.

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