ST KILDA: an urban design case study

Case study briefing notes for What's good urban design? an ecoversity workshop at the George Hotel, Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, Thursday March 14, 1996, co-hosted by Imagine The Future Inc, the City of Port Phillip, Australian Conservation Foundation and Urban Design Forum as the Victorian response to the Prime Minister's Urban Design Task Force Report, 1994. Sponsored by the Federal Department of Housing and Regional Development.

Introduction to St Kilda by co-host, Jim Holdsworth, urban designer. More about St Kilda.

PAST

Pre-European environment
- woodlands between extensive wetlands along creeks that flowed into what is now called Port Phillip Bay
- surveyor Charles Grimes noted emus in Elwood swamps
- in 1803 what became 'St Kilda was still covered with tea trees, wattle trees and eucalypts
- in 1835 a party from John Pascoe Fawkner's 'Enterprise' saw 'lovely knolls around the lagoons' and 'almost innumerable teal, ducks, geese, swans and minor fowl'

History
- traditional territory of the Bunerong clans of the Kulin nation
- first European building was a shepherd's hut built on the foreshore
22 urban allotments laid out in 1842 and auctioned by colonial authorities
- the European settlement named for a 136 ton clipper moored in Hobson's Bay, called The Lady of St Kilda in memory of Lady Grange who was imprisoned by the Jacobites on St Kilda island off the west coast of Scotland
- municipal district proclaimed around village in 1855
- 'bad characters were harboured in bush huts' where 'cattle stealing habits were fostered, and sly grog practices existed' ( St Kilda still harbours many 'bad characters'!)
- railway built in 1857
- by 1858 St Kilda had 961 dwellings and a population of 4,901
- by 1860s it was best address in Melbourne
- St Kilda Hebrew Congregation formed in 1871
- cable cars made St Kilda beach accessible for day trippers
- extensive wetlands bordering Fitzroy Street drained in 1870s and as part of the 'reclamation' Albert Park Lake was built (the creek from the old swamp is now barrelled and built over)
- wetlands around Elwood were used as a dump for St Kilda's 'nightsoil' and abattoir waste until they were drained in 1880s and filled with clay and sand
- collapse of colonial economy in 1890s made St Kilda a haven for people on low incomes, including migrants and refugees from all over the world

PRESENT

- community profile shows extreme cultural, economic, generational, social and intellectual diversity
- many visual artists, musicians, composers, film makers, actors, writers, students and refugees from various mainstreams have traditionally made St Kilda home
- high level of tolerance and creativity in community relations
- high level of public engagement in local affairs
- competes with Potts Point in Sydney as Australia's most densely populated suburb
- cultural influence of Jewish and eastern European people remains significant
- local people passionate about the quality-of-life high density living supports

Social comforts
- cafes, pubs and parks serve as convivial public meetings places for people of all backgrounds
- schools, theatres, cafes, needle exchanges, welfare agencies, beaches, places of worship, shops, health care support, child care centres etc within walking distance for many people, and accessible by public transport for most others
- streets feel safe for many locals because people are walking, talking, sitting, sleeping or playing in them day and night

Built environment
- extreme diversity in style, age, condition and aesthetic appeal
- predominantly 2-3 storey apartment blocks, terrace houses and single dwellings on small allotments
- diverse range of accommodation choices from penthouses to low rental flats and rooming houses
- many historic buildings restored and adapted for contemporary use

Industry
- food and entertainment industries are main employers
- high level of business innovation many people working from home
- casual work available in restaurants and cafes visitors
- tourists are a significant factor in local economy

Transport
- good regular tram and bus services
- many people still depend on private vehicles so parking remains a problem for many people, especially for visitors
- all vehicles, including trams, still powered by fossil fuels and emit noxious fumes

Energy
- most energy still generated from fossil fuels (brown coal) rather than renewable energy sources
- some parking ticket vending machines are solar powered
- very limited use of passive solar architecture
- per capita energy consumption too high and little economic support for retrofitting, co-generation or installing solar hot water systems

Air
- a brown smudge of air pollution is always visible from the beach
- air pollution in inner suburbs from vehicle emissions which include nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide, benzene and carbon monoxide

Water
- beach water quality at St Kilda and Elwood beaches often fails to meet State Environment Protection Policy objectives with high E.coli readings and other pollution regularly reported
- pollution of beaches caused by urban run-off containing dog faeces, heavy metals and oil from roads plus litter generated by tourists on weekends
- most waterways lined with concrete (barrelled) so no natural processes filter urban run-off and little is absorbed by the soil
- no recycling of grey water or sewage yet
- little rainwater collected from roofs for gardens
- inefficient use of water in many households and businesses impervious surfaces (roads, footpaths) prevent natural absorption of rain and run-off
- revegetation, innovative landscaping, and use of new materials has been used to reduce run-off on some sites

Soil
- most covered by impervious surfaces
- fallout from air pollution is now the main source of contamination

Biodiversity
- introduced palms planted in imitation of English seas side resorts are now local icons
- remnant natural vegetation extremely rare
- a single pre-European eucalypt called The Corroborree Tree has somehow escaped the bull dozers
- significant revegetation of indigenous species on public and private land, much of it by local Earthcare group
- penguin rookery near St Kilda jetty
- dolphins occasionally sighted from the beach

Food production
- small groups of urban permaculturalists, worm farmers, composters, seed collectors and gardeners produce what they can in public and private spaces
- recreational fishing from jetty most other food produced in other parts of the world and distributed through local shops or welfare agencies

'Waste' management
- twice weekly collection of plastic, paper, glass and cans
- no local treatment of sewage or other organic waste (except by conscientious private composters)
- sewage and trade waste piped to Werribee for treatment and most discharged into the Bay
- high levels of nutrients and toxicants (including heavy metals and organic pollutants) introduced into the Bay through sewage outfall and urban run-off
- per capita impact on biosphere much too high

FUTURE CHALLENGES

- threat to social diversity by ongoing process of gentrification
- long and short term impacts of the Grand Prix at Albert Park
- maintaining mix of retail businesses for local people
- planning for increasing numbers of people working from home
- impact of new technologies, including optical cables
- improving quality of water in the Bay
- controlling powerboats and jet skies on the Bay
- reducing per capita energy and water consumption and general impact on biosphere

Prepared by Merrill Findlay for ITF. Copyright ITF 1996.