Bringing in the Public: Community Facilities and Social Value Ian McShane Submitted in total fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute for Social Research Swinburne University of Technology 2008 i Abstract This thesis examines the social value of local government community facilities, and its optimisation in policy and strategic management. The thesis focuses on the local government sector in Victoria, Australia, with the City of Moonee Valley, an inner-Melbourne municipality serving as a case study. The central argument of the thesis is that, despite statutory requirements for Victorian local authorities to balance financial, environmental and social goals in decision-making, a policy emphasis on economic efficiency and local authority discipline dominates recent planning and management frameworks of community facilities. The policy shows limited understanding of the concept of social value, understood as non-economic value, worth or significance, or ways that it can be evaluated and operationalised. The policy provides limited defence of the long- term social outcomes of facilities, such as well-being, social cohesion and civic engagement, in the face of aggressive local government asset and financial management. The thesis uses historical and sociological methods to gather evidence and frame arguments for a re-balancing of the policy setting in which community facilities are funded and managed. The thesis locates current local infrastructure policy within the reforming project of new public management to contextualise its reliance on the concept of service. Three community facilities – a municipal swimming pool, a community arts complex, and public open space – are examined to identify the rationales for their provision, and the complex policy interventions that shape their history. Interview data from a sample of Moonee Valley residents on facility use and value indicate broadly consistent views on the social value of community facilities and their contribution to the public realm. The data show broad opposition to the disposal of public assets, especially public ii open space. This presents a significant challenge to local authorities faced with declining physical infrastructure, changing service needs and fiscal pressures. In this light, the thesis argues that Mark H Moore’s (1995) concept of a public value strategic triangle has particular application to the local government environment, in identifying the strategic and operational requirements for optimising the social outcomes of community facilities. The thesis concludes by arguing for three key policy actions that link physical asset management with new interests in community building, local governance and sustainability: • recognising and understanding earlier forms of community contribution to facilities and the local public realm • re-positioning community facilities to emphasise their range of public good outcomes, especially their contribution to minimising expenditure on more expensive policy interventions in areas such as health and justice, and • re-conceptualising the concept of an ‘asset’ to encompass both physical objects and social networks, thus emphasising the physical and social components of a civic ecology. iii Acknowledgements Research for this thesis was funded through an Australian Research Council Linkage grant LP0347721, in partnership with the Moonee Valley City Council. I acknowledge the cooperation and contribution of Council officers to the research project. Interpretation of information supplied by Council officers is solely my responsibility. I wish to acknowledge and thank my supervisors, Professor Julian Thomas and Professor Denise Meredyth, for their guidance and encouragement through the course of the project. I also wish to acknowledge my colleagues at the Institute for Social Research for their collegiality and friendship. I record my deep gratitude for the love and support of my partner Di and our children Liam and Perry, and dedicate this work to them. iv Declaration This thesis contains no material that has been accepted for the award of another degree at a university or other educational institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person or persons, except where due reference has been made. Ian McShane v Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Statement of Thesis 1.2 Local Government as a Failing Operation 1.3 Managing Crisis 1.4 Scope and Approach of the Study 1.5 Structure of the Study 2. The Return of Scarcity 29 2.1 Introduction 2.2 What is New About New Public Management? 2.3 Infrastructure Assets and Local Government 2.4 Facing the Renewal Challenge – Local Infrastructure Policy in Victoria 2.5 Conclusion 3. Social Value and Community Facilities 55 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Value and Evaluation 3.3 Value and Local Government 3.4 Social Value as Theory and Practice 3.5 From Social Value to Public Value? 3.5 Conclusion 4. Moonee Valley – Place, People, Politics 99 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Place 4.3 People 4.4 Politics and Civic Life 4.5 Auditing Moonee Valley’s Assets 4.6 Conclusion vi 5. Aqua Profonda – the Culture and Politics of Municipal 148 Swimming Pools 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Swimming as Culture and Recreation 5.3 The Provision of Municipal Swimming Pools with Particular Reference to Victoria 5.4 Queen’s Park Pool 5.5 Ascot Vale Sports and Fitness Centre 5.6 Conclusion 6. A Work House for the Arts – the Adaptive Reuse of 216 Municipal Buildings 6.1 Introduction 6.2 From Engineering to Art 6.3 Identity Complex – Stage Two Development 6.4 Evaluating the Incinerator Arts Complex 6.5 Unfinished Business – Conservation and Future Costs 6.6 Conclusion 7. Don’t Bowl Us Over – the Provision and Value of Public 260 Open Space 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Defining Public Open Space 7.3 Providing Public Open Space – Policy Rationales 7.4 Public Open Space in Moonee Valley 7.5 Evaluating Public Open Space – Analysing Residents’ Views 7.6 Conclusion 8. Bringing in the Public – Reframing the Renewal Challenge 327 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Managing for Public Value 8.3 Social Value as Substantive Value 8.4 The Authorising Environment 8.5 Beyond Public/Private – Hybridity, Governance and Sustainability 8.6 Conclusion vii 9. Conclusion 370 Bibliography 380 Appendices A. Essendon City Council /Moonee Valley City Council Summary of Long Term Financial Trends B. Moonee Valley Resident Interview Questions viii Illustrations 1. Map of the Moonee Valley municipality page 100 2. 1st Moonee Ponds Scout troop hall, 1929 “ 127 3. Aqua profonda sign, Fitzroy Pool “ 151 4. Queen’s Park Pool, Moonee Ponds “ 187 5. Ascot Vale Sports and Fitness Centre “ 210 6. Incinerator Arts Complex “ 218 7. Queen’s Park, featuring its formal aspect “ 302 8. Crime as community news “ 321 9. Vasey Park hall and pre-school, Lalor “ 359 ix Reader’s Note This thesis cites an extensive range of primary and secondary sources, including structured interviews and informal conversations, archival material, local government files, reports and meeting papers, and published sources. Published sources have been cited in the text using Harvard style citation and are fully reference in the bibliography. Unpublished sources such as archival material, reports and council meeting papers are footnoted. Where there is any doubt over the bibliographic identity of a source, which is often the case with government documents, a footnoted reference is preferred to Harvard citation. Interviews or discussions with public officials are footnoted, identifying the name position of the informant, and meeting date. A number of informal or ‘off the record’ conversations with public officials contributed to this study. These are cited with a numbered identifier (On) to preserve anonymity. Interviews with Moonee Valley residents were conducted with assurances of anonymity, and interviewees cited are given a numbered identifier (Rn). Parts of this thesis have been published in the following journal articles: “Community Facilities, Community Building and Local Government – An Australian Perspective” Facilities (UK) – Special Edition on Community Facility Management, 24(7,8), 2006, pp.269-279. “Social Value and the Management of Community Infrastructure”, Australian Journal of Public Administration, 65 (4), 2006, pp.82-96. x Acronyms ABCD Asset Based Community Development ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics AHC Australian Heritage Commission ALGA Australian Local Government Association AVSFC Ascot Vale Sports and Fitness Centre CBA Cost benefit Analysis COAG Council of Australian Governments CV Contingent Valuation DLS Department of Lands and Surveys DVC Department for Victorian Communities EASC Essendon Amateur Swimming Club ECAT Essendon Community Amateur Theatre ECC Essendon City Council EFC Essendon Football Club EIA/SIA Environmental Impact Assessment/Social Impact Assessment ESD Environmentally Sustainable Development ETC Essendon Theatre Company FINA Federation Internationale de Natation FQPP Friends of Queen’s Park Pool FRC Facing the Renewal Challenge GDP Gross Domestic Product HBC Historic Buildings Council HBPC Historic Buildings Preservation Council IAC Incinerator Arts Complex ICOMOS International Committee on Monuments and Sites ILAP Integrated Local Area Planning MAV Municipal Association of Victoria MMBW Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works MRA Manningham Recreation Association MRO Municipal Recreation Officers MSD Melbourne Statistical Division MVCC Moonee Valley City Council NAIDOC National