Geography fieldwork in urban environments to enrich syllabus content About Us Observatory Hill EEC: • Is a DoE school staffed by specialist DoE teachers • Offers a range of K-12 Geography fieldwork programs • Operates in a variety of settings around Sydney Harbour and the inner city • Focusses on Syllabus outcomes in urban environments • Caters for up to four classes • Integrates technology where appropriate • Provides teacher resources, risk assessment advice and web based previsit and follow up tasks Presentation Format Examples of fieldwork ideas and strategies for: • S4 Place and Liveability - Harold Park/Balmain • S5 Changing Places - Barangaroo • S6 Uban Dynamics - Pyrmont, Green Square and Barangaroo) • S5 Environmental Change and Management – Mosman/Clifton Gardens • S6 Economic Activity - Taronga Zoo Place and Liveability Stage 4 • A stage 4 fieldwork program focusing on liveability (and sustainability) from Harold Park to Balmain Power Station Key Inquiry Question: • What approaches can be used to improve the liveability of places Key outcomes: • Factors influencing perceptions of liveability • Strategies to improve liveability of a place in Australia Fieldwork Question We try to focus on an authentic fieldwork questions “How can the White Bay Power Station precinct be transformed into a more liveable place?” Website Pre-visit Activities Successful fieldwork has direct links to classroom learning. We include web based pre-visit activities to familiarise students with the study area and skills Fieldwork in action Study site Field Sketching Adaptive reuse Guided tour Assessing liveability Water testing Fieldwork activities • Creating a Liveability Index - Development of personal liveability criteria and application to a local place (including contributions to sustainability – poster) Fieldwork activities • Mapping skills - interpreting historical maps and photos Historical Maps 1943 6-Maps ObliQue Aerial Photo Fieldwork activities • Field Sketches Fieldwork activities • Environmental Assessment Investigate the impact of environmental quality on the liveablity of places. Sydney Water also has a virtual tour of Johnstons Creek for ‘Water in the world’ with good resources Why do healthy natural environments help make places liveable and sustainable? Fieldwork activities • Environmental Assessment (eg water Quality) • Discussion of factors that reduce environmental Quality Students can use their fieldwork experiences and answer the geographic question Student’s plan for White Bay Power Station site based on liveability principles Changing Places Stage 5 A fieldwork program in Barangaroo Key topic - Changing Places • Australia’s Urban Future • Management and planning for Australia’s urban future. Key Enquiry question • What are the effects of urbanisation on places and the environment? • How can urban areas be sustainable? Fieldwork Question An authentic fieldwork question “Evaluate how Barangaroo could contribute to the creation of environmentally, socially and economically sustainable places?” Website Pre-visit Activities Discoverbarangaroo.com.au Fieldwork activities • Understanding different types of Maps eg small and large scale, historical, google maps, Six Maps Orientating themselves to the study site Observing landuses Comparing landuse changes using historic overlays Historical images Six Maps Creating Google MyMaps Tourist Maps Fieldwork in action Observing Expert talks Mapping Field Sketching Recording Collecting data Fieldwork activities • Land use mapping – observing and recording Sustainability Assessments Sustainability Assessments Fieldwork activities • Field Sketches Fieldwork activities Environmental Assessment (eg overshadowing) Identify the effects of urbanisation on the environment Fieldwork activities • Environmental Assessment (eg overshadowing) • Identify the effects of urbanisation on the environment Fieldwork activities • Environmental Assessment (eg water Quality) • Identify the effects of urbanisation on the environment Fieldwork activities • Environmental Assessment (eg wind, noise heritage) • Identify the effects of urbanisation on the environment Fieldwork activities • Tallying – with Fieldcounter App • Geographical Tools - Fieldwork measuring and recording - F Fieldwork activities • Observing and describing social change • Social change is spatially uneven and affects places differently Union protests over social housing eviction Fieldwork activities • Interviewing (and tallying). Stakeholder perspectives. • To identify community perceptions of social, economic and environmental outcomes. (if concerned, students can always interview each other) Using geographic tools to acquire process and communicate geographical information • GPS devices. Using geographic tools to acquire process and communicate geographical information. • Google MyMaps Observatory Hill EEC / Resources – http://observatoryhilleec.nsw.edu.a u/resources/ • GTA Lecture series https://docs.google.com/presentati on/d/1NfjkSIa7IGfxCyqSbgNpCMVtu N5MN9q19euQEDHogbE/mobilepre sent • NSW Globe http://globe.six.nsw.gov.au/ Building Better Cities S6 Pyrmont, Green Square and Barangaroo • A stage 6 fieldwork program focusing on Urban Dynamics in three locations • Key Focus – a case study showing one of the urban dynamics operating in a suburb. Barangaroo Pyrmont Green SQuare Building Better Cities Pyrmont - a case study of an inner city suburb undergoing change as a result of urban consolidation and renewal Fieldwork task: Explain why and how the government has implemented the urban consolidation policy in Pyrmont. Evaluate its effectiveness in improving the quality of the urban environment. Urban Dynamics of change Urban Consolidation Urban Renewal Urban Decay Urban Village Spatial Exclusion Other dynamics and terms Suburbanisation Gentrification Adaptive reuse of heritage Urban Sprawl Website Pre-visit Activities Background to the fieldwork - The Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036 Putting the fieldwork in context The Metro plan 2036 is a plan for Sydney’s growth. It aims to locate Sydney’s growing population in areas where people want to live including in greenfields (eg new land releases in the north-west and south-west) and in brownfields (existing suburbs). Pyrmont’s urban renewal and consolidation are part of the strategy to locate new housing in existing suburbs. Greenfield Brownfield Introductory Presentation What are the key planning challenges for the City of Sydney and how is Pyrmont’s redevelopment helping to address them? 1 A Growing Population - By 2036 Sydney’s population is expected to be 6 million (one fifth of all Australians). The additional population will require 770,000 new dwellings. The average occupancy is only 2.51 people per dwelling compared to over 5 in 1900 requiring more dwellings. Pyrmont will grow from 3,000 in 1994 to over 17,000 by 2021 2 Providing jobs closer to homes the additional population will require 760 000 jobs Pyrmont will increase jobs from 5,000 in 1994 to 26,000 by 2021 3 Providing sustainable and affordable housing average dwelling sizes are increasing taking up more space (McMansions) large houses reduce biodiversity and increase energy consumption Sydney housing is expensive for lower socio economic groups All new Pyrmont housing meets BASIX building guidelines and around 8% is affordable housing 4 Providing efficient transport new jobs and housing should match transport capacity New transport options include ferry, light rail, bus and proposed Pyrmont Metro What are the key planning challenges for the City of Sydney? 5 Providing efficient infrastructure electricity water supply sewerage stormwater communication systems New Infrastructure was constructed to encourage 6 Maintaining global competitiveness developers to the suburb including over 20 Ha of parkland, the highest ratio of parkland to residents of any inner city suburb. Pyrmont has attracted many high tech tertiary and Quaternary industries 7 Planning for ecological sustainability Sustainability is measured by our ecological footprint. This is the land a city requires to provide its raw materials and deal with its waste. Sydney’s footprint is 7 ha per person and 3 times the global average. If the entire world had the lifestyle of the average Sydney person, we would need approximately five planet Earth’s to sustain this lifestyle. Effective town planning can help manage environmental issues like air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, waste disposal, water scarcity and biodiversity loss. Sydney’s planners must plan for an increasing population and promote sustainable urban design to protect the environment and ensure a high quality of life. Some ways to ensure this are: ü enforce the BASIX code ü new housing near transport centres ü public transport and freight systems (rail ü clustering jobs and housing together (mixed use zoning) ü urban green spaces Why has the government implemented urban consolidation in greater Sydney and Pyrmont? Economic Benefits In Greater Sydney In Pyrmont It is costly for the government to build infrastructure Infrastructure like water supply, sewage, for new homes on the city fringes. electricity and public amenities were already in It is cheaper to fill in (backfill) existing underused place suburbs and upgrade existing infrastructure. Upgrading existing infrastructure was cheaper It costs 30% less to house a family in an existing than building new infrastructure suburb than in new suburbs on the edge of the city. Infrastructure in greenfield areas is expensive Infrastructure in brownfield areas