Building a More Sustainable City Official and Everyday Practices of Urban Regeneration in Charlestown, NSW K. Ruming, K. Mee, P. McGuirk and J. Sweeney Department of Geography and Planning, Macquarie University Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Newcastle Building a More Sustainable City: Official and Everyday Practices of Urban Regeneration in Charlestown Residents Report August 2015 Kristian Ruming, Kathy Mee, Pauline McGuirk and Jill Sweeney Department of Geography and Planning, Macquarie University Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Newcastle Contacts: Dr Kristian Ruming Dr Kathy Mee and Professor Pauline McGuirk Department of Geography and Planning Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Macquarie University NSW 2109 University of Newcastle NSW 2308 Phone +61 (0)2 9850 8314 Phone Kathy: +61 (0)2 4921 6451 Fax +61 (0)2 9850 6052 Phone Pauline: +61 (0)2 4921 5097 Email [email protected] Email [email protected] Email [email protected] All photographs by J. Sweeney. CONTENTS Introduction 4 Survey Results Summary 5 Resident Interviews Development in Charlestown 8 Charlestown Square 11 Outside the Square 14 Charlestown’s Future 18 Concluding Comments 19 Ethical Statement The ethical aspects of this study have been approved by the Macquarie University Ethics Review Committee (Human Research). If you have any complaints or reservations about any ethical aspect of your participation in this research, you may contact the Ethics Review Committee through the Director, Research Ethics (phone 9850 7854; email [email protected]). Any complaint you make will be treated in confidence and investigated, and you will be informed of the outcome. 3 INTRODUCTION In 2014 we invited you to participate in a the suburb. The survey focused on home study of urban regeneration and renewal in renovation, sustainability and change in the Newcastle region. The purpose of the Charlestown. study was to uncover the ways in which the Newcastle region is being regenerated We also asked for volunteers to participate through formal and informal practices of in a follow-up interview, and conducted 25 households, organisations, businesses and in-depth resident interviews. Building on governments. We were particularly the survey, these interviews investigated interested in how policies, people and the residents' views on regeneration and posed urban environment are involved in questions around regeneration plans and processes of urban regeneration, and the proposals for Charlestown's future. formal and informal ways in which regeneration occurs. This report presents a summary of some of the results from the survey and the The study involved four case studies of interviews. Names of participants have formal and informal urban regeneration been changed in order to protect their initiatives that are currently taking place in privacy. the Newcastle region: Newcastle; Charlestown; Huntlee; and everyday We would like to thank you for your practices of home and garden participation in this research and for maintenance. As people living in helping us to find out more about how Charlestown, we wanted to learn more residents experience urban regeneration. about your experiences and opinions of If you have any questions or comments, the urban regeneration currently being please direct them to Dr Kristian Ruming undertaken in Charlestown. We also on ph. 029850 8314 or email: wanted to find out more about what [email protected] residents are doing to maintain their homes, gardens and neighbourhoods. Residents are an important group that sometimes feel overlooked. They experience firsthand the changes that regeneration brings, and their houses, flats and yards are part of the fabric of the city. To find out more we first conducted a survey of households by distributing 5000 postcards throughout Charlestown. We gathered a sample of 88 residents across 4 SURVEY RESULTS Living in Charlestown Improving Charlestown Charlestown's central location and supply of Participants agreed that a number of things affordable, well-maintained properties were key could be done to improve Charlestown. A factors that attracted people to the suburb. Its majority felt that constructing more public proximity to services (62%), shopping centres spaces, including parks (56%) as well as better (64%) and places of work (44%) were firmly in quality public spaces (54%) would contribute to its favour, with respondents also citing the a positive change in the suburb. quality of housing, block size, and proximity to recreational and leisure opportunities as being Nearly half of the respondents (48%) believed positive features. better planning strategies from both Lake Macquarie Council and the State Government Survey participants reported undertaking a are necessary for Charlestown to improve, while range of regular activities in Charlestown. a smaller number (38%) felt that more diversity Perhaps not surprisingly, the vast majority of in businesses (such as shops and entertainment respondents said they regularly shop locally or venues) would be a beneficial change. in their neighbourhood (94%), while 67% run, walk or ride a bike, and 64% regularly go to Significantly, only 14% of respondents thought cafes and restaurants. Half of all respondents large development projects would improve regularly attend cultural facilities such as the Charlestown further. cinema, and approximately 40% visit parks or playgrounds. Only 13% said they commonly attended public events in Charlestown, which may suggest a lack of events rather than a lack of interest. A number of respondents also commented on a lack of community activities. 5 Urban Regeneration in Charlestown Regenerating the City through Home Maintenance We asked Charlestown residents about regeneration plans for Charlestown. The survey found that residents were keen to Significantly, many residents were not aware of make their homes more comfortable and the Charlestown Town Centre Master Plan (74%), liveable, and sought to improve the look of their a key plan for Charlestown's renewal, and house and garden. almost 97% of respondents said they had not attended a consultation about the plan. Approximately 62% reported painting the inside of their home in recent years, while 42% had This is noteworthy given that many respondents painted the exterior. Nearly 46% had redone believe that local government has a major role their garden, and 38% of respondents had in regeneration in Charlestown (77%). In installed internet access. The same amount of addition, almost 64% of respondents stated that respondents had installed or replaced the hot business groups were driving regeneration in water system (38%). Almost 35% had renovated the suburb, and 50% felt that community their kitchen. groups also had an important role to play. Anticipated Impacts of Urban Sustainability Regeneration in Charlestown A large majority of residents reported installing Respondents believed a range of benefits would energy-saving light globes and water-saving flow from Charlestown's regeneration. A shower heads since moving in to their current majority expected to see an increase in home (80% and 63% respectively). Most employment in the area (63%), as reported they had not purchased more costly well as better use of Charlestown's existing sustainability features such as solar panels, infrastructure (57%). Improvements in public water tanks or window glazing. However there spaces and people's health and well-being were was a moderate uptake of having vegetable also anticipated (49% and 48% respectively). gardens/fruit trees, and some type of composting system, possibly reflecting a The anticipated problems, meanwhile, offer an broader trend back to having more productive insight into some of the respondents' existing backyards. concerns. Many respondents felt that parking difficulties and traffic congestion would worsen after regeneration (77% and 75%), while over half worried that Charlestown would lose its green spaces (56%). 6 Additional Comments The survey also asked residents for any and connect these to cycleways in other parts additional comments about Charlestown that of Newcastle, so that people could safely ride they wished to make. There were some to and from town, for example. positive comments: that Charlestown is a great place to live, and that the services provided were generally excellent. There were also Communication, Consultation and Community concerns expressed around safety, Engagement communication and making the area more user-friendly. The following matters were the Some respondents expressed a feeling of most commonly mentioned: uncertainty about what was happening in Charlestown, and said they would like to be kept more informed about planning and Public Domain development decisions. Numerous people remarked that the public Others wanted more opportunities to landscape of Charlestown was sometimes participate in community consultation and unwelcoming, unsafe or difficult to access. give feedback on development plans. There They felt the suburb, including the centre area, was a sense among some respondents that was not pedestrian-friendly, and needed more development in Charlestown 'just seems to footpaths and better street lighting. More bus happen', and that there was a greater focus shelters and seating at bus stops were also being placed on commercial development nominated as things which would make than on community development. Charlestown more liveable. Transport Planning Traffic