Media Release
October 19 2006
Spotlight on the Adelaide Parklands
The Adelaide Parklands will be the focus of a three-day event that
examines the role, value and future of the city’s green belt and is
designed to rekindle community interest in this unique urban resource.
UniSA’s Centre for Settlement Studies, the Hawke Centre and the Adelaide Parklands Preservation Association (APPA) will host The Adelaide Parklands: A balancing act between Friday November 10 and Sunday November 12.
The three-day program comprises a full-day symposium, parkland tours and a free public forum to be opened by the Lord Mayor at the Adelaide Town Hall.
Elizabeth Ho, Director of the Hawke Centre, says the Adelaide Parklands are a significant community asset.
“We’ve developed this three-day program in the interests of community education, information and debate,” she says.
Sixteen peer-reviewed papers will be presented at a symposium to be held in the Mutual Community Theatre at UniSA’s City East campus and sponsored by UniSA, the SA Department for Environment and Heritage and Planning SA.
The Parklands’ environmental, planning, social, cultural and economic potential, and the status of the Adelaide Parklands compared with other green belt cities in Australia and abroad, are among the wide-ranging topics.
Dr Christine Garnaut, co-chair of the Centre for Settlement Studies, says the Adelaide Parklands are on the brink of a new era with the passage of the Adelaide City Park Lands Bill 2005.
“It is timely to investigate the future of the Parklands,” she says, “while being mindful of their history and of other concerns.”
Some of the sites and issues discussed in the symposium will be included in a series of walking, coach and bike tours planned through the Adelaide Parklands for Saturday November 11.
Assisted by the Adelaide City Council, a free public forum at the Adelaide Town Hall on Sunday November 12, Threats, Challenges and Solutions, will feature Sarah Whyte, chair of the NSW Centennial Parklands Foundation, who will present ideas and strategies to encourage stronger community and corporate support for open parkland spaces.
The forum, to be opened by Lord Mayor Michael Harbison and to be addressed by the Hon Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, Minister for Tourism and the City of Adelaide, will also give audience members an opportunity to pose questions to the speakers about the Adelaide Parklands.
Jim Daly, APPA president and author of Decisions and Disasters: Alienation of the Adelaide Parklands, says the Association’s concern is to retain the Parklands heritage for future generations.
“This does not mean the Association should be seen to be adopting an entirely reactionary role of ‘preservation for preservation’s sake’,” he says. “The Association encourages the creative use of the Parklands by the people of Adelaide, within an underlying philosophy of maintaining its open space characteristics.”
Bookings for The Adelaide Parklands: A balancing act symposium, tours and forum are essential. For further information, contact the Hawke Centre on 8302 0371 or visit www.hawkecentre.unisa.edu.au
Media contact
- Vincent Ciccarello office (08) 8302 0578 mobile 0434 603 457 email vincent.ciccarello@unisa.edu.au