WEEK 2 | READING

Barton, H. (2000) - Urban Form and Locality

This reading covered the dispersal of concentration looking at the extreme of (hamlets & villages) and the other extreme of (dominant city ie a city region with surrounding urban areas - can turn into urban sprawl), where and how commerce and industry is located, low vs. high density and shape (nucleated vs. linear).
It introduced the argument that most people want to live in a rural setting (because its indicated in the price of such real estate) because of the perceived benefits of self-sufficiency and low impact, but would be happy to live both self-sufficiently and with little impact in urban areas too.  
As in Whiteway, Gloucestershire - a community built to be self-sufficient in the early 1900's, households gave in to societal norms and most have 2 cars now as friction of distance was not high enough to maintain the intended level of impact.
It has been found that households in dense areas opt not to have cars whilst in dispersed areas - even the poorest families had at least 1 car because the public transport system was not of a high quality to support the commute to work, retail, food etc.  When located close to high quality train services, car use is drastically reduced. Cars are endless money sponges, and by living in a dispersed area, it increases the burden of money for a family/household of lower socioeconomic status. Not only is there the benefit of reduced emissions for compact cities, but there are social, environmental and economic benefits too.  
I feel like the reading supported the idea of removing the car from the city - mixed use, a supportive public transport network and proper planning mean that people living in and close to urban areas can rely on walking/public transport to get to and from different destinations.

Fackler, M. (2011) - Tsunami Warnings, Written in Stone
Basically, we should learn from the past! The rebuilding of Brisbane after the floods hasn't taken into account the possibility of it happening again. It will happen again, and people will be massively devastated again - much like the people of Japan who ignored the symbols left by their ancestors.  The areas that were hit the worst were areas of low socioeconomic status, a huge burden for households already struggling with money, let alone with the financial burden caused by a flood, which then places the burden onto local, state and federal government to give aid to people to help rebuild. We should look back at history to learn from mistakes.