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19-635: The Kelvin Grove Urban Village is an urban village and university precinct in Kelvin Grove , Brisbane , Queensland , Australia that was developed after the closure of the Australian Army's Gona Barracks . The Queensland Department of Housing purchased the Gona Barracks site in 2000 looking for opportunities to develop affordable housing either on the site or funded from the redevelopment of

38-436: A guiding concept for many projects. The ideas of the urban commentator Jane Jacobs are widely regarded as having had the largest influence on the urban village concept. Jacobs rejected the modernist views that dominated urban planning and architecture in the 1950s–60s and constructed an alternative philosophy that values traditional neighborhoods and the role of the inner city. Proponents believe that urban villages provide

57-710: A new concept and are simply a re-formulation of ideas that have been prevalent in urban planning for decades. The following is a brief list of a few projects claimed to be urban villages that have evolved or already been completed, or are in planning stages: Greenfield land Greenfield land is a British English term referring to undeveloped land in an urban or rural area either used for agriculture or landscape design , or left to evolve naturally. These areas of land are usually agricultural or amenity properties being considered for urban development . Greenfield land can be unfenced open fields, urban lots or restricted closed properties. They are kept off limits to

76-431: A true urban village form, have not achieved their objectives. Some planners question whether a genuine urban village has actually been built. The objectives of urban villages are often criticized as unrealistic because they ignore broader social and economic realities. The ability to create self-contained villages is questionable as employment and activity patterns continue to become more complex. The viability of creating

95-428: A variety of employment and activity within an area with a small population base can also be questioned. It has been suggested that the demise of the neighborhood community is a function of "conscious economic and social choice" rather than a product of urban form. The limitations of the urban village concept to achieve sustainability in urban areas have also been studied in developing countries, which further emphasizes

114-413: A viable alternative to the social ills that characterize modernism in cities, such as freeways and high-rise estates. Another strong impetus for urban villages has been growing disenchantment with the urban sprawl that has characterized the development of many cities since World War II . Urban villages are seen to create self-contained communities that reduce the need to travel large distances and reduce

133-581: Is used for both educational and commercial purposes. It is Australia's only purpose-built theatre-in-the-round built in 2004 to replace the La Boite Theatre Building (a smaller purpose-built theatre-in-the-round that was no longer commercially viable to operate as a theatre). The Roundhouse Theatre can seat 400 people for central staging (audience on four sides) or 340 people for thrust stage (audience on three sides). The La Boite Theatre Company (Queensland's 2nd largest theatre company) perform at

152-566: The Urban Development Institute of Australia . Following $ 23,000,000 on construction of infrastructure, the Kelvin Grove Urban Village was officially opened by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie on Monday 24 November 2003. Unlike most Australian university campuses that comprise a large site for the sole use of the university, the Kelvin Grove Urban Village contains a mix of university buildings (some purpose-built by

171-585: The Brisbane CBD. Difficulties associated with any redevelopment included the heritage values of the Gona Barracks site (it was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 2005), steep slopes and contaminated land . A heritage assessment of the Gona Barracks site determined that it was the buildings of the upper barracks around the parade ground that, as a group, were of a greatest significance rather than individual buildings. A partnership between

190-638: The Queensland Department of Housing, Brisbane City Council and the Queensland University of Technology was formed to develop a mixed-use urban village precinct using the Gona Barracks site and adjacent land. The university built its Creative Industries precinct re-using Gona Barracks buildings and introducing new buildings, sited to reinforce the rectangular form of the Gona barracks parade ground. The re-development won major planning and design awards from

209-524: The Roundhouse Theatre. 27°27′15″S 153°00′50″E  /  27.4543°S 153.0139°E  / -27.4543; 153.0139 Urban village Urban villages are seen to provide an alternative to recent patterns of urban development in many cities, especially decentralization and urban sprawl . They are generally purported to: The concept of urban villages was formally born in Britain in

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228-688: The countryside. These environmental consequences of urban sprawl have come to dominate discussion promoting urban villages in recent years. Urban villages are widely seen to provide a solution to the demise of community that is often associated with modernism and sprawl. The concept uses the social and physical morphology of the traditional rural village as an inspiration for creating better functioning communities. The urban village movement has been influenced by Ebenezer Howard ’s Garden City ideals which also emphasize environmental determinism in relation to community. Urban design techniques such as public space and pedestrianization are employed to facilitate

247-516: The development of community by encouraging human interaction. This philosophy shares many attributes with the new urbanism school of thought. Many urban village developments, both Government and privately initiated, have been seen to depart from the original ideals of the concept. Private developments often use the "urban village" label as an advertising pitch or to win Government support for their project. Many developments, although intended to create

266-428: The general public by a private or government entity. Greenfield sites offer a high degree of freedom for a developer, compared to sites with existing developments. For example, a greenfield site is a welcome opportunity for a cable operator to choose equipment based on cost and aesthetic parameters, without considering migration issues related to legacy equipment on the site. Rather than building upon greenfield land,

285-434: The institutional barriers against such an application in the case of the developing countries. This issue becomes more critical when we accept that the institutional landscape in rural environments is more complex than urban areas and that incompatible institutional structure of the developing countries would add to the idealistic nature of the urban village concept. Some urban commentators believe that urban villages are not

304-726: The late 1980s with the establishment of the Urban Villages Group (UVG). Following pressure from the UVG, the concept was prioritized in British national planning policy between 1997 and 1999. Urban villages also come in the form of suburbs of metropolitan areas that are politically designated as villages. Urban village ideals have been applied to new greenfield and brownfield developments and urban renewal projects. The concept has been widely adopted in many countries and used by both government development agencies as well as private enterprise as

323-509: The site. Queensland University of Technology operated its Kelvin Grove campus (formerly the campus of the Brisbane College of Advanced Education and other predecessor institutions) on an adjacent site and desired to expand their campus. Brisbane City Council which controlled adjacent parkland wanted to develop a Local Area Plan that would maximise opportunities for such a large site so close to

342-429: The subsequent reliance on the automobile. The decline of noxious industry and the emergence of the service economy allows the mixing of employment and residential activities without detriment to residents. This is in contrast to the single-use zoning that helped fuel urban sprawl during the industrial and manufacturing eras. Through more consolidated development, urban villages can reduce the intrusion of urban growth on

361-534: The university and other buildings leased by the university), apartment blocks, and retail shops. The precinct promotes itself as a hub for creative practice, as it incorporates the QUT Creative Industry Faculty and the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries (a selective senior high school for students wishing to specialise in arts and entertainment). The university-owned Roundhouse Theatre

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