urban cultures

cities, people & their cultures

This section explores the notion of culture and the diversity of urban populations that contemporary urban planners must consider when planning culturally.

First, we will explore how the word ‘culture’ has been interpreted, analysed, and explained by a range of cultural theorists, and thinkers across a range of disciplines. It’s important to keep in mind a number of critical issues.

Firstly, that while ‘Culture’ can be seen as how a society or place expresses importance and meaning, and what collectively matters in terms of the look and feel of a place. We also need to remember that the quality of a place is greatly influenced by the context of its history, geographic location, and its topography.

Secondly, we explore the 'origins of urban cultures'. It is important to consider that a city’s ‘Culture’ is not static as it transforms over time in response to the changes in the demographics and the physical fabric of the city.

Next, we consider our 'culturally diverse world'. To plan culturally we must not only understand the diversity of our communities but gain an awareness of their diverse cultural values, behaviours, and relationship to the built environment.

Finally, we need to consider the impacts of globalisation and migration on our cities and how the trends are affecting local ‘Culture’ and challenging the way we plan and design for our diverse populations. Therefore, we need urban professionals that are ‘culturally literate’ making them equipped to better understand and address the diverse cultural needs of communities when delivering built environment outcomes.

cities, people & their cultures

Author's Note: Throughout the sections on this site there are discussions relating to the need for urban planners and designers to gain Cultural Literacy regarding the urban planning needs of Australia's First Nations People. It is important for me to make it clear that I do not claim to be expert regarding addressing the planning needs of our First Nations communities. Throughout my professional career I have consulted and worked with Aboriginal Elders, artists and their communities across Australia. All these experiences have provided me with some insight into the challenges associated with achieving truly culturally sensitive built environment outcomes with and for First Nations communities. Therefore, I defer to the writing of those planners and academics, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, such as Libby Porter, Ed Wensing, Elly Davidson, Vivienne Milligan and Canadian, Janice Barry among others, who know so much more than I do on this critical issue.

THE CULTURAL CONTEXT

As a starting point in analysing the meaning of “Culture” it is worth noting that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) uses the Edward Tylor definition of culture, that: ‘Culture ‘is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by [a human] as a member of society’ (Tylor, E.1958:1).

Based on that definition it can be readily argued that ‘Culture’ as “that complex whole” is a critical factor in relation to the planning and design of the built environment. Both from the perspective that ‘Culture’ influences not only the ‘look and feel’ of a place, but it also it impacts on the social behaviours and ways of life of the local community.

Therefore, urban planners need to understand how individual, and community cultural values can impact on decisions that influence the planning and designing of the built environment, and public places.

The Discussion Paper provides a more detailed exploration of how to interpret the concept of ‘Culture’ and sub-categories of Cultural Practices; Cultural Expression; Cultural Heritage; Cultural Identity; Cultural Diversity; and Cultural Capital.

Discussion Paper 1:

The Cultural Context

ORIGINS OF URBAN CULTURE

Throughout history we can see the evolution of urban cultures from the remote small-scale settlements to today’s mega-cities. Traditionally, rural, settlements had homogenous shared values and patterns of behaviours. Therefore, a homogeneous societal culture is one in which the shared meanings are similar with little variation in beliefs resulting in a culture that has one dominant way of thinking and acting.

Today varying degrees of diversity exists in most nations, but the critical factor is the degree of variation in the shared meanings within the society. Australia is recognised as a Culturally diverse country with some 300 different cultural backgrounds from the First Australians to the newest arrivals living with a great diversity of cultural frames of reference and therefore ideally needing diverse built-form options. In Australia western style urban settlements as we understand them have only existed on this ancient land for just over 200 years, with the first official European style building in Sydney dating from 1788.

The Discussion Paper provides an exploration of the evolution of urban cultures and the benefits to the city of cultural diversity that brings complexity and different cultural frames of reference to the planning and design of cities.

Discussion Paper 2:

Origins of Urban Culture

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

It is important to unpack some of the jargon and terminology found in the academic literature relating to the cultural diversity of cities. Of the various terms referencing cultural diversity that resonates in terms of the concept of Planning and Designing Culturally is Leonie Sandercock’s use of the metaphor of the “mongrel city” in her 2003 book Cosmopolis II Mongrel Cities of the 21st Century. Sandercock, in her contribution to the Intercultural City Reader (2004), suggested that the mongrel city is “a democratic, culturally pluralist world in which strangers can, indeed become neighbors” (2004: 21). Or indeed become “lovers” as it is estimated that one in three marriages registered in Australia are interracial couples. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), as a reflection of the growing intercultural population in Australia, in 2018, about 32 per cent of registered marriages were of partners born in different countries, compared with 18 per cent in 2006.

This level of cultural diversity presents a real challenge for urban planners and designers to gain awareness of the diverse cultures, their beliefs, values, behaviours, and relationship to the built environment.

The Discussion Paper provides a more detailed exploration of a range of terminology found in academic including terms such as, super-diversity, hyper-diversity, multiethnic, multi-Cultural and their relevance to planning culturally.

Discussion Paper 3:

Cultural Diversity

CULTURE & PLANNING

In the context of Australia, it is important to acknowledge not only the increasing level of cultural diversity and the recognition and celebration of multiple cultural community identities, but also the more inclusive notion of Interculturalism with its focus on behaviour and interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds.

From an urban planning perspective, it is important to recognise that whatever the phase of the continuum, there is a need for planners to have cultural literacy skills to deliver culturally relevant planning outcomes for our diverse communities. Planners need to be aware of the demographic changes taking place in the city and the various evolving settlement patterns of cultural/ethnic groups.

For example, cultural clusters have obvious advantages for new arrivals to be among other members of the diaspora, with proximity to shops, religious and dedicated community facilities that cater for their cultural needs. However, there is a danger that clustering can lead to ‘parallel lives’ being lived without opportunities for interaction with the broader community.

The Discussion Paper provides a more detailed exploration of the “Diversity Continuum” to show over time a city may evolve through phases from minimal cultural diversity through to a state of Super or Hyper-Diversity. It also emphasizes the importance of being intercultural and engaging in intercultural dialogue.

Discussion Paper 4:

Culture & Planning