Brisbane Landscape Study

8/8/2019 Brisbane Landscape Study

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CENTRAL BRISBANE LANDSCAPE STUDY REPORT

LUKE BRINSMEAD - N6297498DLB330 - PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENT


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CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW 3

1.2 CENTRAL BRISBANE LANDSCAPE STUDY AREA 3

1.3 METHODS 4

2.0 CENTRAL BRISBANE LANDSCAPE BACKGROUND

2.1 GEOGRAPHY 5-9

2.2 CULTURAL HERITAGE 9-13

3.0 CENTRAL BRISBANE LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE APPRAISAL

3.1 STRUCTURE MAP 14

3.2 ATTRIBUTE TABLE 15-17

3.3 NETWORK DIAGRAMS 18

3.4 FLOWS DIAGRAMS 19

3.5 APPRAISAL OF LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE 19-20

4.0 FOCUS AREA LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE REDESIGN

4.1 FOCUS AREA LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE APPRAISAL 21-22

4.2 FOCUS AREA LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE REDESIGN 23-24

5.0 DESIGN DISCUSSION

5.1 USES OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN 24

5.2 LIMITATIONS OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN 25

CONCLUSION 25


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REFERENCES 26

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW

The Central Brisbane Landscape Study Report analyses an aerial photograph with a scaleof 1:25,000 to outline and trace patches, corridors and networks which were used in alandscape ecology context. The report begins with methods, then moves into culturalhistory and geography; landscape appraisal and structure which includes structure a map,associated attribute tables, a network and flow diagram; following that is the focus areaappraisal and redesign, which uses the upper right quadrant of the aerial photograph; thediscussion and conclusion discusses how the method of landscape ecology is useful andsummarizes major points from the findings. This report aims to aid landscape architects,town planners and urban designers to better design/plan and redesign/plan on a spatialscale to increase ecology, human equality and well being, natural capital and ecosystem

services.

1.2 CENTRAL BRISBANE LANDSCAPE STUDY AREA Image 1: Satellite Photo. Source: Google EarthImage 2: Aerial Photograph of Brisbane city and its nearby surrounding suburbs.Source: Sun Maps

Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia with a population of around 1.6 million in thegreater metropolitan area. The city is located in the southeast corner of Queensland(27.5S, 153E) and is 960km north of Sydney and 97 km north of the Gold Coast. Greater Brisbane comprises over 180 suburbs and localities and covers an area of 1,141 km 2.

Brisbane has a subtropical climate with temperatures ranging between 20-29C in summer and a very pleasant 9-20C in winter. Brisbane has an average annual rainfall of approximately 1150mm and 242 days a year of sunshine (BOM, 2009). Since the middleof the 20 th century, much of the farmland was replaced by suburban subdivision and somemedium the high density buildings. Queen Street was developed along the line of the firstconvict buildings, they were purposely built there to be above a severe river flood level (deVries, 2003). Immigrants from southern Australia, the UK and Europe were attracted tothe rapidly developing town and sought opportunity to be lumberjacks, farmers andcraftsman who could then afford to purchase allotments of land, favouring hilltops whichprovided a scenic and surveillance view over the farmed landscape (de Vries, 2003).


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1.3 METHODS

This form of map uses the land mosaic concept originally developed by Richard Forman.Mapping principles such as boundary convolution and straightness as well as contrast andgranularity were used to aid the mapping. Maps are a form of data, should be made asaccurate as we can manage by the application of certain conventions that you will learn

about in the tutorial, but are never to be regarded as the whole story (Satherley, 2009).The principals of landscape ecology were used as a foundation for this report.Landscape ecology is the spatial pattern or structure of landscapes, ranging fromwilderness to cities, the relationship between pattern and process in landscapes, therelationship of human activity to landscape pattern, process and change, the effect of scale and disturbance on the landscape (Satherley, 2009). By knowing how thelandscape is arranged, whether naturally or not, it provides people with a better understanding of the connections between each component and how a persons designcould influence the landscape.

One of the primary ways this spatial variation is interpreted and represented in landscapeecology is in the form of Land Mosaics: described by the Patch-Corridor-Matrix Model(Satherley, 2009). The Patch-Corridor-Matrix Model in landscape ecology is one of thetools people can use to interpret and design for landscapes, these complexinterdependencies of human and nonhuman functions and forms (Satherley, 2009). Thepatch-corridor-matrix model can be viewed as being like a mosaic, comprising three mainstructural landscape units: patches, corridors, and the matrix which sort of glues them alltogether (Satherley, 2009). As patches are relatively homogeneous areas that differ fromtheir surroundings, the difference of granularity and contrast between patches andcorridors was the main tool for categorizing different landscape units. Outside theboundaries of patches and corridors is the matrix, it exceeds the total area of any other landscape unit: it is the dominant landscape type within which the patches and corridorssit, the background. The matrix covers an extensive area, is highly connected, andcontrols landscape or regional dynamics it encloses and affects patches, as well ascorridors (Forman 1995, p. 277). For the structure map of this report, Polylines weredrawn around these patches and corridors to distinguish them from each other, insidethese outlines different hatches were used to differentiate each landscape category.Attributed tables were formed from the structure map to document each patch andcorridors attributes such as area size, edge convolution and shape.

Historical geological and cultural literature was researched to provide a better understanding of the subject site. The major geological events over the past 300 million

years were used, as these events have had the most profound influence on the landscape.The Environmental Protection Agencys Regional Ecosystem mapping service was used tolocate different forest types and whether any ecosystems include any endangered species.


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2.0 CENTRAL BRISBANE LANDSCAPE BACKGROUND

2.1 GEOGRAPHY

During the late Devonian and Carboniferous periods, circa (c) 370 to 300 million years ago(mya), Australia was still part of Gondwana (Willmott, 2004). The coastline was muchfurther inland and a volcanic mountain chain developed along the edge of the continent asa result of an oceanic crustal plate being subducted under the continent, see image 1A(Willmott, 2004). As a result friction melted rocks to form magma which then rose to thesurface and was erupted as volcanic lava (Willmott, 2004). These events took placealong much of the east coast, from Mackay to Newcastle and is known as the NewEngland Fold Belt (Willmott, 2004). Large amounts of sediments eroded from thevolcanic mountain chain and deposited on the continental shelf were some settled andremained (Willmott, 2004). At the end of the Carboniferous period, c 300 mya, there wasan episode of compression and intense deformation of the deep water sediments, see

image 1A (2) (Willmott, 2004). They became hardened and converted into rock bypressure, heat and cementing materials such as silica which as a result formed meta-sediments (Willmott, 2004). The subduction process beneath the continental edgereduced by the end of the Carboniferous period (Willmott, 2004).

During the preceding early Permian period, c 286 to 265 mya, the crust beneath thecontinental shelf edge relaxed, subsided and extended laterally, as a result shallow seasspread across the continental edge and deeper basins, such as the Esk Trough in theBrisbane Valley, subsided, see image 1B (Willmott, 2004). New sediments weredeposited atop of the previously deformed meta-sediments, however the crust still had ahigh heat flow which melted some magma (Willmott, 2004). Further to the east from the

early Permian to mid-Ttriassic times (280 to 235 mya), volcanic rocks and marinesediments ere being deposited, possibly along an offshore island arc above a newsubduction zone, or in shallow seas behind it, see image 1C (Willmott, 2004). From mid-Permain to mid-Triassic times (about 265 to 235 mya) the continental edge was subjectedto major periodic compression, known as the Hunter Bowen Orogeny, see image 1D (Willmott, 2004). The crust again relaxed and extended in the late Triassic period (235 to215 mya), with renewed heat flow and further eruption of volcanic and generation of granites, but no meta-sediments as a result, see image 1E (Willmott, 2004). After thevolcanic-intrusive episode in the latest Triassic times (215 mya) the continental edgebecame much more stable.

Small flood plains developed in valleys in the mountains of the meta-sediments and thevolcanoes. Despite some lingering volcanic activity, the older rocks were graduallycovered by shales, siltstones and sandstones deposited in and beside these rivers(Willmott, 2004). Coal seems formed in swamps on the flood plain, these deposits weremost prominent around Ipswich and Brisbane (Willmott, 2004). At the end of the Triassicperiod and extending into the Jurassic (about 215 to 180 mya), more extensive areasbegan to be covered by sediments brought down by much larger streams. Largevolumes of sand and gravel with some silt were deposited in braided channels and floodplains of high energy rivers to the west and south of Ipswich, and north of Brisbane, seeimage 4 (Willmott, 2004). In the latest Jurassic to early Cretaceous times (around 140mya) the easternmost edge of the continent was again subjected to deep crustal heating,possibly as a result of renewed subduction process to the east of the present coastline,see image 5 (Willmott, 2004). In the early Tertiary period (65 to 45 mya) several small


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basins subsided across the region as a result of the tension in the continental crust, seeimage 6 .This was probably a legacy of the tension related to the opening of the Tasman Sea(Willmott, 2004). During the mid and late Tertiary period (30 to 22 mya), easternAustralia, although essentially stable, was the scene of extensive volcanic activity, whichleft as its legacy remnants of large volcanoes still visible today, see image 8 (Willmott,

2004). Many of the mountain national parks near Brisbane were formed by thesevolcanoes. After the volcanic episode of the mid-Tertiary, erosion continued and thelandscape as we know it began to take shape. While the climate was still moist one or more periods of deep weathering and leaching created deep soil profiles, termed lateriticprofiles (Willmott, 2004).

Figures 3: Geological Events, source: Willmott, 2004


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Figure 4: Brisbane Soil Classifications, source ASRIS/Google Earth.

The main soil type in the study area is Hydrosols, with some Ferrosols around Kangaroo

Point area, some Chromosols south east of Brisbane and some Rhodosols to the southwest of Brisbane.

Figure 4: Historic Palimpsest (Author photos) Figure 5: Subtropical Adaption Shade


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Figure 6: Brisbane Metropolitan Regional Ecosystem Map, source: EPA (2009).


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Within the study area the following regional ecosystems can be viewed in figure 6:

12.1.2: Saltpan vegetation including grassland and herbland on marine clay plains.12.1.3: Mangrove shrubland to low closed forest on marine clay plains and estuaries.12.2.15: Casuarina glauca open forest on margins of marine clay plains, classified asENDANGERED.

12.3.5: Melaleuca quinquenervia open forest on coastal alluvium, classified as OFCONCERN.12.3.6: Melaleuca quinquenervia, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Lophostemon suaveolenswoodland on coastal alluvial plains.12.3.11: Eucalyptus siderophloia, E. tereticornis, Corymbia intermedia open forest onalluvial plains usually near coast, classified as OF CONCERN.12.3.14: Banksia aemula woodland on alluvial plains usually near coast, classified as OFCONCERN.12.5.3: Eucalyptus tindaliae and/or E. racemosa open forest on remnant Tertiary surfaces,classified as ENDANGERED.12.9-10.4: Eucalyptus racemosa woodland on sedimentary rocks.12.9-10.17: Open forest complex often with Eucalyptus acmenoides, E. major, E.siderophloia Corymbia citriodora on sedimentary rocks.12.9-10.19: Eucalyptus fibrosa subsp. fibrosa open forest on sedimentary rocks.12.11.18: Eucalyptus moluccana open forest on metamorphics interbedded volcanic.12.12.14: Shrubby woodland usually of rocky near coastal areas on Mesozoic toProterozoic igneous rocks, classified as OF CONCERN.(EPA, 2009)

2.2 CULTURAL HERITAGE

When commandant Henry Miller and his men first arrived into the Brisbane city regionmany of the local Aboriginal clans were displaced and felt they were being squashed out,and literally thats what happened. Surrounding the white settlements were localindigenous people with their spears defenseless against an opponent with gun weaponry.After some quarrels with the locals Miller and his team found themselves settling in thetriangle of land, now know as the city CBD. It was chosen by commandant Miller because it provided a safer location from Aborigines as well as having less chance of Malaria compared to the original Redcliff settlement site (de Vries, 2003). The Ngundariand Yagura Aboriginal clans previously roamed through this area until the settlement,which was known for its scenic water views (de Vries, 2003).

The first stone buildings of the Moreton bay settlement were constructed by convicts, thefirst of which was the Military Barracks, built in 1828 (de Vries, 2003). Queen Street wasdeveloped along the line of the first convict buildings, they were purposely built there to beabove a severe river flood level, see figure 7 (de Vries, 2003). Some of the stores in thenewly developing Queen Street included a butchery, tannery, fellmonger and a drapery.Stone buildings were constructed of sandstone, while some composed of a small amountof granite on ground level. The courier building, designed by architect Richard Gailey,was one of the first tall buildings in Brisbane, fives stories high.

Apposite from the courier building was the Australian Mutual Provident Society (AMP), it

was designed by architects Blackmann and Parks and was built of sandstone and hadreplaced a collection of tumbledown wooden shops known as Refuge Row which hadburned down several times in the past (de Vries, 2003).


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Many of the small cottages surrounding the CBD had dirt floors, timber walls, brickchimneys, bark roofs and exterior toilets (de Vries, 2003). Surrounding these cottageswere usually fowl-runs, vegetable gardens, fruit and nut trees such as Banana, Lemon,Orange, and Paw-Paw, larger yards had Bunya Pines, Moreton Bay Fig, Camphor Laureland Mango trees (de Vries, 2003).

In the late 19th

century double-decker horse-drawn trams were introduced to transportpeople to and from nearby suburbs within approximately five kilometres from the CBD.Horse-drawn trams would not be replaced by electricity until 1898, by 1921 some 180electrified trams were in service (de Vries, 2003). In the 1960s, the Brisbane City Councildecommissioned the trams and replaced them with buses. The streets ground surfacewas still unpaved by 1886, causing quagmire to form during heavy rain. In the early1880s, Queen Street was in a very poor condition as state funds had been spent on publicbuildings such as Parliament House, the Treasury Building and the Supreme Court.Consequently, little funds were left to pave Brisbanes dirt roads (de Vries, 2003).

More immigrants from southern Australia, the UK and Europe were attracted to the rapidlydeveloping town and sought opportunity to be lumberjacks, farmers and craftsman whocould then afford to purchase allotments of land, favouring hilltops which provided a scenicand surveillance view over the farmed landscape. As the trees were removed for timber,farmland was then made available on the flatter areas to grow Maize, Bananas,Pineapples, Sugarcane, Cotton. Beef and dairy cattle as well as sheep were grazed onthis newly cleared land (de Vries, 2003). Security surveillance for preventing Aboriginalattacks was also increased by default as a result of the clearing. Many of the early tracksradiating outward from the settlement were formed by either indigenous routes or lumberjack trails. Since the middle of the 20 th century, much of the farmland wasreplaced by suburban subdivision and some medium the high density buildings.


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Figure 7 (de Vries, 2003)


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3.0 CENTRAL BRISBANE LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE APPRAISAL

3.1 STRUCTURE MAP

Figure 11: Brisbane Structure Map

The structure map, figure 11, shows Brisbanes suburban dominated landscape 68%,within the medium density residential greenfield spaces are found on more so on the flatter areas in the southern suburbs. Many of the greenfield patches are highly fragmentedfrom one another. Most of the high density buildings are located near the major bridges,which supplement the city apartment views at night. The river divides northern andsouthern suburbs with the city also being the dividing land feature. Road and railnetworks use the city as a node to allow people to travel from north to south and east towest.

Many of the natural patchs edges are convoluted, particular the largest remnant patch,however most of the built environment patches have straight edges. There is very littleremnant vegetation near the rivers edge and on the south eastern side of the river, theonly large amount is located to the far west of the study site. Most of the remnantvegetation patches are poorly connected and are islandised by the suburban metropolis.The patches adjoining the river or roads usually have a smooth edge on the river or roadside and a convoluted edge on the alternate side. Their boundary width appear to benarrow where patches adjoin built environment and wider adjacent to greenfield space.


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3.2 ATTRIBUTE TABLE

Figure 12: Attribute Table 1

The matrix (low to medium density residential) area the vast, representing 68% of thestudy area, it permeates through the landscape without leaving few linkages for wildlife toenter, cross or exit. On the edges adjacent to the large remnant path the edge is highlyconvoluted, whereas on the edges adjacent to medium to high density buildings the edgeshave much more straightness to them. The patchs internals are very well connected toultimately form the two very large patches, quite the opposite attribute for the smallremnant vegetation patches. Many of the remnant vegetation patches, which occupy just7.3% of the subject area, are mostly rounded, with the exception of areas sounding riversor creeks. These islands may be the result of uncleared steep areas unfavourable tofarming or even buildings. The edges which are more convoluted may indicate steepareas whereas smoother edge may indicate flatter ground.


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Most of the medium to high density residential patches have straight edges, typicalcharacteristic of man-made patches and which is more obvious as the patch sizedecrease.


Most of the greenfield patches have a curvilinear and partly convoluted edge, this maybeattributed to adjoining remnant vegetation patches, cul-de-sac encroachment or becausegreenfields are sometimes used by council or developers to fill the in-betweenundeveloped areas. This level of convolution and curvilinearity decreases as the patchsize decreases. Much of the patches are situated on their lonesome with little or no

connection with remnant vegetation patches or other Greenfield patches.


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3.3 NETWORK DIAGRAMS

Figure 15: Network Diagram

The rivers curvlineararity is highlighted by a thick dashed line in figure 15, showing howthe river creates pockets suburbs like New Farm, West End and St Lucia which has fewmain roads within their peninsula type neighbourhoods. The level of curvlineararity alsoshows the different hardness of the lands surface, as the river deflects off the harder rocksand penetrates through the softer material. Many of the roads are not straight, with theexception of some roads close to the city or on flat land. All of the roads had noconvolution, which was used to help map their smooth boundaries. Many roads narrowas they meander towards the city, indicating increased building density. However therailway lines increase in width nearer to the city. Wildlife networks adjacent to the river are somewhat narrow and disconnected from each other by residential houses close to therivers edge, they are also disconnected from nearby remnant patches.


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3.4 FLOWS DIAGRAM

Figure 16: Flow Diagram

Much of the surface water flows to the river, which can be seen in the flow map, thereforethe river can be seen as the natural sink. To the north west there is little housing whichcan be used as a guess that the area is quite step which generates more surface water flow. Any greenfield near the city was characterized as a sink for birds, as it providesthem with food and a relatively safe temporary habitat from their natural predators. Mostof the human flow in directed towards the city, indicated by the tall buildings and lack of vegetation or green space, this therefore represents the human sink. Standout fields,such as the Brisbane Cricket ground, can be classed as another human sink. There aremany more human sinks on this map, such as the University of Queensland, which are notclearly shown as sink on this particular map and therefore not mapped. The large

granular commercial or industrial patches are also seen as a human sink for materials andproducts.

3.5 APPRAISAL OF LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE

The matrix has a finer granularity than the medium to high density landscape unit,indicating a detached houses with private garden buffers surrounding each dwelling. Thelow to medium density residential of detached housing dominates the landscape, as aresult there is little greenfield space and remnant vegetation. This is probably due to theautomobile allowing mass people movement during the time of development surroundingBrisbane and indeed other areas of Australia and America. Analysing the structure map,the previous farming areas can be imagined where suburbanism has now replaced.


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It is interesting to note that no farming is practiced near Brisbane, compared to many nonautomobile developed cities around the world which have many farmed fields near citiesand towns. As mentioned, the suburban low to medium density matrix area is very wellfused to form Brisbane city as it is known.

The area of road corridors is mapped at approximately 10%, however if all the roads were

to be mapped then this figure would easily reach 20% or more. Because most of Brisbane is undulating and hilly in areas, most of the roads appear as meanderingnetworks. There is not defined legible ring road surrounding the city, which many other well planned cities have to exclude unnecessary vehicular traffic and to clearly define itsboundaries. The roads were more clearly identified as they cut through vegetation,providing contrast between the urban beige and the greenery.

The medium to high density patches have less greenery surrounding them compared tolow to medium density patches, causing the patches to more easily stand out and appear more granular. These patches are found orientated mostly around the river, which arereplacing valuable ecosystem space. The city centre, being the largest of these patches,dominates the study area by having a homogenous pattern which has little or no patchesin or near it. Some medium to high density patches were also mapped adjacent to mainroads, in terms of retail it would allow for good customer exposure to advertising and allowfor ease of delivery of products and ease of customer finding.

Remnant vegetation patches were quite easily mapped, having a strong contrast betweendark green of the canopy and beige of the building roofs. These patches are quitehomogenous, comparing to the matrix, further aiding the outlining of these patches. Tothe north west of the map, the large remnant patchs edge is being divided up by thematrix, whereas to the east and south little remnant vegetation exists. A reason for whylittle of the presumed mountain area where much of the remnant vegetation lives can befound in sun exposure, farming on south-facing slopes in the southern hemisphere is notas productive as farming on north-facing slopes due to the reduced sun exposure duringwinter.

The edge of the waterways are smooth and curvilinear, and the corridors homogenousinterior contrasts greatly with the heterogeneous landscape. These attributes make theBrisbane river such a dominant feature within the study area, even though the landscapepercentage is dwarfed by the matrix. The river divides the matrix, I am of the opinion if there was no Brisbane River then the matrix would completely surround the city with itsislands of greenfields and remnant patches within the super matrix.

Most of the greenfield spaces are surrounded by the matrix, with the exception of the CityBotanical Gardens and Roma Street Parklands, or some adjoin natural patches or corridors. Most of the smaller patches showed straight edges which indicated they wereparks or fields in relatively flat areas. Most greenfields contrast quite well with the urbanbeige and aided the accurate outline of their boundaries.


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4.0 FOCUS AREA LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE REDESN

4.1 FOCUS AREA LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE APPRAISAL

Figure 17: Focus Area Structure Map

I chose the Brisbane city and its nearby areas to for the focus appraisal (figure 17) andredesign as I thought the heart of Brisbane can become an interesting subject to workwith. The focus area comprises all bar the remnant vegetation unit , forming

juxtapositions and varying contrasts. However, most of the green fields are notconnected, such as the City Botanic Gardens and Roma Street Parklands. There is littleremnant vegetation surrounding the river near the city, however if more riparian vegetationwas in place the rivers water quality may improve and would most certainly promote safewildlife movement near the city.

One side of the city is swiped by a main road, which covers a riparian zone near the river and would most certainly detrimentally affect the sense of place within the city perimeter.Relocating the main road would possibly increase the sense of place to be more similar tonearby pocket suburbs and reduce city air pollution. As can be seen in the structure map,there is less Greenfield space in the focus area, with the Greenfield patches being


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Figure 18: Focus Area Attribute Table

In figure 18 it can be seen at the zoomed in scale that the matrix is broken up into smaller patches by roads intercepting, as most of the roads at the previous scale appeared to notclearly divide the matrix. Some of the medium to high density and greenfield patcheswere trimmed a little in the zoomed process, however most retained their original shape.


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4.2 FOCUS AREA LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE REDESIGN

Figure 19: Focus Area Redesign

This redesign (figure 19) represents a consolidation of ecology and human problemscaused by poor land clearing practices and poor road planning, it is a compromisebetween built environment and ecology. In summary the problems of the centralBrisbane area include: Lack of remnant vegetation, poor connectivity between eachremnant or greenfield patches, main road too close to the city, no defined city ring road todecrease vehicular traffic inside the CBD. Few large individual patches or corridorsprovide more habitat and diverse mico ecosystems within them than many small patchesor corridors. However, the Brisbane layout does not allow for large amounts of land to bealtered, instead I chose to form the large parallel corridor adjacent to the river to maximizediversity in a perpendicular restricted site. I have proposed riparian revegetation along

select areas of the Brisbane River, the diagonal hatching represents revegetation wherepossible. For example, there are medium to high density patches adjacent to the river which have gardens which could be eco-logically retrofitted with native regional ecosystemspecies, no buildings would need to be relocated for this retrofit. There are alsoareas where roads adjacent to the river could be narrowed to allow for even more room for revegetation. The nature-inspired riparian revegetation pattern flows with the and speciesflow river, many remnant and greenfield patches outside the focus area would benefit fromreshaping to be more linear with nature rather than just an afterthought. Many of theparks near the river are partly open and would benefit from a denser canopy to decreaseto level of sun exposure to people. The retrofit would allow wildlife to use the riversconduit the safely travel up and down the river with little risk of impediment from roads.

The revegeation would also improve stormwater runoff and the urban heat island effectwith improved infiltration and increased level of shading respectively.


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The two major gardens in the CBD are currently divided between each other by the citysmetropolis, I am proposing a main eco-axis down Albert Street to allow people and wildlifeto traverse through the CBD to gain relatively good access to either patch. To promotethe CBD to regain its original peninsular sense of place, I have proposed the main roadadjacent to the CBD to be relocated and completely placed underneath SouthBrisbane/Bank to retain their own sense of place. The relocation of this road would also

improve the air quality and ecology surrounding the city botanical garden to help recover its more historically natural placeness. It is also hoped from this redesign that estuaryecology will improve along the intertidal areas due to improved habitat and increased foodsupply. To help encapsulate the citys sense of place, I have proposed a small ring roadto circulate vehicular traffic on the perimeter of the CBD to decrease the dominance of theautomobile on the CBD culture and allow for better human circulation within the CBD.Complementing this ring road would be vehicular traffic control measures such closings of many carparks in the centre of the CBD and where appropriate roads closures inside thering road.

5.0 DESIGN DISCUSSION

5.1 USES OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Knowing the location of patches and corridors and the connectivity between them canassist a landscape architect in better understanding is spatially organized how thelandscape interacts between each element. The attributes of natural patches such astheir convolution can be used as an ideal ecological template for designing parks andbuffering zones in new suburban areas. Knowing how fauna move through patches andcorridors complements knowledge of landscape mosaics and helps assist landscape

architects to promote ecology to move through a dominant built environment.

By knowing the percentage of landscape units, it can provide statistical information toimprove the equality of unbalanced elements within a landscape or to prevent further monopoly of certain elements such as suburban sprawl or unnecessary roads. Featuresof patches such as boundary width can provide buffering areas for patches and a morediverse ecosystem within a natural patch. In the context of land planning management,Forman quotes think globally, plan regionally, and then act locally (p435, Forman (1995),instead of think globally, act locally. Adding to this Forman also quotes The perennialchallenges in planning, design and management of an area are not only to take a broadspatial view and a long temporal view, but also address all major environmental andhuman issues present (p436, Forman (1995). Together with this he states that on toomany occasions large areas of land are planned with only one primary object, suburbanresidential living is the primary object in many suburbs of Australia since industrialization.Forman finishes this argument by quoting By focusing on the preceding principles inlandscape and regional ecology the approach is broader, incorporating cultural,socioeconomic, aesthetic, and other human dimensions that are explicit, i.e., used inphysical planning, are schematically integrated .


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5.2 LIMITATIONS OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN

In reference to this particular report, the main concepts of landscape ecology can be usedon various different scales, however if government or council do not use these principles intheir town planning guidelines then developers will continue to develop landscapes thesame way which has resulted in the problems points highlighted in this report in 3.1 and4.1. Excluding politics from the limits of landscape ecology, the theory is limited toguessing from map reading. For example, there are many roads and natural/humansinks which on many resolution-restricted, non hybrid (without suburbs, roads and major nodes) maps cannot be generated. However, if a hybrid map was used then this couldbe overlaid over an aerial map to map these landscape features to map the sinks. Ingeneral however, there are few limitations to landscape ecology in terms of contradictionsand or impracticality. It though could prove to be a timely exercise though for somelandscape practices and therefore may not be done to reasonable level during a siteappraisal/analysis.

6.0 CONCLUSION

From the historical and geological history information to the landscape appraisals thisreport has documented how previous events have ultimately formed Brisbane as it isknown presently. The information generated from structure maps, network and flowdiagrams has developed a mosaic representation of the central Brisbane area as well asdeveloping a discussion about its spatial characteristics. By focusing on a particular quadrant of the central Brisbane map the same principles were applied to formulate astructure map, a network diagram and a proposed redesign. In summary, the redesignwithin the focus area represents an opportunity, not an unrealistic challenge, for futuredecision makers (mostly politicians) as well as landscape architects to better improveBrisbanes CBD to partly restore its ecology by integrating nature with the builtenvironment.


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7.0 REFERENCES

Bureau of Meteorology (2009). Climate statistics for Australian locations. Accessed25.5.09. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_040214.shtml

de Vries, S and J (2003). History Brisbane: Convict Settlement To River City. Brisbane:Pandanus Press.

EPA (2009) Regional Ecosystems Listing,http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/redd/listing.cgi . accessed 25.5.09.

EPA (2009). Regional Ecosystem Maps. Accessed 25.5.09.http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/biodiversity/regional_ecosystems/introduction_and_status/regional_ecosystem_maps/

Forman, R.T.T. (1995). Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Satherly, S. (2009). Lecture 1: Introduction to Landscape Ecology. Brisbane: QueenslandUniversity of Technology.

Willmott, W. (2004). Rocks and Landscapes of the National Parks of SouthernQueensland. Brisbane: Geological Society of Australia Incorporated, Queensland Division.

Brisbane Landscape Study

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Transcript of Brisbane Landscape Study