The Major Redevelopment of the Shopping District to the Suburb of Claremont, Western Australia - Term Paper Example

Name Course Instructor Date Abstract The essay focuses on the importance of heritage in relation to the suburb of Claremont, Western Australia. In particular the major redevelopment of the shopping district (Claremont village & Claremont quarter). The discussion is of the importance of heritage, its role & lack of integration in contemporary Claremont. Claremont used to be a key shopping and retail district, not so much anymore. Today it is mainly orientated for middle to higher socio-economic demographics. Not for the common man. Businesses such as Zenith music have remained untouched while smaller sole retailers have been heavily impacted upon. There were also plans submitted towards redeveloping the historically significant park adjacent to this shopping district. During the early 90's the Claremont murder cases occurred which would've been a major reason for the redevelopment taking place. By looking at the various heritage practices that were prevalent in old Claremont, an erosion of practices once common can be noted which has necessitated a new way of life for the contemporary generation. Assessing the impact of the redevelopment and integration of the contemporary society, the main underlying issues that were prevalent in the old Claremont have totally been disregarded leaving no connection between the old and the new Claremont. The paper shall also look into the new design of Claremont and its requirements. The redevelopment does not solely embody the negative as it attracts new investors, and promotes the safety and security of the people. The effect of which acts as a catalyst encouraging the activation of the ‘urban plaza’ and social forum. Contents 1.0 Background 2 2.0 Data Analysis 3 2.1Heritage Practices 3 2.2 Importance of Heritage Practices 3 3.0 Data Synthesis 6 3.1 Reasons for Redevelopment 6 4.0 Findings 8 4.1 Design Objectives 9 5.0 Critique 10 5.1 Lack of integration 10 5.2 Positive Effects of Redevelopment 11 5.3 Negative Effects of Redevelopment 11 6.0 Conclusion 12 Work cited 12 1.0 Background Claremont in Western Australia is sparsely populated and is one of the oldest suburbs characterized by old houses highly valued at high property prices. Pressure that led to redevelopment originated from the Western Australian state government which advocated for the increase in housing density owing to the fact that it is richly endowed with great public transport. Claremont’s heritage is always evolving as time passes since the community is continuously giving recognition to places that they consider important whereas the government is behind backing up the community in preservation of the heritage for the community’s enjoyment. The Claremont Redevelopment Plan is a means of regulating the development activities going on in Claremont study area and will promote the achievement of quality public health services, safety and well-being of the Claremont people (CRP, Par 1). 2.0 Data Analysis 2.1Heritage Practices Claremont has a variety of heritage places; i. The Claremont museum established in 1975 ii. Town Centre heritage trail iii. Built Environment Survey of 1991 aimed at identification of significant buildings, streetscapes, trees and sites important to the environmental character of Claremont town. The heritage places are significant to the Claremont people as they have different experiences in each of the places. They evoke varied emotions and this is what constitutes the preservation of culture. 2.2 Importance of Heritage Practices In understanding the story of Australia, its history and identity is an important area of study (HCSHO, par 1). Heritage has the immense capability of incorporating the tangible and intangible aspects and is prevalent in different forms such as buildings and its contents, landmarks and places, spaces and the stories associated with all of them. Culture is responsible for creating a connection attached to given social beliefs, religions, values and customs that allows one to identify with his surroundings and similar backgrounds which creates a sense of unity and belonging that enables better and in-depth understanding of their history and their predecessors’ generation. The community has the responsibility of identifying what they consider important and valuable to them, respect it and later pass it on to future generations. The retention and proper management of the places considered as heritage play a role in the protection and conservation of the environment and the maintenance of local economies. Such maintenance involves a substantial amount of both effort and financial energy. The heritage places also contribute to ensuring a sustainable quality of life and preserving cultural identities of the communities. The proper usage of heritage places play an important role in assisting local governments through creation of job opportunities and generate tourism income. In the period 2009-2010, Claremont shopping district in a large portion was demolished and later rebuilt. Claremont is famously known for its built environment and natural assets. A great number of shops such as St Quentin Avenue and Bay View were all demolished in order to make room for new malls and apartments. Claremont arcade which was built in the 1970s served as a link between the supermarket and over two dozens of small shops. A park bench was located at the entry where people often tied their dogs as they walked to the arcade and would take quick glances to ensure their dogs were safe. This was an example of how people made use of their surroundings that enriched street life and contributed to Claremont’s poetics (Harris, p.26). The few aspects of life such as walking constitute a major dimension of heritage in Claremont. In the early stages, preservation efforts were focused on networking in footpaths in the rural areas. In 1824, The Association for the Protection of Ancient Footpaths was established in New York. Its main aim was to safeguard the working class people accessing the rural areas and have a reprieve from the highly industrialized and polluted cities. The emphasis placed on built environment has led to the loss of appreciation and preservation of heritage protection. Early preservation focused on footpaths sheds light on a historic link that has now been slowly eroded by gaps emerging from contemporary art and themes. Before the demolition of Claremont in early 2009, Claremont Museum did an in-depth oral history recording which revealed loss in aspects of heritage. The analysis done however highlights major problems that come with heritage associated work and its shortcomings in failing to respond to the everyday poetics. Recorded interviews provided by the museum largely covers the histories of Claremont Arcade small shops and staff experiences. They however do not include customer experiences and the little they do touches on the lost uses of the district. The Sunflower Chinese restaurant for instance was popularized by its balcony. Meal times were characterized by people who loved to sit by the balcony to enjoy the breeze from the lovely weather and watch people walking down the street. This would be among the things that would be missed after demolition (Harris, p.33). In making visits to the periodontist, mothers would more often than not indulge in shopping activities while the children visited the periodontist. The proximity and interconnectedness would give the mother an opportunity to focus on her appearance. The combination of essential services that were placed side by side such as bakeries and doctors with luxury shopping would ease up the daily schedules. The redevelopment of Claremont is unlikely to adopt this old method and the link for instance in this example between a periodontist and luxury boutique is lost. For a considerable amount of years, people would walk in a road characterized by potholes and a messy car park which was a link between Fosseys, a discount store and the David Jones department store located in the Claremont shopping Centre. The footpath was necessitated the users to negotiate with ongoing traffic whilst walking along St Quentin Avenue, climb a couple of stairs, cross another arcade to eventually enter the department store. The other alternative to getting to the said destination involved jumping down a wall to the entrance of an underground car park to enter David Jones. This was seen as a quicker method at arriving there but was quite risky. This was a unique aspect of Claremont shopping which had taken over a century to be built and the usage of the area in this way had a reflection on the varied building codes and architectural designs. 3.0 Data Synthesis 3.1 Reasons for Redevelopment In a bid to revitalize their cities, many communities go to great lengths to realize these dreams such as the destruction of abandoned homes or development of high speed rails in the middle of a neighborhood (Davis, par 1). Some of the common reasons are; i. Historic preservation- in order to capitalize on a country’s history, dilapidated buildings can be remodeled and the removal of blighted structures which attracts tourism dollars and boosts the economy. ii. Clearance of slums-demolition and revitalization of slum areas creates a new sense of interest in the city iii. Crime reduction- redevelopment comes with the designing of new generation buildings with the help of technology that guarantee safety and security. This creates a decline in crimes throughout. iv. Economic vibrancy-the introduction of new housing complex revitalize the city and creates jobs to the contracted workers lowering the unemployment level. Between 1980 and 2000, Claremont had faced a number of challenges that saw a decrease in population by 9 percent. By the year 2002, it was forced to carry out a demolition process of dozens of blighted buildings and remove over 150 houses that posed a threat to the inhabitants’ safety and health (Merrill, par 2). This caused a depletion in the municipal funds that led to the decision to invest in the town Centre by purchasing the Farwell Block. This was aimed at financing the new Opera House Square and encourage private investments. Claremont, with infrastructure in a bad state, they had to invest in roads in order to attract private investors. A creation of a tax increment finance system was invented to support the infrastructure development project. This led to the creation of around 160 jobs (Merrill, par 3) and a significant increase in population was noted by 2010. For the success of this project, the presence of a partnership was highly valuable as he would be instrumental in cost sharing to speed up the process, assist in the management functions and contribute in decision making. In making comparisons between the old and new Claremont a collapse in old heritage practices can be witnessed. Cultural heritage is considered to carry intangible aspects of culture that do not rely on the geographical location. The old Claremont is known for accretion, pedestrian movement and rough edges. Majority of the buildings in Claremont over the twentieth century were not conformed to a harmonious style. The buildings are quite visible and are pleasing to the eye. It is also characterized by old colonial constructions laced with limber verandas while the buildings have upper stories decorated with the orange brick shops from the 1970s. Majority of the planners in the nineteenth century aim at controlling the cities and making them more intelligent and legible by formulating new policies and scrapping some forms of behavior. The redevelopment plan had a design that merged Claremont Quarter and end up with a relaxed, flexible and dynamic environment with the ability to provide the shoppers with a new shopping lifestyle that emphasized on community and leisure then retail. The community element has failed in development while the consumers’ movement into the mall has been rendered useless by the existing streets. The new style of wheeling shopping trolleys to their cars in the underground parking from the supermarket is definitely much safer than jumping of a fixed ramp from the supermarket to the parking areas. The old ramp had strenuous activity that had an element of humor specific to this particular shopping center. It is however been lost with the redevelopment project. There are a variety of reasons as to why there is a gap between the old heritage practices and the contemporary art. Much of the heritage practices has been deeply centered on the visual qualities of the built environment. When evaluating on the interconnectedness, the aspects of the contemporary art such as cinemas, televisions, computers, leisure and tourism it was expected that the heritage practice would find it easier to respond to contemporary art. For instance, the early footpath movement was expected to retain its power in the heritage practice which would be of focus but did not turn to an eventuality. (Rosenberg, p. 131) theorizes a walking place as central in trying to understand the contemporary memorials. She says that the memory evokes certain emotions and is mediated by the relationship that links the physical place to the walking practice. Emphasis on the heritage practices of a place or person gives a perception based on the experience of the place. (Tiwari, p. 28) acknowledges that the authenticity of the experiences will come to life only when the subject and object are merged to become one. There are also places where liminal and transgressive experiences occur that will enable bodies to experience beyond the familiar settings. 4.0 Findings The redevelopment plan is designed to meet certain goals and objectives; i. Eliminate Constraints to Redevelopment and Open New Window for Development ii. Coordination of activities surrounding redevelopment activities so as to have an organized plan on constraints and reinforcing renewal programs. iii. Provision of additional revenue by developing lands already contributing to revenue iv. Encourage proper reuse of the abandoned rail rights which may otherwise remain unused v. Avail land for accommodation of the growing desire for industrial space vi. Creation of employment both skilled and semi-skilled accessible to areas experiencing below average levels of employment. vii. Creation of a vehicle-oriented circulation system allowing efficient movement to and fro the site. viii. Necessitating site improvements such as new improvements e.g. sidewalks, new streets and landscaped areas. ix. Encourage the usage of public transportation and easy access in the area x. Increase the opportunities that allow for the construction of new housing activities xi. Promote equitable development in compliance with the Fair Housing Act 4.1 Design Objectives Proper considerations with regards to air, lighting, open space, access to private and public rights of way, off street parking must be complied with as far as location. Related buildings should also be designed in an architectural style in such a way that presents a harmonious appearance. The design of buildings should be attractive and appealing from all points. Proper circulation and loading of systems should be the uniform format followed by group buildings. All structures, from the adjacent New Jersey Turnpike, shall provide aesthetic consideration of their visibility. Adequate screening of all rooftop mechanical systems. In compliance with the Uniform Construction Code, the physically disabled shall be required to fully access at a minimum, a barrier free design. The new redeveloped is characterized by completion, smoothness, pedestrian direction and stylistic unity. The residents refer to it as a ‘non-place’ as it has few windows and balconies designed for upper stories were disregarded. The new Claremont Quarter is designed in such a way that limits the options of interconnectedness like in the previous example of a periodontist and a mother engaging in luxury shopping. The architects of the new design emphasized more on idealized suburbs and totally disregarded the historic village. It is clearly evidenced by the new town square construction which displaces the Claremont bric. The aim of the redevelopment project is to attract tourism dollars. A redevelopment plan meant for Claremont Showground aims at creating extensive car parking, commercial office space and eliminate residential development (Wilkie, par 1). 5.0 Critique 5.1 Lack of integration The experiences as defined by (Tiwari, p. 28) that enabled the body to experience beyond familiar settings. The redeveloped Claremont does not offer such a possibility neither is it permitted compared to the Old Claremont. The old Claremont streets and lanes were dangerously used nevertheless very inventive methods in the way took groceries to their cars in the underground car parking area. With the new developments, a shopping trolley wheels belongings onto a travellator ramp up to the basement parking area. Although safe, the experience cannot be compared to the old Claremont. The old Claremont shopping district that was demolished and rebuilt to make room for upcoming new mall and apartments was such a drastic change that movement around the area was disrupted. The old shops such as St Quentin Avenue and Bay View Terrace that occupied key streets were demolished. This caused a change in the usage of the precinct in a totally different way that led to the closure of several businesses due to lack of custom. The Claremont Quarter which is the new development erased old poetics and incorporated new architecture. They also came with directing visitors in a largely planned and coordinated setting dictating on how visitors shall move around. In comparison to the old Claremont, rough accretion of walls that took a long period of time to construct that offered the visitors a variety of possibilities in how they would use the area. The total disregard of heritage practices is quite evident here. 5.2 Positive Effects of Redevelopment i. More job opportunities. There will be development of new cultures, recreational opportunities as well as shopping experiences in the community. This will be due to the construction jobs brought about by the development of new buildings, new infrastructure projects and remodeling of old buildings. ii. Influx of investment activities as a result of the redevelopment program which will lead to economic growth of the economy hence provision of public services high in quality. iii. Improved security, safety and general welfare of the general environment not only in Claremont but also adjacent and related areas. 5.3 Negative Effects of Redevelopment i. The required infrastructure to support housing developments could have impacts on the environment ii. Breathing space which is crucial will be lost that separates the village from the city iii. The character of Claremont will be drastically changed that it would be hard to recognize iv. An important and historic aspect unique to the Claremont people will be lost 6.0 Conclusion Claremont saw a disruption and erosion of the town’s heritage practices within the period of redevelopment. Visiting the shopping center is no longer the same and does not evoke old memories as the entire experience once felt has completely changed. This also includes the areas that did not face demolition as the patterns of usage by the shopping population keeps shifting east to west. The renovation of new streets encourages people to return and witness the new fascinating aspects but the old ones that create a link are gone hence making it difficult to create a connection. Before redevelopment, a strong stand should have been made by the heritage practitioners who would have insisted on maintaining heritage practices which could preserve old experiences and created a link with the newly developed Claremont. Redevelopment however does not come all packed in negativity as there are some benefits accrued from the project. Investments have been on a rising trend, creation of employment opportunities as well as increased safety are some of them. Work cited Claremont Redevelopment Plan. 2005 Print 23 May. 2016 Davis Jamaal. 5 Reasons Why Urban Renewal is so Important to the City of Richmond Virginia. The Global Grid. Richmond, Virginia 2016 Web. 23 May. 2016 Harris Jennifer. The Poetics of Claremont is Disrupted. Reflections: Journal of Built Environment Research 2012 Print 23 May 2016 Heritage Council State Heritage Office (HCSHO). Government of Western Australia. 2016 Web. 23 May. 2016 Merrill Nancy. Claremont Looks to the Future. City of Claremont, New Hampshire. 2014 Print 23 May 2016 North Weald Airfield Users Group. 2004 Web 23 May. 2016 Rosenberg Elissa. Walking in the City: Memory and Place. The Journal of Architecture, Vol 17 No 1 p 131-149. 2012 Print 23 May. 2016 Tiwari Reena. Space-body-ritual: Performativity in the City. Perth. Thesis (Ph.D.) Curtin University of Technology. 2003 Print 23 May. 2016 Wilkie Dan. Claremont Playground Set for Major Revamp. Business News Western Australia. 2014 Web 23 May. 2016 Read More