Urban planning shapes our emotional experiences of a city

As lockdown eases, the opportunity to reacquaint myself with Melbourne has renewed my appreciation for the quality of life this city affords me. It has also stirred me to consider the different ‘normals’ that people are returning to: the different levels of access, community participation, and qualities of life afforded to others.

I am reminded of the Map Room, an experiment in collaborative mapping that allowed St Louis residents to externalise their experiences of the city.

Over the course of a month, 29 groups – including school children, bike commuters, church and environmental groups – were asked to plot their realities on a map of the city: where they felt safe & unsafe, welcome & unwelcome.

Facilitators later overlaid data, provided by city planners, showing historical zoning practices, funding levels and differences in law enforcement.

Residents were invited to reflect on how their city had been systematically designed to provide some groups with certain comforts, while depriving others.

I encourage you to read the article written by the project’s Lead Artist and, as we each reintegrate back into our communities, to reflect on the invisible constructs that may have helped to assemble the ‘normal’ you will re-enter.