The planning and development of a district centre and the production of 'educated communities': the case of the Golden Grove development, South Australia

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Author(s)
Bosman, C
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2010
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Master planned communities are identifiable features in the Australian suburban landscape. Most of these residential developments include a district centre, comprising retail, commercial, cultural, leisure and educational services. These centres are often marketed as 'village centres' and key sites for the production of 'community'. Indeed, the name 'master planned community' implies the production of a tangible phenomenon: 'community'. I argue that community is not a tangible phenomenon that can be planned for and known. This argument is demonstrated using a case study of the Golden Grove Development. The aim of this study ...
View more >Master planned communities are identifiable features in the Australian suburban landscape. Most of these residential developments include a district centre, comprising retail, commercial, cultural, leisure and educational services. These centres are often marketed as 'village centres' and key sites for the production of 'community'. Indeed, the name 'master planned community' implies the production of a tangible phenomenon: 'community'. I argue that community is not a tangible phenomenon that can be planned for and known. This argument is demonstrated using a case study of the Golden Grove Development. The aim of this study is to acknowledge and contest suburban government. The paper illustrates how the Golden Grove district centre discourses worked or not to produce 'educated/good community' subjects. Quests by planners and developers to produce 'community' seem determined to survive. This paper highlights the need to recognise and acknowledge the meanings and values inherent in community discourses to inform more democratic planning practices.
View less >
View more >Master planned communities are identifiable features in the Australian suburban landscape. Most of these residential developments include a district centre, comprising retail, commercial, cultural, leisure and educational services. These centres are often marketed as 'village centres' and key sites for the production of 'community'. Indeed, the name 'master planned community' implies the production of a tangible phenomenon: 'community'. I argue that community is not a tangible phenomenon that can be planned for and known. This argument is demonstrated using a case study of the Golden Grove Development. The aim of this study is to acknowledge and contest suburban government. The paper illustrates how the Golden Grove district centre discourses worked or not to produce 'educated/good community' subjects. Quests by planners and developers to produce 'community' seem determined to survive. This paper highlights the need to recognise and acknowledge the meanings and values inherent in community discourses to inform more democratic planning practices.
View less >
Journal Title
Australian Planner
Volume
47
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2010 Planning Institute of Australia. This is the author-manuscript version of the article published in Australian Planner, Volume 47, Issue 1 March 2010 , pages 14 - 25. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.Please refer to the journal link for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Urban and regional planning
History and theory of the built environment (excl. architecture)