Rethinking public space, with Caroline Butler-Bowdon
Caroline is the Executive Director, Public Spaces at NSW Department of Planning and Environment and an Executive Committee Member at ICOMOS. She has 20-years’ experience in large public organisations including 12 years at Sydney Living Museums. She holds a PhD in Architecture, Urban History & Development.
What do you love about cities?
I love cities – they are incredible hubs of life. Great public spaces are the foundation of great cities. They're where public life happens, where people come together, but they're also places where people can seek quiet too.
What changes have you seen in cities over the past 20 years that matter the most to you?
The demand for access, amenity and walkability is a huge shift away from the suburbanisation trends of past generations.
We’re also seeing more nature-based solutions, complementing the movement to humanise our cities, and sustainable cities will be the defining feature of the 21st century.
That's why the 20-minute city movement, or the 10-minute city movement, resonate with people.
Tell us about a project/s you’ve worked on that has been most important to you?
The program of work at the NSW Department of Planning & Environment Public Spaces Division is about investment in public space and terrific new parks. We talk about more, better, and activated parks. More as in new public spaces. Better as in how to improve the quality of public spaces. And activated as in making them attractive to the widest audience. We are proud of the research, evidence-based decisions and experiments underway. As a historian, I want people to look back and see the investment we made in public spaces during the pandemic.To be a great ancestor for future generations, what does our sector need to focus on today?
Three things we should keep in mind.
How can we bring the greatest flexibility to our public spaces? To help respond to future needs and climate change.
Legacy. What are we building now that is useful and enjoyable in 10 years, 20 years, or 100 years?
We need a narrative about the value of public space. We need evidence and research to show that public space is central infrastructure just like hospitals, schools, and roads.
What does our system need to change or amplify?
I think it comes back to my last comment about public space being considered essential infrastructure. Parks, libraries and museums are essential for community wellbeing, for physical health, for a strong economy, and for identity and character in neighbourhoods. They are where communities are created.
“I often say that the great public spaces are where people get their joy in their week. ”
What do you do as a practitioner to help elevate and amplify these ideas?
We have a combination of different disciplines at the table to get richness of discussion and push each other. We are evidence-based. We go to the evidence that tells us about walkability, accessibility, quality, and makes us citizen led.
What's one piece of advice you would give to emerging urban leaders?
Seek work that brings together a range of disciplines, and people from different walks of life and different experiences. Always make sure that there is that diversity at the table. Read widely, view widely, and every day seek out new ideas from across the globe. Assume there’s new solutions and new ways of doing things.
Any last words?
I often say that the great public spaces are where people get their joy in their week. It's where they take their dog to be walked; their children to play; where they might go for a run. It's access to a great library where they can find solitude and opportunity to read. But it's also where they might visit a museum and feel uplifted by art. The true foundation of great cities are its public spaces and its public institutions.
