phase 1: street life observation

Phase one of the course asks students to undertake on-field analysis of urban streets in selected areas of Sydney and Phnom Penh. In interdisciplinary groups, students examine streets and the life they host through the lens of a chosen theme; slow cities, adaptable cities, porous cities or inclusive cities.

Through a series of observation and interview exercises, students use hand drawing and data collection to identify and deconstruct the physical, behavioural and systemic layers of each street environment. They interpret key patterns to consider the driving forces behind their findings and then communicate these using basic data visualisation techniques.

"Streets and their sidewalks-the main public places of a city-are its most vital organs."

Jane Jacobs (2016). “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, p.27, Vintage

“While architects and urban planners have been dealing with space, the other side of the coin – life – has often been forgotten.”

Gehl, J., & Svarre, B. (2013). How to study public life. Island press.