Walter Burley Griffin is Dead: Long Live Walter Burley Griffin's Planning Ideals!

Abstract

In 2010 the ACT Government commenced a major public consultation exercise called “Time to Talk—Canberra 2030” on Canberra's long-term future as part of developing a new strategy plan for Canberra. In this context, the then ACT Planning Minister, Andrew Barr MLA, published a short article on his personal website proclaiming that Walter Burley Griffin is dead. According to Barr, Griffin has not had any involvement in the planning and development of Canberra since 1920 and that his plans for the city were never really implemented. Barr stated Griffin's ideals should not be “re-interpreted” and we “should not be casting back a century for answers to Canberra's contemporary challenges” because “Griffin could never have foreseen the changes in lifestyles that technology has delivered and that climate change will require”. Barr bemoaned the fact that Griffin's legacy continues to dominate debate about the future of Canberra and that Griffin is still held in high regard in Canberra planning circles. Barr argued therefore, that it was time to move beyond Griffin's planning legacy. Despite the fact that no planner can ever clearly foresee the changes the future brings, there are several good reasons why Griffin's planning ideals continue to pervade Canberra's planning. This article explores two of Griffin's planning ideals for Canberra and how they have endured in the development of two of Canberra's strategic plans. The article argues that these planning ideals still have currency today and will continue to have currency well into the future.

2010年澳大利亚首都领地（ACT）政府启动了一项大型公共咨询，名为 “谈话时间 —— 堪培拉2030”。作为堪培拉新策略规划的一部分，这一活动旨在讨论堪培拉的长远未来。时任 ACT 规划部长的安德鲁 . 巴尔（Andrew Barr）在其私人网站上发表了一篇短文，称沃尔特 . 伯雷 . 格里芬（Walter Burley Griffin）已经死去。巴尔说，自1920 年后，格里芬就从未参与过堪 培拉的规划和开发，而他为这个城市做的规划，也从未付诸实施。巴尔指出我们不应 “重新解读” 格里芬的理想， “不要向 100 前寻找堪培拉当下难题的解答”，因为 “格里芬不可能预见到技术发展所赋予的、气候变化所要求的生活方式的改变”。巴尔认为，关于堪培拉未来的讨论至今仍由格里芬的遗产所主导，堪培拉的规划界仍然对格里芬推崇有加，实乃悲剧。他说，我们应该超越格里芬的规划遗产了。尽管任何一位规划者都不可能清晰预见未来的变化，但格里芬的规划理想至今在堪培拉的规划界非常流行，总有其道理。本文从两个方面探讨格里芬为堪培拉提出的规划理想，并说明他们为什么能经历堪培拉两轮战略规划而经久不衰。本文认为这些 规划理想至今仍有价值，而且在将来也仍然有价值。

Keywords:

• Canberra
• Walter Burley Griffin
• Peter Harrison
• National Capital Development Commission

Acknowledgements

The generosity of the National Capital Authority in providing the images and permission to reproduce them is greatly appreciated.

Notes

1. Ed Wensing is an experienced urban planner, strategic thinker and public policy analyst and he has lived and worked in Canberra for sixty years. These are his personal views.

2. See also Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development (2008), Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (2009), and the Western Australian Planning Commission (2010).

3. Since Andrew Barr made his comments in 2010, the ACT Government has released a new Planning Strategy for the ACT (ACT Government Environment & Sustainable Development Directorate, 2012) but space limitations preclude an analysis of that plan here.

4. Barton is one of the suburbs in inner south Canberra adjacent to the Parliamentary Triangle.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ed Wensing

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