Designed Outdoor Spaces and Greenery in a Brownfield Inner City Area: A Case Study from Sydney

Abstract

The concept of designed green outdoor spaces that can be included in inner-city Sydney residential areas has recently generated much interest among savvy developers and architects alike. Given the paucity of open park-like spaces in inner Sydney and the current drive for urban consolidation—though the concept has been endorsed—yet, the detailed implications of such green spaces in the design and layout of residential complexes have received less attention. Drawing on ‘architect-user’ interface for analysis, this article centres discussion around a study that was conducted at designed residential complexes with perimeter block configuration in an inner Sydney precinct. It uses a questionnaire survey, architects’ interviews and observations. T-tests for equality of means are carried out on use variables of outdoor spaces to find out whether there is a significant difference between the dwelling height groups and complex groups. A narrative of space use is then drawn in with the responses of involved architects. Some of the questions that we probe are the following: Do the users in particular higher density residential settings value thoughtfully designed spaces? Are designers aware of the users’ responses to the outdoor spaces? Given the fact that designers rarely revisit a completed project—is there congruence between the users’ perceptions of the outdoor spaces and the designers’ initial intentions? Results show that designed features and green spaces are equally effective in creating successful outdoor spaces.