Urban
Of all of the wonderful things I could say about riding the new Sydney Metro last, it was the public art that spoke to me.
Inspired by the theme 'Storyline', 19 artists were selected to create public art for the City and Southwest Metro line. This one below by Callum Morton at Gadigal is a stunning addition to Sydney with a beautiful sight line from the Park Street public domain.
These new cultural landmarks will surely become symbols of the city.
I’ve been wanting to visit Toronto, Ontario for years. Not only do I have some awesome friends living there, but with one of the most striking cityscapes in the world, I've been super keen to take a wander through its downtown streets.
Two weeks ago I boarded a Westjet flight from Gatwick and a few hours later as I was touching down at the Toronto Pearson. As I peered out the train window on my way into the city, I was struck by the size of its building's. With over 2,300 high rise towers, it's now the tallest city in North American behind New York.
But it was the CN Tower which stood out in particular. Not only is the building monstrous, but it stretches out of the city cluster with a super cool 1970s, retro swag.
After an initial building boom in the late 19th century, the '60s and '70s saw Toronto undergo its second major urban transformation. As the city refocused itself from manufacturing industries to the services economy, it began tower upwards, rather than just outwards.
Completed in 1976, the CN Tower became a symbol for the rise of Toronto as an innovative, global city and marked a new era in high rise development of the downtown.
Standing at over 550 m, the CN Tower held the record of the world’s tallest freestanding structure until the completion of the Canton Tower in 2009 and Burj Khalifa in 2010. For over 34 years it set the bar for tall buildings across the world.
As my friend Jesse Darling (who also happens to be a Toronto expert) and I ate and drank our way through the city's neighbourhoods, it wasn’t long before I asked if she’d be up for doing something "really, really touristy".
In just a matter of hours, we were on our way to the CN Tower observation deck to check out the city from above.
Looking down at Toronto below I could see the intricacy of the city's neighbourhoods, and the beauty of the natural landscape beyond. As towers flood the horizon and 100 more stand under construction, its clear to see the importance planning tall buildings carefully.
Not only can high-rise towers drastically change the look of a neighbourhood, but they can very quickly change the feel of one too. Characterful neighbourhoods which have evolved over many decades can suddenly take on a whole new vibe - often at stake of its old one.
At the same time however, when located carefully and designed well, tall buildings can add to the beauty and vibrancy of a a city, as well as provide people with needed homes and workspaces. As controversial as it may have been at the time, the CN Tower has - in my opinion - stood the test of time. And if anything else, gives locals a visual landmark and enables millions of visitors like me to admire the beauty of the city beyond.
Make sure you check out the YouTube video and photos below. Of course, if you love or hate the CN Tower, let me know in the comments section... Yew!
Photos, video and text all copyright Tom Oliver Payne. Music courtesy The Postal Service.
Taking good urban and architectural photos requires snap judgment to capture spontaneous city moments.
I usually find I get the best shots when I’m least expecting it – the light may looks particularly nice when I’m out to meet friends, or the roads may be emptier than normal on my way to work. But because carrying a big DSLR camera around can be pretty damn awkward, I’ve been waiting for the day that a camera phone is just as good in quality.
After hearing that EE was bringing out the Huawei P9 co-engineered with one of my favourite camera companies, Leica, I was super keen to try it out. Thanks to EE, it wasn’t long before I had one in my hands on one and was heading out for a day on my bike in London.
Riding towards Canary Wharf, I checked out some Brutalist architecture in London’s east end. From Balfron Tower to the Isle of Dogs, I meandered my way through dozens of estates, capturing the shapes of the concrete buildings around me.
Lying awkwardly in the grass, trying to get a photo of famous 1970s, Robin Hood Gardens, I was approached by an elderly man who told me that the buildings would soon to be demolished. I suddenly appreciated the ability to capture these buildings at this moment in time, right before the neighbourhood was to vanish… And who knows, the photos might even be worth money some day.
As I crossed into Canary Wharf, I was amazed by the sudden contrast from the 1970s concrete buildings I had just left to glass and steel now towering above me. I was now looking at some of Europe’s tallest skyscrapers - all mirroring the beautiful blue sky and fluffy clouds above. While I would never want to live or work in this financial district, I knew that when the sun was out – like it was today - it was an awesome place to photograph.
As I pointed the Huawei P9 towards the towering office blocks above, I appreciated the camera’s wide lens, which helped me to fit the enormous buildings in frame. This is something I’ve always used on my DSLR, but have never had the benefit of on a camera phone. And just like my camera, the P9 also comes with manual features like shutter speed and ISO, which enabled me to make the most of the heavy shadows over me when converting to black and white.
I soon found myself riding through London’s city centre, photographing the strange triangular shape of the Leadenhall Building, the dome-like roof of The Gherkin and the rugged rawness of the Barbican Estate. After a week of rain, I couldn't have asked for better weather to shoot in.
Towards Tower Bridge, I was confronted by a bottleneck of traffic, and soon realised that the bridge had risen to let a boat pass through. After years of living in this city, I’d never seen this old bridge open its gates.
Just as a cyclist rode ahead of me, the road over the bridge ahead lifted itself vertically. I quickly took out my phone and grabbed a shot of the man on his bike in front of the vertical road. As I looked at the photo I’d just taken, I realized how few people would have had the opportunity to capture such a moment. Standing in the middle of one of the world’s most famous bridges, I snapped a view that few others had seen. A spontaneous moment forever recorded - I was quickly falling in love with having a high quality camera phone.
As much as I love my DSLR, taking the P9 out for the day showed me that the concept of the camera phone has now been reinvented and can almost compete with even the best digital cameras. Unlike DSLRs however, it fits straight in my pocket, ready to capture any moment, at anytime. The marriage of EE’s super fast network and dual lens camera makes the Huawei P9 the perfect smart phone when I’m on the road and want to capture spontaneous moments.
All photos taken on the Huawei P9. In collaboration with EE, the 4G Network that’s 50% faster than O2, Vodafone and Three.
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National governments across the globe are showing a growing appreciation for the economic importance of cities. In taking an increasingly strategic approach to the development and management of powerful economic and cultural urban nodes, they’re attempting to diversify economies and invest money where it matters most. In the wake of the recession, this policy shift has been particularly strong in the UK.
Australia on the other hand, seems to be moving in the opposite direction. With the end of the resources boom in sight, perhaps it’s time ‘the lucky country’ took a long, hard look at its urban agenda. For hundreds of years, we’ve been obsessed with the nation-state paradigm. But the idea of inter-national coordination has largely failed. The United Nations has no teeth, every climate talk since Rio (1992) has failed to bring practical solutions, and the global recession has presented us with panicking national governments with little control over globalised economic systems.
With over half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, we’re seeing the emergence of a network that is more about action than stubborn nationalism. Operating across international borders, our global network of cities forms the economic and environmental collaboration that national governments cannot.
As Benjamin Barber has put it, national governments are based on “ideology”, while cities are all about “getting things done”. Cities are bound together by trade and economics, innovation and entrepreneurship, common attributes and common values. Cities are where things happen; national governments are where politicians talk.
The growing realisation of the importance of cities has sparked policy shifts worldwide: Korea is scaling-up regional city growth to diversify economic activity, Poland has recently developed a national urban strategy to become economically competitive with greater Europe, and Brazil has created a City Statute to give municipalities increased power and finance.
The UK has seen the development of a Cities Policy Unit and a host of new strategies that attempt to create a fundamental movement away from federal power to that of mayors and cities. The newly appointed Minister for Cities has called for a new era to create city systems and systems of cities. The former is concerned with equipping local leaders to strengthen productivity, liveability and sustainability outcomes, and the latter is about actively supporting urban networks as a whole, including connectivity and city specialisation. This includes investing into infrastructure such as broadband, high-speed rail and airports. The Technology Strategy Board has already made substantial investments into the Future Cities Demonstrator and Future Cities Catapult, which aim to enhance urban innovation.
With growing importance on the city scale, urban political leadership is now a hot topic. Charismatic mayors like Boris Johnson and George Ferguson are winning support by implementing real solutions to environmental and economic issues. Less focused on ideology and more focused on answers, its no wonder Johnson has been titled the most popular politician in Britain over his central government counterparts.
Tucked down on the other side of the world however, we’re seeing powers taken from Australian cities and mayors, rather than given to them. After almost a decade of developing a vibrant nighttime economy, Sydney Mayor Clover Moore’s work has been badly bruised by conservative state premier’s controversial new drinking laws. O’Farrell’s arbitrarily located restrictions are not supported by any research to indicate that they will reduce violence. Instead, they look to create late night transit chaos and hamper Sydney’s buzzing nightlife economy.
Rather than developing a strategy based on citywide coordination, it seems the new legislation was an opportunity for the state premier to simply flex his political might. While Mayor Clover Moore is about “getting things done”, O’Farrell’s policies are based on political gain.
Issues such as these are all too common in Australia. As underfunded local councils struggle to coordinate important planning processes with the powerful state governments above, planning and economic development remains an under-resourced, ad hoc process. Australia is in serious need of city systems and systems of cities strategies.
Just two years ago there was progress in making this happen. Australia’s previous government created the Major Cities Unitwhich outlined key long-term priorities for urban productivity and sustainability. Highly regarded by academia, as well as infrastructure, planning and property councils, the Unit showed promise for strategic city alignment, including investment into high-speed rail.
Today, all investment into the Unit has been withdrawn and momentum towards a national urban strategy has come to a halt. Not only does Prime Minister Tony Abbott have blatant disregard for the natural environment but he also struggles to see the importance of investing into research and long-term strategy, even when concerned with economic growth.
Australia remains plagued by a three-tiered governance structure that stifles coordination: citywide governance is fragmented (dozens of local councils with no metropolitan authority), local to state government relationships are a political battle, and federal intra-city investment is non-existent.
Countries affected by recession have worked to develop national policies to diversify industry and build economic resilience. In the meantime, Australia has stood back with its eyes closed. With the resource boom beginning to slow, perhaps now’s the time for Australia to rethink how its cities can develop and integrate into the growing global urban network.
This article was originally written for This Big City and is also available in Spanish.
Feature image courtesy This Big City.
The walled city became a largely ungoverned district of Hong Kong when the New Territories were given to Britain in the late 19th Century.
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I just got back from a few days in Paris. Perhaps the most recognisable features of the its urban landscape are its huge boulevards and symmetrical road networks.
Its large avenues, boulevard rings and urban squares are not a historical accident, but were part of a major plan to modernise the city in the 18th and 19th century with the radical plans of Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann. Funded by Napoléon III, The Haussmann Plan completely restructured Paris, giving it its present day form. Cutting through traditional alleyways, new rationally-designed boulevards and avenues and new open spaces established the foundation of what is now one of the most popular and highly regarded urbanist features of Paris.
Haussmann took a highly militarised approach to planning and has been criticised for the demographic and social effects of his urbanism operations. Even today, he is still seen as both a 'hero' and 'destroyer of Paris'. Looking back however, it seems to me that these major changes just 150 years ago have brought significant benefits to Paris - changes that would be virtually impossible to implement and fund today. In addition to their obvious function to create public spaces and increase pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle mobility, the boulevards create a beauty that few other cities in the world possess. These shots I took over the last two days illustrate the perfect uniformity created by the Haussmann Plan.
Photos by Tom Payne.
All photos by Tom Oliver Payne
