Austin Lane enhancement

The human scale seems to be something us town planners in the Top End have never been overly concerned with. Our residential suburbs prescribe large setbacks and our CBD is sprinkled, somewhat randomly, with tall towers next to low rise buildings. Laneways are few and far between and the city seems to be plagued with supersized tenancies.

But the upgrades to Austin Lane and Spain Place currently being undertaken by the NT Government and City of Darwin indicate that we may have clued on. With its narrow laneways and art-covered buildings, this area is one of the rare places in the CBD where a human scale exits. And whilst the works to the laneways have not yet been completed, it will be interesting to see how the pedestrian friendly design and expanded alfresco areas will continue to increase vibrancy within the CBD. No doubt, hole-in-the-wall cafes and bars will continue to pop up in the area, as the human scale seems to attract commercial success. Moorish has already jumped on the opportunity, with a development application currently on public exhibition for a small bar addition opening onto Spain Place. Good Thanks Burgers has also addressed Spain Place with an additional table and seating which adds to the overall activity in the laneway.  

The upgrades are not a project MasterPlan have been directly involved with and it’s not a project we’ve had any work come out of. But as town planners, and as pedestrians of this beautiful city, we’re eager to call out good urban design and attention to the human scale when we see it.

 

For more info see here https://dipl.nt.gov.au/projects/austin-lane-enhancement