[Photo taken Boxing Day 2008]
Chief Minister Stanhope is rather chuffed that his Land Development Agency (LDA) has won the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) National Award for ‘Urban Renewal’ for the Kingston Foreshore Development.
- UDIA judges praised the innovative approach of the Kingston Foreshore Master Plan which integrated existing landmark buildings and aligned to the Griffin Plan.
The judges also commended the environmental sustainability of the site, its generous use of public space and amenities as well as the revitalisation of the old industrial precinct.
I’m sure it’s lovely down there but I was struck by this line:
- “As well as being a spectacular place to live, the Kingston Foreshore, which includes the harbour development, is quickly evolving into a fantastic tourist precinct, with waterfront parklands, boardwalks, cafes, restaurants and speciality retail outlets planned for the near future,” Mr Stanhope said.
Can anyone imagine a bored New Yorker (or even a Sydney sider), flipping through their travel leaflets, and saying “Oh my dahlink, there’s a mahvellous urban renewal project on the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin, tell Jeeves to cancel the trip to Aruba and we’ll go there instead”?.
At what level of the tourism market is the Kingston Foreshore going to be preferable to any of a million other places in this world?
Or are Canberrans trekking to an entertainment precinct from elsewhere in the city now tourists?
Or does he mean they’re going to deposit tourist buses there and hope they don’t hate it because they don’t have any choice anyway?