Brisbane Better Suburbs Initiative
Partnership with Brisbane City Council + Lord Mayor’s Better Suburbs Initiative.
Eight week Work Integrated Learning internship responding to the brief “How can a Brisbane creek be a catalyst for suburban renewal?”
Linger Longer
The Linger Longer project proposes a boardwalk strategy to enhance the accessibility and visibility of a hidden creek in Fig Tree Pocket. Running through parkland area this creek is bordered by the Centenary Highway, Brisbane River, and residential properties.
While the southern entry to the space is almost disguised by school sports fields, the creek within is teeming with wildlife and natural soundscapes, remaining largely unknown due to limited access and a lack of signage.
Current bike and pedestrian paths divert away from the creek, leaving visitors unaware of its presence. Despite this, worn desire paths indicate more interest in exploring the area.
Our solution illustrates a boardwalk running alongside and weaving through parts of the creek to form a journey, placing importance on lingering longer to boost the placemaking potential of this parkland and creek.
With the Brisbane Better Suburbs Initiative Board as a client, this project aims to present research and empirical findings on an untouched piece of Brisbane where a creek could serve as a catalyst for suburban placemaking.
This meant putting local experiences first, seeing first-hand how and when nearby residents interacted with the space. Allowing user activity guide project objectives gave insight into important natural features as well as what needed improvement.
We believe that lingering longer is paramount to everyone’s wellbeing, and can be linked to sustained community engagement with their natural surrounds, promoting positive mental health and physical health effects, and highlighting the creek as a resource in education about its importance.
