Fluid City

Fluid City traces the transformation of the urban waterfront of Melbourne, the re-vitalization of the Yarra River waterfront, Melbourne Docklands and Port Philip Bay. As the financial and industrial centre of Australia, in the late nineteenth century, Melbourne developed a new world exuberance. Yet the twentieth century saw Melbourne suffering from a declining industrial and economic base. The city in the 1980s was de-industrialising, and the re-facing of the city to the water was a key urban strategy of the 1980s and 90s and a catalyst for economic transformation. This book bridges significant gaps between different discourses about the city and to challenge singular ways of viewing the city.

Kim Dovey is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Melbourne. Educated at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Melbourne and Curtin University, he has also taught at RMIT and UC Berkeley. Professor Dovey has been engaged for over 20 years in research in social and cultural issues in architecture and urban design. He has also broadcast widely in the mass media and is a recipient of the RAIA Award for Architecture in the Media. He has published on a broad range of issues encompassing the structure and meaning of architecture and urban design.

Introduction. 1. Flows Part 1 Riverscapes 2. Riverscapes I - Overview 3. Riverscapes II - Precincts and Projects 4. Appropriations 5. Urban Living 6. Federation Part 2 Dockscapes 7. Dockscapes I - Overview Phase I: Kick-starting Phase II: Docklands 8. Dockscapes II - Precincts and Projects 9. Grollo Tower 10. Hype and Hope 11. Constructing Desires Part 3 Bayscapes 12. Creating and Defending Urban Character 13. Loose Ends. Bibliography. Index