Quantifying Quality: A research project in collaboration with UTS
By Jordan Mathers
Meaning, Physical Form, Activity. These are the three key pillars of understanding character and place, according to Government Architect NSW. Physical Form and Activity could generally be understood as objective (truthful, measurable, fixed) while Meaning is subjective (opinionated, intuitive, ephemeral). This may seem like an imbalance, given two pillars are focused on objective and one subjective, however it’s likely that Meaning carries more weight, therefore matching the value and importance of the other two pillars equally.
Imagine, for instance, your favourite local place. Is it your favourite place because of the size and shape of buildings, the colour of materials, the cooling effect of trees, or have you not thought about this but know that it feels good to be here? The former is usually how people perceive places, a purely subconscious understanding that “this place is nice and therefore I like it”. That’s not to say that physical attributes and the level of activity do not play a factor in why you perceive that place as nice, but in fact they are supporting factors in establishing your subconscious approval of that place. That is why a healthy balance between subjective and objective analysis is key in establishing effective approaches to place-based urbanism.
Rhodes Central Bamboo Walk, Rhodes NSW
In developing local character statements for an entire Local Government Area (LGA) in Sydney, Ku-ring-gai, SJB was faced with an insurmountable complexity of analysis. To reduce this complexity, we used computational geo-spatial analysis tools to determine the objective attributes (Physical Form and Activity) so that we could spend more time and resources on the Meaning of place.
Several readily available government and open-source data sets were used to analyse and visually map various physical place attributes. By aggregating the data generated we could then determine similarities across the entire LGA, helping to define areas of likely comparable place attributes that would then become, with proof checks, the boundaries for local character statements. This allowed us to reduce time spent on the ground performing traditional site analysis, rapidly determining an understanding of the physical attributes, and instead focusing time and resources on ensuring the subjective qualities of place, generated from community engagement, were understood and able to influence the desired future character of those places.
Urban data analysis for Ku-ring-gai Local Character Study by SJB, 2021
Similarly, in developing analysis to inform a masterplan for a town centre in Sydney, computational geo-spatial analysis was used to reduce the complexity of the process and create benchmarks for future development that were realistic, achievable, and of their place. By comparing quantitative physical attributes across several town centres, the project was able to create a firmer understanding of the attributes that would have the greatest impact in creating a strong place identity. Analysing multiple attributes across multiple locations allowed deeper insight into the correlations between physical place characteristics, therefore enabling us to answer the question What do we need to do to make this place as good as this other great place? The answer was a series of data-informed recommendations about the extent of activation, density, tree canopy cover, and more.
The development of these methodologies is constantly evolving and shaping the way in which we apply quantitative approaches to place-based urbanism. However, the examples above only demonstrate a high-level understanding of objective place qualities which should only be used to reduce complexity and save time to focus on the subjective. As initially suggested, Meaning is the core factor in place as it is an individual, sub-conscious decision as to what makes a place great. Therefore, being able to determine much finer grain subjective qualities of place using data will enable us to create far more informed decisions that accurately represent human values.
Various physical attribute visualisations by SJB, 2020
Materiality, colour, noise, light, space, memory, culture. Being able to effectively map and associate places with these key qualitative factors would allow for a more refined understanding of the impact of development. This is the target of an ongoing research project by SJB, in collaboration with UTS, to Quantify Quality and uncover the true value of data in creating place-based urban responses that are informed by a subjective narrative.
Through the use of such data sets, it becomes possible to ascertain more accurate benchmarks for the future design of place, setting the minimum required thresholds for activation, greening, connectivity and density that are not purely driven by broad reaching government policies but by place-specific, responsive and realistically achievable needs.
The research project is enabled by an Innovation Connections grant and is targeted for completion by Mid 2023. The results of the research will be a series of journal articles, conference papers, presentations, and recommendations on integration with policy decision making. Be part of the research project by participating in this survey.
