The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a design by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913.
The city's design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title "bush capital". Although the growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the World Wars and the Great Depression, it emerged as a thriving city after World War II.
Canberra is a planned city that was originally designed by Walter Burley Griffin, a major 20th century American architect.[53] Major roads follow a wheel-and-spoke pattern rather than a grid.[54] The city centre is laid out on two perpendicular axes: a water axis stretching along Lake Burley Griffin, and a ceremonial land axis stretching from Parliament House on Capital Hill north-eastward along ANZAC Parade to the Australian War Memorial at the foot of Mt Ainslie.[55]
The area known as the Parliamentary Triangle is formed by three of Burley Griffin's axes, stretching from Capital Hill along Commonwealth Avenue to the Civic Centre around City Hill, along Constitution Avenue to the Defence precinct on Russell Hill, and along Kings Avenue back to Capital Hill.[55]
The larger scheme of Canberra's layout is based on the three peaks surrounding the city, Mt. Ainslie, Black Mountain, and Red Hill. The main symmetrical axis of the city is along ANZAC Parade and roughly[56] on the line[57] between Mt.Ainslie and Bimberi Peak. Bimberi Peak being the highest mountain in the ACT approximately 52 km south west of Canberra. The precise alignment of ANZAC parade is between Mt. Ainslie and Capital Hill (formally Kurrajong Hill).
The Griffins assigned spiritual values to Mt. Ainslie, Black Mountain, and Red Hill and originally planned to cover each of these in flowers. That way each hill would be covered with a single, primary color which represented its spiritual value. This part of their plan never came to fruition. In fact, WWI interrupted the construction and some conflicts after the war made it a difficult process for the Griffins. Nevertheless, Canberra stands as an exemplary city design and is located halfway between the ski slopes and the beach. It enjoys a natural cooling from geophysical factors.
The urban areas of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs as well as other industrial areas and villages. There are seven districts, each of which is divided into smaller suburbs, and most of which have a town centre which is the focus of commercial and social activities. The districts were settled in the following chronological order:
North Canberra, mostly settled in the 1920s and '30s, with expansion up to the 1960s, now 14 suburbs
South Canberra, settled from the 1920s to '60s, 13 suburbs
Woden Valley, first settled in 1963, 12 suburbs
Belconnen, first settled in 1967, 25 suburbs
Weston Creek, settled in 1969, 8 suburbs
Tuggeranong, settled in 1974, 19 suburbs
Gungahlin, settled in the early 1990s, 18 suburbs although only 12 are developed or under development
Molonglo, development to begin in 2009, 12 suburbs planned.
The North and South Canberra districts are substantially based on Walter Burley Griffin's designs.[citation needed] In 1967 the then National Capital Development Commission adopted the "Y Plan" which laid out future urban development in Canberra around a series of central shopping and commercial area known as the 'town centres' linked by freeways, the layout of which roughly resembled the shape of the letter Y,[58] with Tuggeranong at the base of the Y and Belconnen and Gungahlin located at the ends of the arms of the Y.[58]
Development in Canberra has been closely regulated by government, both through the town planning process, but also through the use of crown lease terms that have tightly limited the use of parcels of land. All land in the ACT is held on 99 year leases from the national government, although most leases are now administered by the Territory government.
Most suburbs have their own local shops, and are located close to a larger shopping centre serving a group of suburbs. Community facilities and schools are often also located near local shops or group shopping centres. Many of Canberra's suburbs are named after former Prime Ministers, famous Australians, early settlers, or use Aboriginal words for their title.
Street names typically follow a particular theme; for example, the streets of Duffy are named after Australian dams and reservoirs, the streets of Dunlop are named after Australian inventions, inventors and artists and the streets of Page are named after biologists and naturalists. Most diplomatic missions are located in the suburbs of Yarralumla, Deakin and O'Malley. There are three light industrial areas: the suburbs of Fyshwick, Mitchell and Hume. (Source: Wikipédia )
The area known as the Parliamentary Triangle is formed by three of Burley Griffin's axes, stretching from Capital Hill along Commonwealth Avenue to the Civic Centre around City Hill, along Constitution Avenue to the Defence precinct on Russell Hill, and along Kings Avenue back to Capital Hill.[55]
The larger scheme of Canberra's layout is based on the three peaks surrounding the city, Mt. Ainslie, Black Mountain, and Red Hill. The main symmetrical axis of the city is along ANZAC Parade and roughly[56] on the line[57] between Mt.Ainslie and Bimberi Peak. Bimberi Peak being the highest mountain in the ACT approximately 52 km south west of Canberra. The precise alignment of ANZAC parade is between Mt. Ainslie and Capital Hill (formally Kurrajong Hill).
The Griffins assigned spiritual values to Mt. Ainslie, Black Mountain, and Red Hill and originally planned to cover each of these in flowers. That way each hill would be covered with a single, primary color which represented its spiritual value. This part of their plan never came to fruition. In fact, WWI interrupted the construction and some conflicts after the war made it a difficult process for the Griffins. Nevertheless, Canberra stands as an exemplary city design and is located halfway between the ski slopes and the beach. It enjoys a natural cooling from geophysical factors.
The urban areas of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs as well as other industrial areas and villages. There are seven districts, each of which is divided into smaller suburbs, and most of which have a town centre which is the focus of commercial and social activities. The districts were settled in the following chronological order:
North Canberra, mostly settled in the 1920s and '30s, with expansion up to the 1960s, now 14 suburbs
South Canberra, settled from the 1920s to '60s, 13 suburbs
Woden Valley, first settled in 1963, 12 suburbs
Belconnen, first settled in 1967, 25 suburbs
Weston Creek, settled in 1969, 8 suburbs
Tuggeranong, settled in 1974, 19 suburbs
Gungahlin, settled in the early 1990s, 18 suburbs although only 12 are developed or under development
Molonglo, development to begin in 2009, 12 suburbs planned.
The North and South Canberra districts are substantially based on Walter Burley Griffin's designs.[citation needed] In 1967 the then National Capital Development Commission adopted the "Y Plan" which laid out future urban development in Canberra around a series of central shopping and commercial area known as the 'town centres' linked by freeways, the layout of which roughly resembled the shape of the letter Y,[58] with Tuggeranong at the base of the Y and Belconnen and Gungahlin located at the ends of the arms of the Y.[58]
Development in Canberra has been closely regulated by government, both through the town planning process, but also through the use of crown lease terms that have tightly limited the use of parcels of land. All land in the ACT is held on 99 year leases from the national government, although most leases are now administered by the Territory government.
Most suburbs have their own local shops, and are located close to a larger shopping centre serving a group of suburbs. Community facilities and schools are often also located near local shops or group shopping centres. Many of Canberra's suburbs are named after former Prime Ministers, famous Australians, early settlers, or use Aboriginal words for their title.
Street names typically follow a particular theme; for example, the streets of Duffy are named after Australian dams and reservoirs, the streets of Dunlop are named after Australian inventions, inventors and artists and the streets of Page are named after biologists and naturalists. Most diplomatic missions are located in the suburbs of Yarralumla, Deakin and O'Malley. There are three light industrial areas: the suburbs of Fyshwick, Mitchell and Hume. (Source: Wikipédia )
Source: Google Maps
