Handbook

Street Life Studies: Cambodia is an international, interdisciplinary urban design elective that places you, the student, on the streets of Phnom Penh and Sydney in collaboration with your Cambodian design colleagues. In these contrasting contexts, you will use quick hand drawing, data collection and digital post-production techniques to observe and analyse the dynamic layers of public street space: physical, behavioural and systematic. This on-field research will be used as evidence for the creation of an urban design proposal in response to a real-world challenge you have observed in the street sites. The proposal will focus on contributing to the creation of people-centred public street space that is vital and inclusive.

Phnom Penh streets are clear examples of diverse urban dwellers appropriating the public domain. In many Sydney streets, this kind of informal or unplanned activity is less apparent. What knowledge can be exchanged in comparing these contexts? How can we use interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration to expand this? How can we draw from both the formal and informal dynamics of street space? How might we as designers use observational research methodologies to meaningfully contribute to place-making processes?

This course runs across the December/January summer session and is open to undergraduate and postgraduate Built Environment students. Application is via an online EOI process followed by formal enrollment. Travel grants and financial support can be applied for however availability changes each year. Please contact the course convener for details. Further information and previous years coursework can be found at www.streetlifestudies.wordpress.com.