Canberra in 2029: David Caffery
Posted on
We’re a cool little capital with big ideas. But does pride come before a fall?
We asked three locals—with very different perspectives—to imagine what Canberra will look like in 2029.
By 2029, today’s cultural turn will be known across the country. Canberra’s last five years of change have made this clear: we’re winning the war on boring.
Canberra will be a soulful city, infilled with hundreds of hotspots and passionate people.
Our serene and bushy character will stay. For this, we must defend the soul of Canberra from simplifying forces like corporate culture and stupid politics up the hill. We can shine without them.
The spirit of First Nations people will be better understood and imbued into the void many people feel today. Society’s unsustainable consumption and depression will learn from traditions and values we have blindly ignored.
Art, Not Apart. Credit: Martin Ollman.
Homelessness must be solved. Cities do not have high living standards if their people don’t have a home. We should not be numb to poor souls in the streets.
Artists will fill the city with work we can all feel. Weird will be celebrated, but it must evoke emotion in more than an arts crowd. This will help everyday Canberrans be proud of our artists who, in turn, will speak for us across the country.
New CBD planning laws will allow the co-habitation of vibrant lifestyles and apartments.
Places like NewActon will finally be able to host live music on Friday afternoons. Hopefully, the Northbourne corridor won’t have built archaic laws into bricks and mortar…a silent but deadly risk. Unlike in Sydney, music might survive.
Credit: Martin Ollman.
And developers’ lame marketing and crap architecture will be scars on a skyline we begin to like.
With all these layers, culture may thrive. In a decade, our art and architecture may articulate the soul of our city. I think culture is the many connections of our inside and outside, of our emotions and spaces.
In 2029, if we are bold and passionate, they will finally ignite. Then we’ll have a cool city.
READ CATHERINE CARTER’S TAKE ON CANBERRA IN 2029 HERE.
This article originally appeared in Magazine: FALL for Autumn/Winter 2019, available for free while stocks last. Find out more about Magazine here.
Love Magazine?
You can support its production by becoming a patron, which gives you access to exclusive rewards. Find out more on our Patreon page.
Leave a Reply