Multiple Approaches to Cultural Planning

Multiculturalism, for many Australians is manifested in what they eat. To most of us it is China Towns, Little Italy’s and other such grouping of cultural activities. Just looking around in the food court there are Chinese takeaways, sushi shops, curry houses, noodle bowls, pizza, fish and chips, and pie shops etc. all of these cuisines have been brought to Australia from another country. But multiculturalism is so much more than food.

I, like so many Australians, don’t comprehend the multitude of ramifications that a multicultural society brings with it. Multiculturalism brings many benefits to Australian society such as labour skills, knowledge, experiences, culinary delights, festivals, creativity, vibrancy, churches, temples, mosques and monasteries. It also presents challenges such as language barriers, communication breakdowns, differing expectations, service delivery, and housing access. With each of these benefits and challenges there are different values that a planner needs to be aware of. The planner may need to challenge their own Eurocentric educational teachings and become more open to and inclusive of other values and cultures.

The shift that needs to take place in the planning system is to recognise that some cultural practices need to be relinquished in order to make room for others. In particular I am talking about the Eurocentric knowledge.  What the migrant so often confronts when they come to Australia is a loss of family, friends, cultural context and reference points. What this creates is a world of uncertainty and anxiety. What the planning profession can do is to facilitate cultural practices and social connections to reconnect fragmented communities. Examples of how this could be achieved are:

- allowing housing that meets the needs of the family, and often the extended family, rather then imposing the idea of what a house should encompass;

- allowing organic development of multi use buildings to enable live/work situations; and

- not pushing migrants into areas but allowing people to find their own way (this would involve more affordable housing in more locations, which would not only benefit migrants but many other Australians.)

So I think there are two main points that planners need to take from multiculturalism, the first is that voluntary clustering of cultures illustrates to planners is that organic development can create vibrant, dynamic areas. It is these areas that often become the most fashionable districts of the city with their variety of bars, restaurants, shops etc. The second is that there needs to be a shift in the teachings of planning from one cultural perspective to the multitude that Australia now represents.

I just also want to share a little gem I found on the internet. It's a paper by Tamara Winikoff  on Multicultural planning and urban design in Australia.