Rural Design in Queensland: Case Studies
Researcher
Dr Linda Carroli
Published
11 Nov 2023
Funding
Design Thinking Grant
This project seeks to examine Dewey Thorbeck’s propositions about rural design in relation to Queensland places, based on four case studies with an intention of creating more case studies as a basis for ongoing discussion about and engagement in rural design. Each case study is located in a different rural, Country or bioregional context in Queensland.
The intention is to focus on rural design principles to develop a reading of that place – or a place writing – and what that means for regional futures and re-imagining the rural. The case studies are written as primarily observational and experiential studies that take cues from the landscape, rather than more formal morphological or land use studies as Thorbeck describes. However, a range of policy, planning and historical sources are referenced.
Case studies, whether in this form or another, are useful for presenting complex dynamics and differences. They can be collected and analysed collectively or comparatively to examine the considerations of Thorbeck proposes in rural design. Much of Thorbeck’s work focuses on case studies of rural design in process while those presented here are applying the framework to examine dimensions of rurality as expressed through relations of town, land and landscape.
