The Range, Croydon

PART 2 – The problem of the design and layout of the estate.

The Range at Croydon consists of wetland-looking areas with reeds and grasses, where people can go for a little walk and sit and enjoy the garden design.  This type of design seems to be used a lot in estates at the moment. But, I think it is not the best type of design to create.  For example, where is the safety for children with water gardens such as these?  There are no fences around the area so children or pets could easily fall into the water.  The water also attracts insects and bugs such as mosquitoes that can breed easily by the water.  Also, weeds are able to pop up amongst the reeds and grasses, but due to the layout of the design, it is not an easy task to get rid of the weeds.  It would be very fiddly pulling it out by hand and if spraying, you could easily kill plants around it.  

Weeds in amongst reeds and grasses.

Another thing I noticed was the sign that said, “Reserve subject to flooding” and there were sand bags around the paths which slope down to houses.  Therefore, if there was a flood the water may be able to flow down to peoples’ houses and gardens.  This is not a good situation for these people that may not have had that problem before the design for The Range garden was made. 

Sand bags along path preventing water from flowing down into peoples' houses.

A more ideal design for The Range would be to create an area that would benefit both children and adults, perhaps an area or “parkland” (Australand 2009), which they advertise as having, but which they don’t.  An idea would be to have a children’s playground and a nice area amongst Australian native plants for the adults to sit and chat amongst themselves, whilst watching the kids.  Australand (2009) advertises “cycle trails” which is also not present in the layout of the area.  This would be an ideal thing to have except there isn’t much space for paths, let alone enough space for the cars to park on the streets, due to there not being enough room on their own blocks!

Overall, I believe that a better design and layout of suburbs needs to be considered if we are going to be planning for a bigger population and a brighter future.

Layout of Stage 1 - Premiere Release in The Range at Croydon.

Drewett Circuit Release in The Range at Croydon.

References:

Australand, 2009, The Range at Croydon, advertisement for land and houses, Australand 

Holdings Limited, viewed 14 April 2012, <http://www.therangeatcroydon.com.au>.

Map:

Australand, 2009, Stage 1 – Premiere Release, Australand, Victoria, Australia.

Australand, 2009, Drewett Circuit Release, Australand, Victoria, Australia.