AUTHOR : Walter Burley Griffin
Starting with this article, i’ll try to present the planning process of Australia’s capital city. Canberra was established in 1908 as the Federal Capital following the federation of the six Australian colonies which formed the Commonwealth of Australia. The new nation required a capital that was located away from other major settlements such as Melbourne and Sydney. Canberra is thus located in a Territory – the Australian Capital Territory – and not a State. Prior to this time the land that Canberra is found on was nothing more than farming land and forest.
In 1912, after an extensive planning competition was completed, the vision of American Walter Burley Griffin was chosen as the winning design for the city. Extensive construction and public works were required to complete the city, this involved the flooding of a large parcel of land to form the center piece of the city, Lake Burley Griffin.
Unlike some other Australian cities, the road network, suburbs, parks and other elements of the city were designed in context with each other, rather than haphazard planning as witnessed in much of Sydney.
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