Connecting Community: John Street and the Art of Placemaking

‘Piazza’ and John Street precinct

In a recent conversation with a friend, he mentioned the Italian piazza concept. An Italian piazza is an open space in a village where community members can come together for various reasons and build social capital.

My friend commented that the English do not have an equivalent community square.

Well, yes, they do, and it is expressed in studies of ‘place’.

The conversation got me thinking about how this could be applied to John Street, Camden, but first, what are place studies?

Place studies

According to Britannica 

 The word is cognate with the French and English “place” and Spanish “plaza,” all ultimately derived from the Greek plateia,“broad street.” ( https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/piazza)

Noel Castree has argued that for geographers, the word ‘place’ has three main senses: 

(1) Place as location  – a specific point on the earth’s surface.

 (2) A sense of place  – the subjective feelings people have about places, including the role of place in their individual and group identity.

(3) Place as locale  – a setting and scale for people’s daily actions and interactions. (Noel Castree, “Place: Connections and Boundaries in an Interdependent World” in Sarah Holloway(ed.), Key Concepts in Geography , SAGE: London, 2003, pp. 165-83, 167.)

Jason Finch argues  in English fictional literature that

the literary place is both a record of and a production or invention of the human experience of place, with all three of Castree’s senses included in this.  

(https://www.academia.edu/3593089/E_M_Forster_and_English_Place_A_Literary_Topography?email_work_card=abstract-read-more)

Geographer Tim Creswell defines ‘place’ as ‘a meaningful location’.  (Creswell, Tim. Place: A Short Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2004.)

Writer Jennifer Case writes on studies of particular locations she examines

Though the places themselves differ, each writer uses the book to investigate a distinct location, drawing out the ways in which that location is meaningful to the writer, the ways in which the writer has endowed that location with value and significance, and often the ways in which the place, likewise, has influenced the writer. (Case Place Studies)

Lawrence Buell defines ‘place’ as

“space that is bounded and marked as humanly meaningful through personal attachment, social relations, and physiographic distinctiveness” (L Buell, The Future of Environmental Criticism. Blackwell Publishing, 2005.145).

Jennifer Case states that on this basis, ‘place’ is comprised of

an “environmental materiality” grounded in the physical environment, a “social perception” that is constructed through cultural institutions, and one’s individual “affect or bond” to that cultural landscape (62). (Jennifer Case Place studies, Place Studies: Theory and Practice in Environmental Nonfiction, Assay, a Journal of Nonfiction Studies, 10.2, Spring 2024.)

John Street fits the concept of ‘place’.

Based on these definitions, the John Street precinct fits within ‘place studies’.

John Street is meaningful to the Camden community in various ways, and they endow the location with value and significance. The location influences the community and its identity and emotional attachment to the location or a sense of place.

The John Street precinct could still do with some Italian-style piazza within the existing spaces.

John Street is a broad street and has great potential for placemaking.

The significance of the John Street precinct is about the stories generated by the location, community interactions, and networking along the precinct.

The street has emotional attachments for members of the community.

Only by understanding the stories connected to John Street can people form deep and lasting connections to the location.

Even the name ‘John Street’ evokes many stories with various interpretations and meanings.

Individuals can form bonds to the location through stories created by various elements along John Street. These stories attach values and meaning to the street’s elements and create placeness.

So, what is it about John Street that generates these stories?

The story-creating elements where people meet and connect and include

• Camden Library & Museum
• Alan Baker Art Gallery
• Cafes
• Bus stop
• Churches
• Schools
• Retail and commercial buildings
• Historic buildings

Story-creating elements include cultural traditions, memorials, and events that create memories for the community and reinforce their attachment to the location.

Usage of story-creating elements along the John Street precinct could be intensified through greater activation of these elements.

Story-creating elements that are currently not used or under-utilised include

• Police barracks
• Courthouse
• Rose Park
• The wide footpath and other areas away from the footpath

Additional elements that could encourage meeting and connection of people include

• Traffic calming devices to slow up traffic
• Pedestrian islands provide safe areas to cross the street.
• Improvements to the intersection of John and Broughton Streets

Benefits of place attachment

Attachment to the John Street precinct has many benefits. There are spiritual ties to the street, especially through places of worship. This increases place consciousness, which can enrich the lives of Camden residents.

Secondly, the intense knowledge of John Street and the local setting increases the understanding and appreciation of global landscapes and environments. Establishing an attachment to the John Street precinct can give people a greater understanding of urban environments and how they work.

If Camden residents value a local urban precinct, they can better understand and appreciate other urban places.

Russell Sanders says

Local knowledge is the grounding for global knowledge. (Sanders, Scott Russell. Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World. Beacon P, 1993.)

By better understanding, the local Camden residents can better appreciate the rest of the world.

John Street Activation and Upgrade Program

Camden Council is to be commended for the John Street Activation and Upgrade Program. The council is investigating how to make John Street a more vibrant, creative, and community hub. The council website states

Now, thanks to significant funding by the NSW Government’s Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants Program, we are in a position to actively plan for this project, which will see investment in John Street between Broughton and Exeter Streets. (https://yourvoice.camden.nsw.gov.au/john-street)

We will have to wait for the outcome of this work and its influence on placemaking within the John Street precinct.