|
The Migrant Experience: From
Village to Suburb
By Alexander Glafchev
printable
version
| “You may not think much
of this old cottage with the allotment by the hedge
and the muddy path to the spring, but I have seen
this daily for fifty years. I do not know how I
shall be when I leave it.”1 |
Introduction
By examining the sociocultural patterns which exist
in our society, we are able to better understand how
we can best address the needs of our urban environment.
The patterns of life which exist form an intricate and
complex web, encompassing all aspects of human existence.
These patterns are dependent upon the forces and factors
which mould our lives and shape our physical environment.
Comparisons will be drawn between the sociocultural
patterns of a Macedonian village and the urban pattern
of life in Adelaide. Much of the information presented
is based on the life experiences of one Macedonian2
in the village and in South Australia, and I thank him
sincerely for sharing his experiences with me. This
paper will also overview the changes and challenges
faced by the Macedonian community in adapting to the
wider Australian community and their relationship with
the urban landscape. Particular emphasis will be placed
on the built form in the village of Visheni, which is
situated in the Southern Balkan region of Europe.
It is hoped that this overview will allow a closer
self-examination by architects, planners and designers
of the need to carefully consider the sociocultural
factors which influence the Australian cultural fabric
and the need to seek community involvement and participation
in the design process.
Background
The village of Visheni3 (Visinca in Greek)
is located within the borders of Northern Greece, and
lies within the geographical territory of Macedonia.
This territory was under the control of the Ottoman
Turkish Empire for approximately five hundred years
until 1912, when the Turkish armies were defeated by
an alliance of Balkan countries. The resultant victory
saw the partition of the territory amongst Greece (which
acquired 51%), the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (acquired 38%),
Bulgaria (10%) and Albania (1%). The Macedonian people
who inhabited the region were given no role, nor representation
in determining their fate with the disembowelment of
their land, under the Treaty of Bucharest (ratified
in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles). These treaties
in effect paid little heed to the ethnic composition
of the Macedonians within the region and only acted
as a catalyst quickening the process of denationalisation,
proselytization, forced assimilation and persecution
of Macedonians by successive Greek, Yugoslav, Bulgarian
and Albanian governments. Today, Macedonians have been
left a legacy where their basic and fundamental human
rights have been seriously denied and their very existence
threatened.
The Macedonian situation is not an isolated occurrence
in the annals of twentieth century history. Parallels
can also be made with other countries and peoples who
have suffered similar fates, such as Kurdistan, Palestine,
and more recently East Timor, and not forgetting the
disenfranchisement of Australia's own Aboriginal population
The Village
The
form of the village was shaped by the rural pattern
of life and the immediate physical environment. The
village was located in a valley through which a mountain
stream ran, and was predominantly surrounded by tree
covered hills. Thus it was ideally situated to make
full use of the catchment area provided by the hilly
terrain and the availability of water from the stream.
At its peak in the 1920s, the village of Visheni had
a population of around 800 people. It had no electricity,
no mains sewer or water and was totally dependent upon
the physical environment for its survival. The main
activity in the village centred around maintaining a
rural life, the farming of crops, tending to livestock,
orchards, and vineyards. People were up at sunrise making
preparations for the day’s work ahead and normally worked
until sunset. There was a clear social delineation of
the work that men and women were expected to do. The
men primarily worked in the fields and open spaces,
which were located on the outskirts of the village perimeter,
irrigating their crops with water diverted from the
stream or tending to the animals (sheep, goats and cattle)
which were left to graze. Men were also able to freely
roam the hills, to other close lying villages and to
the nearest local town of Kostur (Kastoria in Greek).
The men's physical environment extended far beyond the
confines of the village, to other villages, other towns
and other regions. The women also worked the fields,
and had the added responsibility to ensure their houses
and small farm lots were well maintained, that food
was prepared and children cared for, but essentially
they were expected to remain within the limits of the
village.
The villagers had a close affinity with their surroundings,
the hills, the forest, the animals and especially the
stream. Distances were measured in terms of time, by
walking or travelling by drawn cart or pack animal such
as donkeys. The stream was the source of the village
life. Their crops drew sustenance from its waters, their
children played on its banks and swam in its waters
during the summer, the village women washed their clothes
on its rocks and talked about all manner of things.
Water was in abundance; in addition to the stream, most
of the houses had their own wells from which they drew
drinking water from underground springs. This was supplemented
by seven continuously running village taps, where the
women often gathered to collect the icy cold mountain
water. The taps also served as meeting places for the
women affording them the opportunity to exchange news
and gossip and provide them with a break from their
monotonous daily household chores. The men had their
own meeting place in the cafe which was adjacent to
the modern equivalent of the village square known as
the Ano, offering them a more convivial and relaxed
atmosphere for social discourse. The Ano was also the
cultural centre of the village, and was used as a gathering
place to celebrate various religious feast days.
Village Social Structures
The village was socially based on a patriarchal system.
An administrative structure was in place to look after
the welfare of the village and to make decisions which
affected the livelihood of the villagers. The positions
of Village President and Village Secretary were elected
from amongst the men in the village, while the Village
Treasurer (who normally kept and maintained records
and accounts) was usually someone with some degree of
bookkeeping knowledge from the nearby town of Kostur,
selected by the Greek authorities.
The older men of the village were held in high regard,
and often were sought to provide advice and direction.
Whenever disputes arose, redress was sought from the
elected officials and on occasions arbitration was sought
from the local parish priest who was deemed to be independent.
Once a year, the village would appoint amongst themselves
various overseers to look after the cooperative interests
of the village. These men would have responsibilities
as the village shepherd, swineherd, goatherd, orchard
and vineyard overseer and the village forest keeper.
The forest keeper had an important role in ensuring
that the villagers only cut certain trees in the forest
for their needs. Trees not earmarked for felling were
strictly protected and anyone caught trying to cut these
trees was severely reprimanded and in some cases fined.
The women’s role on the other hand was seen as subservient
to the men. Even though they ran every aspect of the
households, they needed to exercise servility to the
male members of their households. The church also reflected
the delineation of male and female. Men were allowed
into the inner sanctum and aisles, whilst the women
were confined to the rear of the church and its upper
mezzanine level. Family ties and kinship bonds were
exceptionally strong, and help explain why many of the
houses were occupied by more than one family, often
incorporating up to three generations under the one
roof.
The main social occasions of the village centred around
religious days which were eagerly awaited. Namedays
(Imenden in Macedonian) or Saints days
were a continuous occurrence and took the place of birthdays.
Families would attend a church service on such days,
returning home afterwards to prepare food and drink
and to greet the guests who would arrive unannounced.
The Village House Form
The
form of the village house had changed very little for
centuries. They were built without reference to plans
or drawings and relied on the accumulative knowledge
of the villagers, which was passed on from one generation
to the next. House building was a cooperative effort,
involving many of the villagers, especially those with
specific skills such as stonemasonry and carpentry.
The villagers had a close affinity with the building
materials they used, which were extracted from the earth,
stone and forest around the village. Stone and mud mixed
with what chaff created walls 600mm thick. Local clay
was shaped and left to dry and used as roof tiles. Timber
was cut and used for the main roof structure and as
lintels, load bearing posts, doors and window frames.
Their homes sprang from the very earth they walked upon.
Houses were either single storey or two storey and
orientated on the north-south axis, with the main rooms
orientated south to make full use of solar orientation.
The floor plans for all the village homes were essentially
the same with slight variations. Most homes had two
main rooms (Odaja in Macedonian) serving
as both bedrooms and meal areas. One of the Odaja
known as the Novata Odaja (new Room) also served
as a visiting room for the guests. In fact the term
Novata Odaja is still used to this day even in
Australian homes when referring to the formal living
room.
There was little privacy, as many as six people would
share one room, which included in many cases three generations.
This physical closeness also meant that family bonds
had to be strong to endure such overcrowding, and indeed
they were. The Keral was a room used to store
various barrels of foodstuffs and wine. The main entry
served as a transitory space and was also used to store
grain in sluice-gated cupboards called Umba.
Handwoven Kilim rugs and carpets were placed on the
earthen floors upon which mattresses and cushions were
placed serving as both beds and eating spaces. In the
warmer months, food was prepared outside the home in
a detached area known as the Ushchalak, which
incorporated a large mud and stone domed baking oven,
Umba, timber troughs, various earthenware storage
vessels (Stomni, Brdache), and an open fireplace
where meals were cooked. The livestock consisting of
sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, cow and calf, oxen and
horses, mules or donkeys were housed in various sheltered
pens adjoining the Ushchalak.
The house was used primarily as a space for rest and
a sanctuary from the elements for both people and animals.
“The house was sanctioned as a place of refuge – from
weather, flies, work, even people. Mostly it seemed
to be a refuge for both men and women, except that it
was still the women’s responsibility to maintain and
care for the house.”4
Migration to Australia
Though the villagers were able to sustain themselves,
they could not improve their lifestyle. Stories were
told of others who had left to go overseas to the USA
and South America in search of wealth and fortune. In
the 1920s, 1.3 million Greeks from Asia minor were resettled
principally in the northern part of Greece, which included
Macedonia. This created enormous social and economic
pressures in the region. In 1926, the Greek government
introduced laws whereby all Macedonians had their names
changed into Greek and all the topography (mountains,
rivers, lakes etc) of the region likewise had the names
changed from the Macedonian into Greek, the village
of Visheni had its named changed to Visinea.
With this backdrop of social and political upheaval,
many men set out to travel to foreign lands to seek
a better life. They were known as Pechalbari,
(meaning those seeking fortune) and they journeyed by
ship for one and a half months to reach South Australia.
They arrived in Australia without any knowledge nor
understanding of the land, its language, culture, traditions
or customs. As one would expect, they stuck together
in groups, which in many cases included Macedonians
from other villages, and wherever possible pooled their
resources to overcome the obstacles of just surviving.
“In 1921, there were estimated to be around fifty Macedonians
in Australia”.5
Work in Adelaide, especially during the Depression,
was scarce and so they became “…itinerant workers who
travelled the countryside in small groups, taking whatever
work they could get, and they were often the victims
of discrimination. In most urban centres, union opposition
prevented their being employed in factories.”6
Many found work clearing scrub on the West Coast, in
places like Ceduna and Cungena and in building the East-West
Railway, or fruit picking in Barmera or in the rest
of the Riverland. They lived in tents, some for as long
as eight years, their only belongings were those they
carried with them.
The Pre-War Period
Money saved was sent back to their families in the
village. Their isolation from their families placed
enormous pressures both on them and their families,
some were unable to withstand such pressures and returned
home after several months, whilst others remained. Those
that did knew that their sacrifices had to be worthwhile
for them to stay. The wives and particularly the children
left behind in the village had to take on the extra
work of their husbands and fathers and in many cases
children were raised by their grandparents, not even
knowing their fathers. During the mid 1930s, the Greek
government, under the military dictator Metaxas, passed
laws which prohibited the use of the Macedonian language
within Greece. The families of the Pechalbari were forbidden
to speak their own language in the village and lived
in constant fear of arrest, beatings, imprisonment and
in extreme cases exile to one of the Greek islands.
They communicated these developments to their menfolk
in Adelaide by the only means available to them, by
mail. This more than ever gave the Pechalbari the added
incentive to work even harder, and to secure for themselves
a stable economic base.
When the South Australian economy began to recover,
they gravitated back towards the city in search of stable
work. Some found work in factories doing manual labour,
while others worked in the shops, cafes and businesses
of other immigrants. They rented accommodation in lodgings
within the inner city of Adelaide, and in most instances
were sleeping six to eight people to a room. These lodgings
were chosen as they were in close proximity to their
workplaces, which were within walking or bicycling distance,
thereby enabling them to save money on transport. They
worked long hours for very little monetary reward, sharing
whatever they had amongst themselves.
In
1939, the first Macedonian café called “Makedonija”
opened for business in Hindley Street amongst other
émigré cafes. These cafes provided an important cultural
and social focus for the Pechalbari who regularly stayed
there to exchange news, reminisce on old times and to
seek help in finding gainful employment. These places
played a vital role in drawing together the Macedonians
and helped to facilitate the establishment of invaluable
social networks. Where financial support was sought
by those worse off, they would pool their resources
to assist them and rarely would ask for repayment. The
café area of Hindley Street took on the ambience and
cultural atmosphere of a small European village, with
various nationalities readily mixing and interacting
with one another. This was a far cry from the mainstream
Australian society of the time.
The War and Post-War Period
With the outbreak of war in Europe, the South Australian
economy geared itself to produce weapons and equipment
for the war effort. Masses of Australians enlisted for
armed service, resulting in critical labour shortages
in the factories. Those Macedonians who did not or could
not enlist found work alongside other immigrants in
the factories. Surprisingly they found that the war
had swept away some of the racial bias which for years
had plagued them, as they were now seen to be contributing
to the Allied effort. Though their economic fortunes
were improving during this period, they were effectively
cut off from any contact with their families in the
village.
Even though peace was declared in 1945, the end of
the war in Europe had reignited political divisions
within Greece, resulting in the Greek Civil War of 1946-49.
As a consequence, many of the Pechalbari had not had
contact with their families for more than ten long years.
The Civil War in Greece resulted in the massive displacement
of tens of thousands of Macedonians. In one case alone,
around 8,000 Macedonian children aged fifteen and under
were evacuated from their homes by the Red Cross. These
child refugees (Detsa Begaltsi) sought sanctuary
in the Eastern Bloc countries willing to take them (primarily
in Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Czechoslovakia
and the USSR). Some of the villagers managed to flee
the country by different routes, making their way to
Australia to be reunited with their husbands and fathers.
For the first time in more than twenty years the first
Macedonian families began to arrive in Australia. The
Post-War period saw a massive influx of migrants to
Australia, many of whom were displaced persons. In 1947
1.5 per cent of the Australian population were registered
as having been born in Europe (excluding the UK and
Ireland) increasing to 5.5 per cent by 1954.7
The resettlement of families meant that men who had
lived in Adelaide had to change their lifestyle to one
which was conducive to stabilising the family both economically
and socially. Initially families lived and shared lodgings
with others until such time as they could find more
suitable accommodation. The Macedonians tended to settle
collectively in the same areas, establishing their own
social networks. When new Macedonian migrants arrived
they would gravitate towards these areas, reinforcing
the social pattern. They rented houses and land towards
and on the outskirts of the Adelaide urban fringe, in
Kilkenny, Challa Gardens and Croydon. Others settled
in Fulham, Lockleys and Ferryden Park where they found
large unused tracts of broad acres, which at that time
was used primarily for agistment.
They commenced working the land using the only real
skills they knew, those of farming. They created market
garden plots and built their own glasshouses, growing
primarily tomatoes which at that time were in short
supply. They also commenced to build their first homes,
which were constructed out of the most readily available
and least expensive materials, using timber framework,
asbestos cement cladding and galvanised iron. This was
a great departure from the solidly constructed stone
and mud homes they had left behind in the village. These
early Australian houses were built alongside their packing
sheds where they graded and packed their produce. As
they were not restricted to a small plot of land, as
in their village, they soon discovered that they had
ample space to extend to accommodate new family members.
Due to the materials they used, walls and roofs could
be taken down and put up without difficulty, unlike
their homes in the village, thereby giving them greater
flexibility and choice in satisfying their needs. Though
these first homes were not suited to the harsh Australian
climate, the Macedonians for the first time began to
firmly establish themselves within the urban landscape.
The Community Form in Adelaide
The establishment of families also meant that they
could revive some of their village traditions. Religious
feast days and traditional celebrations for weddings,
christenings and other special occasions were transposed
into their Australian lives. Initially, small gatherings
were held at individuals homes, making use of the large
packing sheds where they danced traditional Macedonian
Ora, and played and sang old village songs.
As the families and population increased, they began
to hire assembly halls in Hindmarsh and on Henley Beach
Road to accommodate the growing throngs of people. There
was also a conscious decision to formalise their activities
and once again pool their resources. A committee was
established ostensibly to undertake the responsibility
of coordinating their social activities, such as traditional
dances and picnics where up to two hundred people would
attend. In the late 1960s, after the influx of more
Macedonian migrants from Yugoslavia, they decided the
time was right to commence building their own community
hall. A campaign of fundraising was commenced, seeking
donations from all Macedonians throughout Adelaide.
An Italian builder by the name of John Pinta was engaged
to design and build the hall and it was officially opened
in 1968, on Crittenden Road, Findon, in close proximity
to one of the most concentrated areas of Macedonian
settlement, that of Fulham and Seaton.
The hall design bore a strong resemblance to the packing
sheds and glasshouses which were built at the time.
One can only speculate that neither the builder nor
the local Macedonians had the necessary expertise in
building or designing a structure which would echo the
built form of their homeland. Even in the event that
they had, the cost of undertaking a more complicated
structure may have been cost prohibitive. Another possibility
may have been that they did not wish to draw attention
to themselves by creating a structure which may not
have been in keeping with mainstream Australian society,
and in so doing afforded themselves a degree of anonymity
within the urban fabric. Whatever the reason, the completion
of the hall symbolically represented another step in
establishing themselves within Australian society and
cemented their ties with their new homeland. The Hall
also filled a cultural void, as it symbolised the reaffirmation
of the existence and identity of the Macedonian people,
an identity which was totally denied them in their own
homeland. The act of building a permanent community
structure also meant that social foundations had been
put into place and the process of redefining their cultural
identity within the Australian social fabric had well
and truly begun.
During the 1970s and 1980s the community expanded its
activities significantly. It had its own soccer club,
youth group, school, women’s section, folkloric dancing
group, a cultural society and even its own locally produced
community radio program. It was also around this time
that a move was made to build the first Macedonian Orthodox
Church, on a vacant lot adjacent to the hall. In the
past an enclosed space directly behind the community
hall was utilised as a chapel, but it was unable to
accommodate larger gatherings such as at Easter and
Christmas, resulting in religious services being carried
out in other non-Orthodox Churches. In the 1980s Jim
Petrie, a local architectural draftsman of Macedonian
descent was engaged by the building committee to undertake
the design of the new church. The final design chosen
encapsulated their new found confidence in proclaiming
their Macedonianism to the wider Australian community.
The design emulated the basic form and appearance of
the eighth century Byzantine architecture found in the
Balkans, especially in Macedonia. The church was built
with the cooperation and financial support of the community
members, many of whom freely donated their services
and labour. Cost once more played an integral part in
the final design, materials such as clay bricks and
pre-formed concrete panels, steel framework, a fibreglass
dome and compressed sheet roof shingles were used, rather
than stone, timber and terracotta.
The floor plan and interior of the church follows the
Byzantine Orthodox tradition, with a central nave and
two aisles, reflected in the vaulted ceilings. The main
central feature of the interior is the iconostasis (wall
of icons) upon which is adorned copies of icons dating
back centuries and to which all believers in the Orthodox
faith pay veneration and alms. The congregation still
followed the traditional physical separation of men
and women within the church, men sat on the right and
women on the left. A carry over of both the village
custom and the religious tradition. A cultural centre
incorporating a library/ meeting room, radio recording
studio and a social welfare office were later added
to the existing community hall and church, thereby addressing
other cultural and social needs of the community. All
of the community buildings created a distinctive imprint
on the cultural fabric of South Australian Macedonians,
allowing them to reaffirm their identity and culture.
It also provided them with a physical reference point
which linked their past, present and future.
The Adelaide House Form
The homes of the Macedonians on the other hand, unlike
the church, did not attempt to emulate or reinterpret
the Macedonian home in the physical sense. There is
nothing externally which differentiates their homes
from the surrounding homes. There is no sense of uniqueness
or of cultural diversity in the streetscapes. This possibly
again may mean that they are content to accept the Australian
homogenous approach to house form and do not see the
exterior of their homes as a form of self-expression
or of extrovertness in the same way that other ethnic
groups do. The interiors unlike the exteriors are richly
decorated with photos, emblems and artefacts which reflect
their cultural and historical heritage. The pride of
place in many of the homes is taken up by a photo of
their village or of their village house. Thus creating
in a sense a nexus between their old and new way of
life, and emphasising the acceptance of the physical
built form as the symbolic embodiment of their culture.
The Social Structure in Australia
The family unit and the patriarchal structure which
was embodied in the village pattern of life was transferred
into the Australian landscape. In the majority of instances
where both the husband and wife worked, sometimes taking
on more than one job, the wife was still expected to
prepare the food and maintain and care for the house
and children. There were however increasing instances
where both the husband and wife shared the household
duties and parenting, but these more often than not
were undertaken by those Macedonians who had come to
Australia at a relatively young age and had been influenced
by their new Australian lifestyle. Generally even today,
if one visits a Macedonian household, the female will
serve guests while the male will be waited upon. Strong
family links remain, and it is still not uncommon to
find three generations living in the same home, with
grandparents sharing in the parenting and caring of
children while their parents work. This again reflects
a similar social pattern found in village life.
The first Australian born children had been brought
up in the Macedonian way of life, instilled with many
of the old traditional village cultural values and norms.
Many of this generation found conflict with such cultural
attitudes and rebelled. Females in particular were expected
to follow the village traditions and adhere to the social
hierarchy, actively being encouraged to be efficient
in house keeping and to marry and raise families.
Males on the other hand were still seen as the centre
of the social fabric, and as in the village were given
freedoms and liberties not afforded to the females,
encouragement was given to succeed in all their pursuits.
Today, what we see are the last remaining remnants of
a culture and a way of life that is slowly disappearing.
The other Macedonians in the community who lived in
the village are the last custodians of that unique culture
and once they are gone, the link between the village
and the suburb will be severed forever.
Conclusions
In Australia today, there are approximately 110 different
ethnic groups representing a myriad of cultural and
social diversity. “One in five Australians are not born
in Australia and a further one in five have parents
who were born overseas.”8 Add to that the
uniqueness of Australia’s own Aboriginal people and
one can see that we have a rich and diverse culture
which needs to be articulated into the built and urban
form. Yet such a cultural diversity is not reflected
in the architecture and urban pattern of Australia.
Moreover, the approach adopted by many architects,
planners and designers has merely regurgitated the myth
of addressing the cultural and social needs of Australians
in a way which treats all Australians in a monocultural
fashion, without regard for their cultural and social
heritage. “There is an assumption that most migrants
will eventually have more or less the same housing as
Australia-born citizens.”9 It is pertinent
to note that one of the most authoritative documents
published in regards to the makeup and social composition
of the Australian community, The Australian People:
An Encyclopaedia of the Nation, Its People and Their
Origins, made specific reference to the fact that “Little
has been written on migrants and housing from a national
perspective, and few writers on housing have said much
about migrants. Studies of migrants have rarely focussed
on their housing except in the case of settlement difficulties.”10
The overview presented in this paper on one ethnospecific
group, on their cultural, social and urban patterns
highlights the complex nature and composition of only
one of the many groups that make up South Australian
society. In order to effectively reflect and interpret
the cultural diversity of our society through the built
and urban form, we as architects, planners and designers
must be able to perceive, understand and respond to
such cultural differentiation.
The best way of achieving this is through increasing
our perception of the way our society functions. Even
if we have achieved a certain degree of perception,
we may not be able to understand the social and cultural
context of what we have found, as our own cultural reference
point could be far removed from that of the other culture.
Once we have perceived and understood what we have found
we are in a far better position to respond.
Our response will be better complemented by directly
involving the communities and encouraging participation
in the design process. In this way we can better judge
whether or not our response is in keeping with the social
and cultural determinants of that particular culture,
by the very people who make up that culture.
The idea of openly inviting community involvement and
participation is seen by many as an anathema to their
select professions. It is incorrectly perceived as a
threat and an undermining of their professional training,
practise and expertise. The truth however would tend
to suggest that the fear lies in the individual’s reluctance
of self-examination and a re-evaluation of a system
that clearly has painted all people with the same cultural
brush. There are however an increasing number of architects
and educators who take a different stance and have seen
the sociocultural responsibility that architects and
other environmental designers must address.
The seminal work, “A Modern Theory of Architecture”
by the renowned architectural historian and philosopher,
Bruce Allsopp, foresaw such a need and stated that “Architecture
requires sympathy with understanding of and satisfaction
of the emotional needs of people. All people are different
and all communities of people differ. The concept of
“one architecture” is a totalitarian monstrosity.”11
Other researchers too have been equally cognisant of
this need elaborating that “Rather than thinking in
terms of producing finished and complete environments
for people of a common culture they (architects and
environmental designers) need to establish environmental
alternatives among which the public can choose. There
need to be alternatives in settings for different lifestyles
and preferences for physical settings expressive of
different values; there need to be different forms of
housing and different urban areas.”12
The realisation of the need to involve people and communities
has gained a global dimension, in addition to the United
Nations World Commission on Environment and Development,
the European Communities Commission Green Paper on the
Urban Environment stated that, “Planning without broad
participation by and concern for the city’s inhabitants
will result in a narrow view of its efficiency which
ultimately condemns it to sterility”.13
In South Australia, the need for community involvement
in the urban environment has also been clearly emphasised.
Government social policies have been developed and acknowledged
that “…the Planning Review saw community involvement
as an essential component of effective planning and
decision making as well as providing one mechanism through
which the community identity and belonging can be achieved.”14
Specific reference was also made to cultural diversity
which further stated that, “…the need to create an urban
environment which is responsive to public values and
reflects Adelaide’s diverse cultural and community heritage.”15
All of these recommendations and thoughts reinforce
the view that we much readdress our way of thinking
and our approach if we are truly to reflect and interpret
society’s needs in the built and urban environments.
“A major aim should be to challenge the widespread
cultural values of an antiurban society – a society
that stresses cultural homogeneity, fleeting fashions,
consumerism, and degradation of cultural symbols, a
society that replaces community interaction with instant
communications.”16
This paper was written as part of a Post Graduate Urban
Ecology course for a Master of Architecture Degree at
the University of South Australia, June 1994
Notes
1. Nottridge, Harold E, 'The Sociology of Urban Living',
Routledge & Kegan, London, 1972, p.83.
2. Interviews with Peter Kiosses, a well known and
respected member of the local Macedonian Community
3. Visheni is the local Macedonian name given to the
village. Names in brackets denote the current Hellenised
version changed by Greek law in 1926.
4. Lozanovska, Mirijana, ‘Gender and Architecture in
a Macedonian Village’, Exedro, The Journal of the School
of Architecture, Deakin University, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer
1989, pp.26.
5. Jupp, J, (Gen. Ed.), ‘The Australian People: An
Encyclopaedia of the Nation. Its People and Their Origins’,
The Settlers: Macedonians, Angus and Robertson, NSW,
1988, pp, 685-691.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid pp. 166.
8. Jupp, J, op. cit., p.1.
9. Jupp, J, op. cit.
10. Ibid
11. Allsopp, B, ‘A Modern Theory of Architecture’,
Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1977, p.27
12. Whitley, G.S., “Immigrants in the Australian Environment’,
Hardboard’s Australia Ltd Scholarship, Research Paper,
1972, p.89.
13. Commission of the European Communities, ‘Green
Paper on the Urban Environment’, Directorate-General
Environment, Nuclear Safety & Civil Protection,
Brussels, 1990, p.45.
14. Community Information Services, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, ‘Social Policy Aspects of Urban
Development’, S.A. Govt, 1993, pp. 5-6.
15. Ibid.
16. Lozano, Eduardo, E, ‘Community Design and the Culture
of Cities: The Crossroad and the Wall’, Cambridge University
Press, 1993, p.305.
Bibliography
Allsopp, B, ‘A Modern Theory of Architecture’, Routledge
& Kegan Paul, London, 1977, p. 27.
Commission of the European Communities, ‘Green Paper
on the Urban Environment’, Directorate-General Environment,
Nuclear Safety & Civil Protection, Brussels, 1990,
p. 45.
Community Information Services, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, ‘Social Policy Aspects of the
Urban Development’, S.A. Govt., 1993, pp. 5-6.
Jupp, J, (Gen. Ed), ‘The Australian People: An Encyclopaedia
of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins’, The Settlers:
Macedonians, Angus & Robertson, NSW, 1988, pp. 685-691.
Lozano, Eduardo, E, ‘Community Design and the Culture
of Cities: The Crossroad and the Wall’, Cambridge University
Press, 1993, p. 305.
Lozanovska, Mirijana, ‘Gender and Architecture in a
Macedonian Village’, Exedra, The Journal of the School
of Architecture, Deakin University, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer
1989, pp. 26.
Nottridge, Harold. E, ‘The Sociology of Urban Living’,
Routledge & Kegan, London, 1972, p. 83.
Whitley, G.S., ‘Immigrants in the Australian Environment’,
Hardboard’s Australia Ltd Scholarship, Research paper,
1972, p. 89.
Recommended Further Reading
Arias, Ernesto. G (Ed.), ‘The Meaning and Use of Housing’,
Avebury Ashgate Publishing Ltd., England, 1993.
Kee, Pookong, ‘Home Ownership and Housing Conditions
of Immigrants and Australian-Born, Institute of Applied
Economic and Social Research, Aust. Government Publishing
Service, Canberra, 1992.
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