‘My Brunswick, Our Brunswick’ Community Book.
‘My Brunswick, Our Brunswick’ Community Book
RMIT PlaceLab set out on this research project with a seemingly simple objective: to understand what makes Brunswick, Brunswick. We hoped to gather rich, personal, and shared insights into both local space-making and cultural practices, and stories (past, present, and emerging) that exist within the Brunswick community. In doing so, we aspired to make tangible the somewhat elusive and intangible notion of ‘Brunswick’s unique urban character’.
Our motivation to do this research was to provide a snapshot of Brunswick community reflections that might be of use as they confront transformative changes: many associated with major infrastructure projects, the climate emergency, and urban gentrification. Academic research tells us that – given the social, economic, and environmental consequences of urban changes – the participation of communities in transparent and rigorous processes of community engagement is a critical determinant in achieving outcomes that are not just economically successful, but also socially- and environmentally- just. However, it is equally recognised that the implementation of effective processes and practices around community engagement remains a problematic fault-line.
In this context, we imagined that, by contributing to the understandings of Brunswick’s unique urban character, we might offer the community a useful mechanism to protect, preserve, or enable things that are essential to the fabric of the area. It is to be seen whether we have achieved even small steps toward this goal.
The information and insights shared in this book are the results of the research we undertook with the Brunswick community over three months: July, August, and September 2023. This included an online survey that was completed by 237 people, walking interviews with eight local community members, and photography trails by commissioning eight Brunswick-based photographers to gather rich Brunswick images. These activities focused on the area of Brunswick bounded by Sydney Road and the Upfield Rail Line.
‘My Brunswick, Our Brunswick’ Community Book, front and back.
Undertaking research with people is always a privilege, but researching with the Brunswick community has also been an immense joy.
– RMIT Brunswick PlaceLab Team
RMIT PlaceLab would like to thank all our community collaborators, who generously contributed to the ‘Voice, Vibe & Vision’ Research Project and its activities.
Survey Participants: The 237 people who contributed to our Community Survey.
Walking Interview Participants:
- Pablo Gonzales, Founder/Story Listener, Brunswick Daily
- Derham Groves, Local resident and architectural historian
- Elizabeth Jackson, President, Brunswick Community History Group
- Max Malone, That Paper Joint
- Jeremy McLeod, Co-founder & Design Director, Breathe
- Maria-Luisa Nardella, Local resident
- Joseph Norster, General Manager, Siteworks
- Haikal Raji, A1 Bakery
Photographer Trail Contributors:
- Camille Perry
- Kim Canales-Ascui
- Laura May Grogan
- Matthew Parsons
- Nicholas Orloff
- Rowan Green
- Stacy Wang
- Theresa Harrison
Project Collaborators:
- Georgina Nolan, PhD Candidate, School of Design, RMIT University
- Jordan Lacey and Tim Denshire-Key, Industrial Design Studio Leads, School of Design, RMIT University
- Students from the RMIT Bachelor of Industrial Design Studio – ‘Exploring Brunswick Atmospheres: Past, Present, Future’
- Max Malone & Zoe Crook, Community Partners & Workshop Facilitators, Voice, Vibe & Vision ‘Collage Brunswick’ Community Workshop
Partners:
- Troy Stuchbree, Sydney Road Traders Association
- Brunswick Design District (BDD)
- Merri-bek City Council
With Thanks To:
- Andy Fergus
- Mark Phillips, Brunswick Voice
The Key Collaborators and Contributors to ‘My Brunswick, Our Brunswick’ Community Book at our Brunswick Exhibition. Images: Suzanne Phoenix.
The Team Behind The Book
The design of this book was created by Georgie Nolan, a designer, researcher and educator living and working in Melbourne, Victoria (Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung country), and Nhu Bui, RMIT PlaceLab-er. We appreciate the care and consideration Georgie has applied in beautifully portraying the Brunswick community’s ‘Voice, Vibe and Vision’.
Our RMIT PlaceLab team involved in the creation of this book includes Louise Godwin, Nhu Bui, Hayley Thompson, Frances Gordon, Kiri Delly and Brock Hogan.
All images in this book are credited to their original owners. Collages in the book are from our PlaceLab X ‘that paper joint’ Community Collage Workshop. All other images are taken by PlaceLab-ers during walking interviews.
We would like to thank Dennis Grauel for creating the ‘Brunswick Grotesque’ typeface, which has worked wonderfully with the rest of the book content to portray Brunswick’s essence.
This book is printed in Victoria by E-Plot.
Request a Copy of ‘My Brunswick, Our Brunswick’ Book
If you missed the chance to grab a physical copy of the book at our exhibition, don’t worry because we have made it accessible online.
To request a digital copy of the book, simply send us an email via this address: hello@placelab.rmit.edu.au. Our PlaceLab Team will respond as quickly as we can, and provide you with the full digital book file.
Thank you for your patience and interest in reading our Brunswick Community book!