- Title
- Listening for a change: Sound and agency at the urban/rural interface
- Creator
- Merlino, Dean; Duffy, Michelle
- Date
- 2010
- Type
- Text; Conference paper
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/76138
- Identifier
- vital:7504
- Identifier
- ISBN: 9780975774748
- Abstract
- The town of Officer is situated some 50km southeast of Melbourne, Australia. Nestled quietly between the current southeast edges of Melbourne's suburban sprawl in Berwick and the satellite city of Pakenham, Officer was once a solidly rural space. The main street of the town is an uncomplicated stretch of the Princess Highway, connecting Melbourne on to the entire Gippsland region of Victoria. It is lined with shops selling garden supplies, timber, hardware, pumps and irrigation supplies, sheds and gazebos. Despite this relatively quaint and rural-based aesthetic, Officer is part of Australia's changing spaces. The population of Australian cities is growing rapidly, and Melbourne's suburbia pushes further out through its heavily populated growth corridors, spreading west, north and east. Spreading beyond Berwick, this urban sprawl has infiltrated Officer. Its once rich pasturelands and rural spaces are quickly being levelled and coated in asphalt and housing slabs. As with other growth corridors, individual wellbeing and a sense of community will be increasingly tested as infrastructure and human services lag behind population growth. These changes are particularly significant for young people. The current population of young people is expected to more than double in the next decade, but, as a local government reports suggest, there is an urgent need for improved infrastructure and initiatives that will recognise and assist young people in feeling "connected to their community through a sense of belonging and wellbeing." (Cardinia Shire Council 2007). This is our point of departure.
- Relation
- Instruments of Change: Proceedings of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music Australia-New Zealand 2010 Conference p. 71-76
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
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