Dubai was a city unlike anything I expected. I understood there was wealth, but to the degree of what I saw was astounding. Yet despite the grandeur and expense spent on the city, the people were people, the city was a city. Yet the expense of running the desalination plant and air-conditioning would have been expensive and there seemed to be little in the ways of renewable energy despite the almost constant sunshine.

  

My initial impressions of Sheffield were one of excitement, it seems like what I expected (that being unlike anything in Australia) and to see the amount of historical buildings makes me reminisce of Bendigo. Yet unlike Australian heritage buildings, many of the Sheffield buildings have had their insides changed and altered to fit modern use, even the Queen’s Head pub, one of the oldest buildings in Sheffield has a comparatively modern inside and so much of the historical value of that building is lost.

 

Talking to a student planner from Sheffield Hallam University it is apparent that planning in England is vastly more different from Australia and even the issues seem to differ. Sprawl is apparently not as large an issue in England but there is hardly any new land to build on minus demolishing a number of other buildings (and many of these can be historical).

 The site visits have been interesting especially the tour of Kelham Island. Kelham Island has a number of old factories that are still derelict and yet modern development is taking place. The museum was fascinating and by looking at the giant machinery and you can imaging what the pollution would have been like. I have become very interested in the English social housing system and the fact its different to Australia’s State/Federal system. This is spurring me into reading books every night on the subject and this information will contribute to my group presentation. Park Hill was exciting to see and this has fed the fuel to read more about English social housing.

 

- Jack Roland Wiltshire - Bachelor of Urban, Rural and Environmental Planning