We collaborate with external agencies including: The 2021-22 Beach Health Report assesses the health of Gold Coast ocean beaches annually. There was little or no planning legislation in place to protect the coastline. 2023 Dr Hayley Stainton, all rights reserved. While many other coastal cities relied on port facilities to develop commercial and naval activities, the City of Gold Coast emerged and grew as a tourism destination. Since the 1950s the histories of the City of Gold Coast have shown little responsibility for the past and scant obligation to future generations. feaces in the water upstream!! The Waterways Authority were frequently involved in controversy over commercial development rights on public land in the city (Condon, 2006). Community Engagement: Practical strategies for empowerment or wishful narrative?, URL: . Personal construct theory was used to identify resident perceptions of 12 elicited tourist attractions on the Gold Coast of Australia. Given the population figures of the City and the number of dog owners, these beaches are highly valued by the users thereof. Bosman, C., A. Dedekorkut-Howes and A. Leach (2016). In order to bypass local Government planning restrictions (and we argue the views and input of local communities) the State sought absolute control over the planning and development processes by declaring the project a Significant Development. The supposition being that the advice from the Board would be in favour of development. The surveys were done at various times of the day and on different days of the week throughout the survey period. Tourism can often not succeed without the environment due the fact that it relies on it (after all we cant go on a beach holiday without a beach or go skiing without a mountain, can we?). Shibley (2000). Despites this shift in national government approach to coastal management, conflicts still regularly make the headlines regarding the management and development of coastal areas in Australia. Place as an integrating concept in natural resource politics: Propositions for a social science research agenda, Society and Natural Resources, 16: 87-104. PDF Tourism and Coastal Degradation - United Nations Environment Programme Conflict, Change and Conflict Resolution, In Austin, B. Fischer, M., Giessmann, H. J. At Griffith Institute for Tourism our members take on world leading research in tourism. In effect the State Government created its own proponent for the project, a proponent that was also to advise the Government. Yet by early 2014, the Newman State Government nominated the ASF China Consortium developer to build a cruise ship terminal in the vicinity of the Spit. For tourist areas such as the City of Gold Coast, place is not simply a location it is a culmination of social processes along with tourist perceptions, or an intersection of various global flows, not just of money or capital, but of visitors (Urry, 1995). Using observed market expenditure to estimate the value of recreational surfing to the Gold Coast, Australia, Proceedings from the Queensland Coastal Conference. The Gold Coast is one of the most important tourism destinations in Australia. 3The notion of conflict has been well documented since Marx (1959) first wrote about it in 1844 (for example see Kriesberg, 1982; Austin et al., 2011). This suggests that the people who signed and attended the Save Our Spit rally were not necessarily the ones who visited the Spit on an everyday, regular basis. Importantly, the survey data indicated that the Spit environs were perceived as a safe and valuable community asset. The feeling of attachment that is produced from knowing a place comes from living that place. Gold Coast | Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport 19To provide effective opposition to the state government and its plans for the Southport Spit a consortium of community groups joined to form the Save Our Spit Alliance (SOSA). How the Gold Coast games transformed a resort region into a city "The Value of Place" in Mr. Gjerde & E. Petrovic (eds), Proceedings of UHPH 14 Landscapes and ecologies of urban history and planning: 47-60. Gold Coast City Council (2010). They also form a key defence against erosion, protecting people, properties and infrastructure. Essentially the place becomes vulnerable as local everyday activity nodes move elsewhere and tourists do not return. This includes some of the most popular establishments such as Chevron Renaissance, Circle on Cavill, Orchid Residences among others. She said: it would be great if [the Spit] was less environmentally sensitive, if people had less emotional attachment to it that would make it a lot easier. (Courier Mail, 2006). These notions and outcomes frequently privilege and inscribe new ideas and concepts. Today the city welcomes more than 12 million visitors annually (ABS, 2015). Whilst inconvenient for tourists who had planned to travel here, this is a positive example of tourism environmental management and we are beginning to see more examples such as this around the world. Best (1994) offers a somewhat less Euro-centric, perspective, stating it could be argued that Aborigines were fighting to save their economic resources, that is, the water-holes, demanding that the land and the people be respected. Sustainable living Creating a greener home is easier than you think. (2001). New players invariably bring with them new ideas, concepts, beliefs and place values. Anderson, B. Visitor Attitudes Toward Tourism Development and Product Integration in an Australian Urban-Rural Fringe. This energetic and dedicated group organised a number of rallies and delegations and petitions over the next two years (Figure 5) and maintained (and continue to maintain) an evocative and resourceful web site. Place: A Short Introduction, Carlton, Blackwell. Environmental impacts, including dredging, erosion, flooding and air and water pollutants from the cruise liners. Areas that would be home to a wide array of flora and fauna are turned into hotels, car parks and swimming pools. Cartier, C. and Lew, A. It can put enormous pressure on an area and lead to impacts such as: soil erosion, increased pollution, discharges into the sea, natural habitat loss, increased pressure on endangered species and heightened vulnerability to forest fires. Sparkling beaches and waterways are synonymous with our city. The Economic Outlook report is designed to provide a brief, non-technical overview of the Gold Coast's economic performance including post-COVID recovery and growth compared to the state and national level economies. Clark (1995) explains the intensity of conflicts in coastal management since its process operates at the interface between land and water, between private and public stakeholders, as well as between private (or quasi-private) property-based operations in shorelands and public (common) property-based activities in the tidelands and coastal waters. The SOSAs objections to the state governments development proposal were founded on five key points. COMPLIANCE: We are a well-established independent licensed real estate agent and are not affiliated or associated with the on-site management of the resort or hotel. The Gold Coast is one of Australia's most iconic coastal cities. The development of tourism facilities can involve sand mining, beach and sand dune erosion and loss of wildlife habitats. This resulted in the regions most horrific and infamous development conflict, a conflict that was mirrored in nearly all regions across Australia throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries. 7The Gold Coast coastline has, not surprisingly, been significantly impacted by the rapid urbanisation (Figure 2); specifically during the post-war period (the glorious Fifties), and continuing into the 1960s and again in the early 1990s. Dis-placed voices: sense of place and place-identity on the Sunshine Coast, Social and Cultural Geography, 8(5): 755-773. This damages the flora and fauna in the area and can cause serious damage to coral reefs. Important land resources include fertile soil, forests, wetlands and wildlife. Stratford, E. (2009). The dunes also form a critical corridor for movement of wildlife in our urban landscape. Sewage pollution threatens the health of humans and animals. Mayor Tate, backed by the newly elected Newman Liberal National Party State Government put out a call for expressions of interest to develop a range of tourist infrastructure including a casino, hotels and cruise ship terminal on the Spit (See SOSA, a). Submission to the Parliament House, Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts, URL: . This does not mean that one is more important, nor necessarily excludes, nor has to be dominant over the other. In effect the State Government created its own proponent for the project, a proponent that was also to advise the Government. Condon, M. (2003). Moore, C. (1990). The government perceived the Spit to be, and valued the site as, a space of economic opportunity. La plaisance : dveloppement touristique vs protection du littoral? This will enable annual renourishment campaigns of the Surfers Paradise foreshore. Importantly, by declaring the project as a Significant Development the local planning Authority, The Gold Coast City Council, and significantly local communities (old players), were positioned as observers with no authority to input into the project other than decreed and regulated by the State Government (new player). The failure, by planners and urban designers, to take into account local everyday meanings and values can result in the alienation of residential subjects from each other and from their own place (Cartier and Lew, 2005). Tenefrancia, R. (2016). The Gold Coast Transformed, From Wilderness to Urban Ecosystem. Comprehensive research to asses such proposals would generate the economic models and social impact studies needed to advance such decision making and capitalise positively on the current tourism boom. High rise hotels and buildings which are not in character with the surrounding architecture or landscape contribute to a lack of atheistic appeal. Conflict then potentially occurs as a result of the difference in place values between the new and old players/community members. Ten years of implementing Australias Oceans Policy: From an integrated approach to an environmental policy focus. 22Nevertheless, on Friday 03 August 2007 (just over two years from the first public announcement) the Premier Peter Beattie proclaimed that the Cruise Ship Terminal on the Spit would not proceed. The old players in this development conflict include those that value the Spit for its historic/existing/inherent/familiar characteristics and qualities: desirable, usable, accessible, equitable, free, public open space. It is today one of the last significant undeveloped public green spaces in the city. Learn how you can help. Language, and in particular advertising, is a key constructor of place, especially with regard to tourist places. 14One place that epitomises the challenges regarding development conflicts and place value in the City of Gold Coast is the Southport Spit. New players and new ideas are likely to result in proposals for the development of the Spit environs time and time again in the future. Seventy-eight percent of visitors to the Gold Coast come from elsewhere in Australia. Wise, P. (2006). Although one could argue that these circumstances might reflect as well the maturity of the national Australian Oceans Policy and a good diffusion among the public (hence increased awareness), Vince. The process of constructing place meanings, values and attachments is the result of a multitude of influences and factors (Dovey, 1999; Creswell, 2004; Massey, 1994; Carter, Dyer and Sharma, 2007; Vanclay, Higgins and Blackshaw, 2008). Mitchell, C. R. (2011). It is important to note that the Spit is one of three (and it is the primary) off-leash dog exercise beach. , 1840-1860, B.A. For seven decades now, local communities have fought to keep The Spit for low rise, low impact, marine based and tourist activities. For instance, in 1999, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act introduced an important change as it gave the Australian Government significant powers to influence coastal environmental policy and planning (. The following are some of the tourism impacts which are most cited in the literature [3, 4, 9, 17, 20, 22]. Lazarow, N. and R. Tomlinson (2009). Lynda Schneekloth and Robert Shibley (2000) suggest that [p]lace making is the way all of us as human beings transform the places in which we find ourselves into places in which we live. At last, the cycle of conflicts seems, currently, to have stalled with the repetitive impetus of new players (develop the Spit! 9Donning the social constructionist goggles allows us to observe the built and natural landscape as a social-spatial framework within which people, from different cultural, social and economic groups, interact and create a shared sense of place (Greider and Garkovich, 1994; Mangun et al., 2009). In 2021-22, 19 of 23 beaches along the Gold Coast were On Track. (ed. Artistic impression of the Cruise Ship Terminal, Credits: extracted from the Gold Coast Integrated Resort Master plan Report, p60. (2011). The intent of this Paper was to produce an integrated and coordinated land use and management plan for the Gold Coast Broadwater (Whelan, 2006). Kruger and S.E. Increased construction of tourism facilities has increased the pressure on these resources and on scenic landscapes. 8The process of constructing place meanings, values and attachments is the result of a multitude of influences and factors (Dovey, 1999; Creswell, 2004; Massey, 1994; Carter, Dyer and Sharma, 2007; Vanclay, Higgins and Blackshaw, 2008). The impact of tourism brings both positive and negative growth. You can also look at ways to offset your carbon footprint. This is evidenced in Machu Pichu as well as other well known destinations and attractions, as I discussed earlier in this post. Learn more about how we care for our coastline. The old players continue to advocate for more transparent governance and to protect the quality of life that has become intrinsic to a valued, renowned and iconic Gold Coast lifestyle (Bosman, 2016) and identity (Potts et al, 2013). The more this occurs, the more damage that is caused. Instead the augment put forward by the government was that the decision not to proceed was based on the cost to taxpayers; an economic, rationale not an environmental, nor a cultural, and certainly not a social or community rationale. The Council of the City of Gold Coast also revealed that 20% of the city's total earnings come from the tourism industry. The Spit is located at the northern end of the city (see Figure 1), across the Broadwater from the early (1880s) settlement of Southport, and is the result of the reconfiguration of the sand dune at the mouth of the Nerang River in the late 1800s following a series of storms (see GCCM, 2006). The water running down the streams was so clear and perfect that some of my friends had suggested we drink some. Private land conservation The casuarina forest. Annual visitors also give business to 151 hotels, motels, and serviced apartments. Given the population figures of the City and the number of dog owners, these beaches are highly valued by the users thereof. The surveys were done at various times of the day and on different days of the week throughout the survey period. Often tourism fails to integrate its structures with the natural features and indigenous architecture of the destination. This norm has been established over time and is embedded in the value of, and the attachment people have to, the place. Beach cleaning. On the 11 February 2010 the local Federal Member of Parliament send out an email survey asking his constituents if they wanted a cruise ship terminal on the Spit, the Broadwater or neither? This email followed in the footsteps of a previous announcement by the state government, in mid-2008, of their (renewed) intention of developing a cruise ship terminal in the vicinity of the Southport Spit. SOSA d. URL: . Urry, J. If we analyze the history of the development of the Spit in relation to the conflicts cycle mentioned in the introduction, it appears that this site remains a major object of desire for any new players on the Gold Coast. Solid waste and littering can degrade the physical appearance of the water and shoreline and cause the death of marine animals. Spitfight, The Courier Mail, 08 April. Largely because of this phenomenon, the pattern of settlement and subsequent development of the city differs from most traditional Australian settlement and development patterns. Queensland Parliamentary Debates, (Member for Burleigh, ALP), 28/2/2006. The Gold Coast is one of Australia's most iconic coastal cities. To make informed decisions it is important to ask the customers themselves what they want. It did however mark a change in decision-making processes, as did the (temporary) securing of the Spit as a free, undeveloped; public open space. Cambridge: Polity. With no overriding jurisdiction covering the enforcement of planning law in coastal areas, many social, environmental and development conflicts arose. Importantly, by declaring the project as a Significant Development the local planning Authority, The Gold Coast City Council, and significantly local communities (old players), were positioned as observers with no authority to input into the project other than decreed and regulated by the State Government (new player). Although one could argue that these circumstances might reflect as well the maturity of the national Australian Oceans Policy and a good diffusion among the public (hence increased awareness), Vince et al., (2015) have demonstrated that the policy did not lived up its promise as the major instrument driving oceans management in Australia, and that sector based management remains the main modus operandi.
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