Density without intensity and what to do about it: reassembling public/private interfaces in Melbourne's Southbank hinterland

Melbourne's Southbank hinterland has developed over the past 20 years from an exclusively industrial area to become one of the densest residential neighbourhoods in Australia containing some of the tallest residential towers in the globe. It is a mixed-use precinct within easy walking distance of a revitalised riverfront, central city and arts centre, yet the streets are relatively lifeless, lined with the black holes and blank walls of car-based urban design. This paper is an exploration of this urbanism of ‘density without intensity’ and what might be done about it. The relation of density to urban street-life intensity is mediated by the urban design of the public/private interface. Interfaces are analysed spatially, through a typology based on permeability, transparency and setback. A framework is then developed for understanding the potential adaptation of interface types, based on existing market-based practices including infill of setbacks, appropriation of public space and reuse of car-park space. The paper deploys a loose framework of assemblage theory to support a rethinking of the public/private interface and its relations to street-life intensity.