The health and well-being of Sudanese young men in Melbourne

The health and well-being needs of young refugee men from Sudan are not adequately addressed by settlement services. To address this, I recommend using Ubuntu and Afrocentric approaches that emphasise dialogue. I have highlighted the problem areas where attention and action is needed for them to realise their full potential.

Landscape changes in Denpasar City

Denpasar City is one of cities in Bali Province which faces the problem of landscape change. Most land use is for rice fields, dry lands, crops, housing, grave yards, fish ponds, forests and other functions. Based on Agriculture Office, in 2010 Denpasar City has 20% rice fields of the city’s total area, compared to 41% rice fields of the city’s area in 1992. This shows that Denpasar landscape has changed from agriculture field to commerce, housing, industry etc. and that changing landscape also happened in several green belt areas. This fact is supported by the Agriculture Office report that Denpasar City lose rice field about 25 hectares every year. In contrast, Denpasar City must provide at least 30% of land for open spaces. Furthermore, Denpasar City should keep city based on traditional philosophy such as Tri Hita Karana concept, Rwa Bhineda concept, etc. This paper examines the causes of landscape changes due to growing of population, tourism facilities, economic, and lack of government policy. There are the negative impacts of landscape changes which are associated with social economics and environmental issues. This study seeks to offer guidance for the legitimate use of landscape planning for sustainability development in Denpasar City. Some recommendations could be applied such as prevention of population growth, tourism development base, strict building regulation and increase tax property, and provide the policy and institutional options in land use planning.

Landscapes in transition : local perceptions of indigenous and European settlement changes along the Victorian coast

Around the world coastal areas are witnessing dramatic changes due to the consequences of the growth of human settlements. Rapid urban expansion in coastal settlements due to ‘life style migration’ impacts negatively on environmental coastal amenities that are the driving factor behind the attraction of these areas. The Victorian Coast in Australia is under stress, with the growth pattern of coastal settlements in a sprawling linear fashion resulting in devastating effects on the natural coastal environment, biodiversity and the loss of cultural heritage. The Victorian coast is rich in history, and the coastal towns are often described in literature as places with ‘sense of place’, or referred to as place character. This place character has been formed over many years with the interaction between social histories and natural environments woven together across time. This paper reviews the transition of the landscapes along the Great Ocean Road coastal region, and ask the question how can a potential Generative Plan be developed to establish a process to keep the place character of coastal towns. The proposed plan considers the interrelationships of nature and people as fundamental to forming place character, from the time of Indigenous habitation before European settlement, to the current day of rapid increased developments scattered along this coast.