Kitchen Table Sustainability

Reflections on the Adelaide book-signing event, November 2008

When I emigrated to Australia in 1968, the second person I met was Hugh Stretton, now widely regarded as one of Australia’s foremost urbanists. In his kitchen at 61 Tynte Street, North Adelaide, actually at his kitchen table, Hugh was putting the finishing touches to what was to become one of Australian planning’s classic texts: Ideas for Australian Cities (1970).

I remember him pasting an image of an “orphan” on his mock-up of the back cover because, as he explained, six professional publishers had rejected his book.

My friendship with Hugh continues to this day. We spent many fiery sessions on the Board of the South Australian Housing Trust in the 1970s nutting out housing policy and arguing about women’s shelters and homelessness. I was the only woman on the  Board and its youngest member. Hugh was the powerful (and to me frightening) Deputy Chair. They were feisty times, as South Australia grappled with a more enlightened model of social housing that had been proposed by the Trust’s 1936 enabling legislation.

So it was with great delight (and much surprise) that I found myself embracing my dear friend and former sparring partner at the Adelaide Kitchen Table Sustainability book-signing event, generously hosted by my colleagues at Urban and Regional Planning Solutions (www.urps.com.au) on 20 November 2008.

The first thing Hugh said, after a warm hug, was that he hoped I did not mind if he had a few criticisms of the book.

“It wouldn’t be right, ” I replied. “After all these years of disagreements — and agreements, it’s only fair.”

Old Friends, November 2008

The generosity of my Adelaide colleagues, and  in particular, Angela Hazebroek, a longtime planning colleague and dear friend, and the blessing of my forty years of friendship with Hugh, now 83, remind me of the importance of connections across the generations. Our book has been written by representatives of three generations.

A member of another generation – and an eminent scholar– reminds us of what we have forgotten.

What I had not forgotten — and the warm smiles, laughter and good cheer of the URPS book signing-event bore testament to that – is the power of friendship.  And the great blessing of a professional community.

Thank-you, dear Hugh.