ABSTRACT
This book has given an account, or rather several accounts, of Rouse Hill and of the ideas about urban form that helped to shape it. It focused on a period, the early 1990s, when suburban form was being actively reinterpreted. The study revolved around two concerns: how ideas, perspectives, or frameworks about urban form were constructed or articulated; and the effects of these ideas on (plans for) Rouse Hill. It approached these questions by telling the story of Rouse Hill in four ways. First, it described the conversations between several frameworks that groups involved in Rouse Hill used to interpret the project and envision its future. Second, it outlined and critiqued some of the metaphors or images that helped focus and represent public and professional discussions about the project. Third, it explored the formal planning process and a series of emerging problems, a situation at once highly structured yet open to external influences and manipulation. Fourth, the volume examined moves toward privatization, focusing on two public-private coalitions diverging significantly in their scope of influence.
