South Australia has a Commissioner for Integrated Design ---currently Tim Horton. It sounds good as Adelaide has lacked a genuine commitment to design in the city’s public realm for some time, even though Adelaide is based on the grid-like urban design of Colonel Light. Currently it has a culture of risk aversion.

The position arose out of Laura Lee's 2009 residency at South Australia's thinkers in resident that was concerned with the new urban form’ for Adelaide City and sustainable futures. Her residence focused on the value of design and the impact of the built environment on the quality of life for SA residents and was supported by the Institute of Architects. Her report is not online.

However, It is hard to figure out what the Commissioner for Integrated Design does. The brief says:

Integrated Design recognises that the nature of our challenges has shifted with increasing interdependence on component parts. Cities are just one example of a complex system that crosses traditional boundaries of responsibility including transport, planning, health and education, sustainability and finance. Multi-disciplinary perspectives are required to respond to global and local challenges....The key objective of the Integrated Design Commission (IDC) South Australia is to advocate the value of design and assume a whole of government (local and state) approach in advocating for, and advising on, ways to achieve excellence in the designed environment through an intelligent investment approach.

We have the usual rhetoric of eveloping strategies that will improve the city character, making Adelaide more appealing, vibrant and desirable as a place to visit, live and work. Fair enough. What are these strategies? What sort of city is being envisioned?