The Present via the Past: An Archaeological Approach to Analysing the Design and Use of a Contemporary Urban Village

This paper looks at the Kelvin Grove Urban Village (KGUV), Brisbane, Australia, as a case study for social sustainability. The urban village model - and how it is translated across time and place within current modes of urban design - is analysed using an archaeological lens. Archaeological theory is useful for this study as it provides a way of disentangling the design and planning of this urban village (documentation, plans, marketing material) and the reality of life within this urban space. The reality of life is considered as the lived-in dimension of space and the material traces of that reality. Archaeology is adept at collecting and describing those material traces. The material evidence at the KGUV suggests that the reality of living and using this urban village is different to what was intended in the conception and planning of this site.