The main project is that of the redevelopment of Garden place, the open public space off Victoria Street. Garden place was once empty becoming dangerous at night as limited eyes were on the street. But the introduction of events such as 'Summer in Garden Place' which held a number of music festivals and childrens events such as free movie screenings on a temporary big screen has encouraged people to use the public space. But will this create a sense of place within the city? I personally believe the Hamilton City Council will have to do more then just hold a few events to change Hamiltonians way of thinking about public space and the city centre.
Hamilton City Council has introduced seating and grassed areas which have the potential to be utilised by people for different things such as eating lunch or simply just people watching. But what else can you do in Garden Place unless there is an event on? The question that arises from this is will people in Hamilton use it?
Hamiltonians are prone to going to shopping malls instead of spending time in public space due to the suburbanisation of Hamilton and the limited vibrant public spaces avaliable to them have instilled this sense of behaviour within them. I believe the only thing missing from Garden Place is a thriving cafe scene as this would bring people into the space and make it more versitile as right now it just has a few shops and the Hamilton Central Library. This draws limited people in. therefore maybe Hamilton City Council should encourage cafes and restaurants into the area to make it more happening.
Hamilton City Council must make the most of this redevelopment in order to maximise the use of this public space. It is simply a matter of 'watch this space' for the revitalisation of the Hamilton city centre.
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