When the re-envisioned King George Square was unveiled 18 months ago, Brisbanites responded in collective outrage. Where was the shade ? Where was the colour ? Grey granite paving yet again *groan* !

It was during the gleaming freshness of the honeymoon period, that we regular folk realised we bristled with sunburn after just a quick dash from one side of the square to the other. So imagine the hell wreaked upon the alabaster skins of the brooding posse of Goths loitering at the doorstep of City Hall.

And the response from Can-do-Campbell ?

“Wait,” was what we were told.

He said the couple of fig trees planted in the paved expanse would one day provide enough umbrage for a veritable bevy of emos, punks and Goths – though it would be many years, and generations of fringe-dwelling subcultures before we could enjoy their shady respite.

It’s fair enough to understand that, as visiting locals to our redeveloped public spaces, we must tolerate a period during which the subtropical vegetation can grow to sufficient maturity. Think South Bank’s iconic arbour during its steely stark beginnings. Were we not initially horrified at the ugly industrial aesthetic ? But in time, we have taken into our hearts the clipped and coiffed purple beauty of the bougainvillea treillage. New Farm park too, in its infancy would have appeared incomplete without her graceful Jacaranda flowers carpeting our paths in dusty pink flowers and contributing to our city’s inappreciable seasonal identity. Thus, it is not unheard for BrizVegas to have waited patiently to take pleasure in the mature offering of trees and plants.

What I find harder to forgive, however, are the poorly considered excuses for built public infrastructure dotted about our parks and squares. Why are we so forgiving of hastily constructed and/or cookie cutter picnic tables, shelters, public art, toilet blocks, public works buildings, etc ? There is no reason why the same logic of delayed gratification from soft landscaping should not be similarly applied to hardscaping. We are right to demand more of our public spaces and subscribe to the old adage of quality over quantity, this being an especially salient point in an era of rapidly depleting resources. Consideration of a materials palette which bears a relationship to the site in which it is to be applied would result in sui generis design rather than carbon copying of precedent exemplars.

To visit the most recent of the CBD’s public spaces, the Kangaroo Point parkland with its steel, glass and poured concrete is to think oneself in Anywhere Parkland, BrisVegas. There are no noteworthy features (apart from the spectacular river backdrop) which signify to the visitor where he or she is. Almost identical to countless other urban parks throughout our city, it lacks flair and is really quite boring.

For the future, let us celebrate South East Queensland’s regional identity through public space and continue our explorations into developing local design vernacular.

It's pretty clear that Prince William is completely out veneering Anna Bligh on his grinning tour of our disaster areas. Who hasn't been won over by his rumpled royal charm slowly melting into a glistening, sweaty mess under the Queensland sun ?Not even a glossy Women's Day spread could hurt his popularity right now. Can-Do-Campbell has been undeniably knocked from his mantle as Queensland's Prince.

However, I don't believe the assemblies of greeters are drawn solely by the man's royal status. If Lady Gaga graced the Top End in a garment fashioned from Rockhampton steak, she would doubtless attract as many, if not more curious onlookers. Prince William's is a draw card not because he is a Prince but because he is a celebrity, and in our modern times, they are one and the same. If he and Kate Middleton have a baby between now and when Australia holds its next republic referendum, there's no way Brisbanites will vote to become independent.

“What is a 21^st Century city?” was the question posed by Alan Saunders to open the GoMA talks lecture ‘What makes up a 21^st Century City and are there any boundaries’ earlier this month. The only panellist – including the By Design host – worthy of his place, architectural professor Michael Keniger, quite obviously pointed out that it must be a city existing in the 21^st Century. There came a chuckle from the audience. But more importantly, he added, it must be a city with prudence of the 22^nd Century.

When attending these kinds of pompous evening talks, I always hope the pre-lecture wine and blue cheese isn’t going to be the highlight of the night, though it was definitely the case for this one. And from the way Mr Saunders belched his way through his officiating duties it seemed as though he’d enjoyed a lubricating afternoon soiree at a fancy bistro too.

It’s an absurdly broad topic to discuss in an hour especially with a panel of four, each of whom were introduced in long form, complete with accurate titling and comprehensive timelines of their professional experience. (The intern writing Mr Saunders’ notes needs a lesson in editing.)

There was also an attempt by the creative team at GoMA to engage the digital audience by webcasting the lecture in real time to allow twitterers to comment on the dialogue unfolding in the gallery theatre. The live audience had a chance to read incoming tweets up on the big screen and while most were inane, a few comments downloaded from the ether onto Mr Saunders’ iPad did resonate and add something to the discussion.

Much of the hour was spent listening to the panellists disappointingly tangential streams of consciousness, and most skirted around the central question. References to BrisVegas appeared mostly in self-congratulatory, puff offerings about how special and beautiful our city is, how we have such a wonderful climate, how we are so lucky to enjoy green open space. Sure, when compared to megapolises like Calcutta or Hong Kong, BrizVegas is a dream. But let’s not forget South East Queensland needs to change so rapidly – in terms of infrastructure, housing, resource management – in order to meet future population demands that what little breathing space between the skyscrapers that currently exists, can quickly be swallowed up despite best laid contingencies.

Nowhere is it written that city, especially a 21^st Century city, must be synonymous with gridlock, pollution, grey concrete and heat islands. We are allowed to demand more of the place where we spend all our lives and raise our children. That way, even if the utopia of our dreams doesn’t materialise, at least it will keep us occupied until we’re struck by a wall of water.

City Cat. . .City BUZ . . . City Glider . . . Now, City Cycle !

Here is another case of BrizVegas public transport being assigned a zippy name by council’s marketing thinktank. It’s a memorable tag and it gets kudos for having continuity with the rest of our terminally deficient public transport suite. The problem is, however, that this word ‘city’ is bandied around in a smokescreen created by our council, our media and ourselves, the result being that everyone seems to forget we don’t really live in a city at all, but rather a tumorous conglomeration of suburbs.

I would like to note at this point, I am a $60-annually-paying-CityCycle-subscriber, and have trialled the scheme in a dual-pronged effort to support pedal power and better inform this rant.

And herein lies the first sting in the tail. Spontaneity is no friend of CityCycle. One needs forethought, a credit card and a letterbox in order to sign up for even the shortest of joyrides, or else the shiny, sturdy bike frames will taunt passersby from their perfect angle-parked formations. Then, upon receiving the golden ticket in the mail, the recipient is lengthily dictated to – in passive-aggressive tones – about the necessity of wearing a helmet.

Without wanting to discourage anyone from joining the slim ranks of those who have used CityCycle, there are a couple of considerations I feel ought to be taken into account prior to signing up. Need anyone be reminded that BrizVegas is blessed with a hot, horribly humid climate ? It is truly only the dedicated or foolhardy who choose to ride a bicycle in the summer heat. Donning a sweaty helmet and peddling past the industrial warehouses of Montague Road is a far cry from gliding on a Vélib’ along the Champs-Élysées in the wintertime. Similarly, the hilly charm of suburbs such as Paddington can be brutal for even the fittest of cyclists and could only be made more nauseating with a clunky hire bike.

Even without all the bureaucratic and climatic inconveniences of riding these bikes, there remains the most obvious of reasons as to the unsuitability of CityCycle to our city, being what was aforementioned about BrizVegas not actually being a city. Brisbanites (outside of the immediate CityCycle catchment) will not ride the bikes because there is no reasonable cause to. Cars are getting us around just fine. Cities with similar hire bikes schemes, such as Washington DC, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm and London possess many worthy monuments allowing tourists to pedal between them. Conversely, there’s the BrizVegas CityCycle which among its docking stations boasts . . . Southbank, New Farm Park, Kangaroo Point and that funky vegan place in Highgate Hill. Short-stay tourists will surely not hassle themselves with the convoluted and pricy subscription process, so, in its current incarnation, CityCycle must be aimed squarely at commuters travelling the yuppie trail between New farm and West End.

If it survives the scathing backlash from talkback radio and Can Do Campbell’s nemeses, CityCycle could be tweaked so it performs a limited but valid function in providing tourists a fun way to travel the river. Until then, never leave home without your helmet.