Gordon Stephenson

Gordon Stephenson (6 June 1908 – 30 March 1997) was a British-born town planner and architect. He is best known for his role in shaping the modern growth and development of Perth, Western Australia.

Gordon Stephenson
Born6 June 1908
DiedMarch 29, 1997(1997-03-29) (aged 88)
Claremont, Western Australia
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Town planner
Architect

Biography

Gordon Stephenson was born in 1908. He studied architecture at the University of Liverpool, graduating in 1930. Following this, he studied at the University of Paris, and during this time worked in the atelier of Le Corbusier.[1]

Early career

His early career included working with Patrick Abercrombie on the Greater London Plan.[2] Along with Peter Shepheard, he created an influential[3] design for Stevenage, the first post-war British new town, which incorporated a pedestrianised town centre.

In 1953, he was commissioned by the state government of Western Australia to produce a plan for the metropolitan area of Perth and Fremantle.[2] The resulting 1955 Plan for the Metropolitan Region was co-authored with Alistair Hepburn, and is commonly known as the "Stephenson-Hepburn Report". It included an atlas of maps which laid down a broad pattern of future land uses including highways and open space, and catered for significant additional population growth.[4]

The report formed the basis for the 1963 Metropolitan Region Scheme for Perth and Fremantle, a legal instrument for regulating land-use and development in the urban area.[5] It remained the overarching strategic plan for the development of Perth until it was succeeded by the Corridor Plan for Perth in 1970.[4]

Later career

In 1953 he returned to the UK to take up the Chair of Civic Design at the University of Liverpool and, following his work in Perth, he was employed variously as a consultant planner and academic in New Zealand, Canada, and America. In Halifax, Canada, he is known for his 1957 plan to redevelop the entire downtown core as well as the forceful eviction of Africville, a historically black neighborhood. He subsequently returned to Perth and continued to play an important role in its development, amongst other things crafting plans for Joondalup and Midland regional centres, and for the campus of Murdoch University.[6]

In later life, he authored several books. He died on 30 March 1997.[7]

Personal life and collaboration with Flora Crockett

In 1938, Stephenson married New Jersey-born Flora Bartlett Crockett (1914-1979). She had been one of the first two women to graduate in City Planning from MIT, in 1937. The two collaborated on published work and research thereafter. Gerald Dix writes of Crockett: "She was an immense support and a sound professional collaborator upon whose judgement her relied in much of his work for 40 years. It was a great blow to him when she died in 1979."[8] The Stephensons had three daughters: Gail, Sarah and Ann.[9]

Legacy

Following his death in 1997, the Western Australian Minister for Planning acknowledged Stephenson's contributions to the development of the state, and his vision as providing the blueprint for the growth of the metropolitan region since 1963.[10]

On 28 August 2011, the WA State Government announced that the recently completed building informally known as one40william would be renamed Gordon Stephenson House.[11]

The Planning Department at the University of Liverpool is located in the Gordon Stephenson Building.

Works

Reports
  • Plan for the metropolitan region: Perth and Fremantle (1955)
  • A Redevelopment Study of Halifax, Nova Scotia (1957)
  • The design of central Perth; some problems and possible solutions : a study made for the Perth Central Area Design Co-ordinating Committee (1975).
  • Joondalup regional centre : a plan prepared for the government of Western Australia, the Wanneroo Shire Council and the MRPA (1977).[12]
  • Midland Regional Centre: A plan prepared for the government of Western Australia, the Swan Shire Council and the MRPA (1977).
  • Plan for the shire of Swan: prepared for the Swan Shire Council (1978).

Books
  • On a Human Scale - A Life in City Design. Fremantle Arts centre Press. 1992.

References
  1. Gregory, Jenny. "Stephenson, Gordon (1908–1997)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. Murdoch University: Honorary Degree Citation, Emeritus Professor Gordon Stephenson, CBE
  3. Ford, B: "The Cambridge cultural history of Britain", page 153. Cambridge University Press, 1992.
  4. "Guiding Perth's Growth: A Regional Perspective" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  5. "Urban Development" (PDF). www.wapc.wa.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2008.
  6. "GORDON STEPHENSON". www.west.com.au.
  7. Indexed obituaries wa.gov.au
  8. Gerald Dix, 'The compassionate planner: An appreciation of the life and work of Gordon Stephenson' The Town Planning Review Vol. 68, No. 3 (July 1997), pp. iii-xiv
  9. Christine Garnaut, ‘Flora Crockett Stephenson (1914-1979): Forty Years of Collaborations in Planning 15th IPHS Conference, http://www.usp.br/fau/iphs/abstractsAndPapersFiles/SS_RF02_GARNAUT.pdf
  10. "Legislative Assembly for Tuesday, 8 April 1997 (Hansard)" (PDF). Parliament of Western Australia. 8 April 1997. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2020.
  11. "New State Government major office complex named after eminent WA architect". 28 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  12. "Gordon Stephenson CBE. 1908-1997". Archived from the original on 21 March 2018.
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