In the first of an occasional series of 15 or so ideas on how Hobart could become a greater, vibrant hub of Urban life, (and in no particular order), I give you No.1 – the creation of Mixed Use ‘Workshop’ Zones in identified outer CBD zones.

Heavily directed but allowed to push the boundaries of seemingly incompatible uses, they should provide flats and small office accommodation above small ‘starter’ workshops for budding business and sole traders at ground floor level. Such mixed use development should provide a ‘workshop’ frontage in which you might casually catch glimpses of skilled craft activity, noise, smells and yes, grime as you pass by. The sort of activity that has often been weeded out of the city experience and yet represents opportunities for interaction, stimulus, curiosity and investigation – a move away from the increasingly bland CBD that discourages potential ‘friction’ at the cost of vibrancy and the living city.