Activities in defendable space areas: Reflections on the Wye River-Separation Creek fire

In December 2015 bushfires devastated the coastal Victorian towns of Wye River and Separation Creek, challenging the provision of effective defendable space. This paper uses observations from two cases to describe and comment on the activities that can occur within defendable space areas established for bushfire risk reduction. It focuses on the activities taking place immediately before, during and after bushfire events. The paper commences with a general description of defendable space, its objectives, its terminology in the Australian context, and the mechanisms of its regulation. Examples from the Wye River and Separation Creek 2015 Christmas Day fire events are used to raise design-related challenges associated with effective defendable space provision. The paper particularly focuses on challenges in difficult or unusual contexts, such as settlements with unusual pre-existing lot and road patterns or steep slopes. It is argued that a clearer understanding of these challenges and activities will allow for effective and responsive design of defendable space by urban designers, urban planners, architects and landscape architects.