A lone light? A critical assessment of the outcomes of the Rundle Convergence Project in Adelaide, South Australia

Flagship urban design projects are increasingly employed by governments to achieve global recognition. Despite the political value placed upon and significant economic investment in flagship urban design projects, measuring their success and failure is extremely subjective. This research engages with this challenge though a critical analysis of the Rundle Convergence Project. Initiated by the City of Adelaide in 2006, this project sought to reinvigorate a drab intersection in the heart of Adelaide, South Australia. Touted alternatively as Adelaide’s Piccadilly Circus or Times Square, the Rundle Convergence Project promised much. However, arguably little has been realized in the intervening decade. Drawing on textual analysis of policy documents, landscape analysis and semi-structured interviews with key professionals and local government elected members involved with the Rundle Convergence Project, this research explores the successful and unsuccessful elements of flagship urban design projects in determining project outcomes. Tracing the Rundle Convergence Project’s conceptualization and development highlights the importance of appropriate contextualization and reveals the influence that individual vision, personal/political agendas and political cycles hold for the success or otherwise of flagship urban design projects. The paper concludes with a series of proposals in order to avoid the pitfalls and issues that bedevilled the Rundle Convergence Project.