An interesting look at Adelaide from Kerryn Goldsworthy at Pavlov's Cat that explores the cities we live in from a different angle to the way I've been exploring it here, or Mark Bahnisch's historical approach to Brisbane at Larvatus Prodeo.

The different ways of mapping our experiences of urban life are often derived from, or shaped by, dualities in our thinking. A classic example: Art:

Gary Sauer-Thompson, Adelaide Art Gallery, 2007

Not Art:

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Gary Sauer-Thompson, stencil graffiti, Adelaide, 2007

These dualities provide our reference points of the maps we use to get round the city and shape the way we feel about our lived experiences. What is interesting is that, unlike a lot of indigenous painting, we do not provide representations of the maps of the urban world we inhabit.

Another unconscious mentality is the apocalyptic one, which is very widespread in Adelaide, due to at the bottom end of the River Murray. The apocalyptic unconscious surfaced in the Festival of Ideas in the 'After the binge... the apocalypse?'session. Apocalyptic dread was alive and well in the form of we'll all be ruined by global warming. The opposing position is an optimism in science and technology to solve our problems in an uncertain future.

The latter was represented by http://www.adelaidefestivalofideas.com.au/speakers_baltuck.html">Miriam Baltuck, who received polite applause for saying this optimism in science and technology was justified by the response to Rachal Carson's Silent Spring. So new technologies wil be developed to ensure clean energy and greater efficiencies in energy. Suprisingly, the economic and political power to resist this kind of change was not explored.

Peter Cullen talked in terms of the binge in water usage as all of Australia's capital cites were in a race to run out of water.

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