Have you ever visited an area for the first time in ages and thought WOW this area has changed so quickly? You were completely blown away – but how did this happen?
It is the result of behind the scenes local activation work.
Urban areas can become transformed from plain streets to become arty, colourful and appealing places for locals and visitors alike to want to hang out.
Did you realise that you can make change happen in your area and that the Place Leaders at City of Charles Sturt can help? Place Leaders can play a role in educating, guiding, facilitating and inspiring locals to make your neighbourhood truly your own.
We thought it would be a great idea to share some of these projects from their inception, so you can follow their progress, and be inspired to change the place you live or work.
The East Terrace Activation
We interviewed Sarah Maddock, one of our Place Leaders whose area includes Henley Beach.
The current East Terrace project (more about this in a moment) was inspired by an earlier process three years prior, when Sarah organised a walkthrough of the top part of Henley Beach Road for interested residents and business owners. The area covers three to four groupings of shops, from the Military Road roundabout and heading down Henley Beach Road, away from the beach.
The result of this initial activity included identifying some strengths and weaknesses of the area, and in true engagement of local community style, provided this information to design students at Henley Beach High School.
This outcome of this exercise was a number of installations; a wave design at the pedestrian lights, and a tiled mosaic seat further down at the next group shops, and a bike rack on the corner of East Terrace and Henley Beach Road. These visible additions to the area demonstrated how ideas can be brought to life. It inspired proprietor of The Stunned Mullet, Dino Papadopoulos to flag with Sarah an idea which had been forming in his mind.
What if... the 'half' a car space in front of his group of shops could become a more usable and beautiful space for sitting under the large pine tree? With some seating, and art installations.
This was definitely an idea worth exploring as it would help people linger longer - a key activation concept.
An idea does not have to be formed fully - it can be just a spark and the rest becomes part of the conversation and collaborative process. This is exactly what the Place Leaders are here to help facilitate.
We had lots of questions for Sarah!
How does a project get started?
Every project is unique, but it will always start with discussing the idea with a Place Leader.
This is what happened when Dino got in touch with Sarah. He wanted to discuss his idea to see if he was on the right track in terms of what was possible.
How does it get approved?
The Place Leader then leads the process of consultation - whether that be with other locals and businesses, or with areas within council or even outside of council which need to be involved and consulted in order to make this happen.
In this East Terrace project, Sarah consulted with the four business directly impacted, and worked with the transport and engineering teams within Council to update the parking bay design to incorporate a space for seating. This design will then be provided to the selected artists to develop a design inspired by ideas provided by the businesses.
How long does it take?
How long it takes depends very much on all the steps required to complete the project. In this project, once the concept, permissions and funding were approved, the next phase was putting out an expression of interest on our website to artists who would be interested in doing the project.
Back to the East Terrace Activation
The next step in this process was for the two shortlisted artists to meet with the business owners, where both artists and the business owners to could ask questions of each other, for the artists to present examples of past work and get feedback on some initial ideas from the business owners. This open process also helped the businesses hear each others' thoughts and present more consolidated feedback to the artists.
This East Terrace Activation - from initial idea until now - has taken about a year. One COVID year.
It makes sense that each project has its own timelines, as each one will have unique circumstances and requirements.
The outcome?
The layers are starting to form in this pocket of Henley Beach. It will be interesting to continue following this project, and also to revisit the area in a few years. Already private commissions are being added to the spaces already being created.
Have a project or idea you'd like assistance with?
Get in touch with our Place Making team
E: urbanprojects@charlessturt.sa.gov.au