Author:Felicity Lewis

Community Engagement: Empowering Local Experts

“Successful places are more than just the physical bones of a place. They are a reflection of an engaged and empowered community.”

The theme for the June 2018 issue of the New Planner, a magazine of the NSW Division of the Planning Institute of Australia, guest edited by Philip Graus focused on Engaging the Community in City Shaping. Diana Griffiths from Studio GL wrote an article, ‘Community Engagement: Empowering Local Experts’, which focused on the need and methods for ongoing community engagement, in order to encourage informed debate around the scale and shape of possibilities for the future of our cities and towns.

The article recommends the use of various engagement strategies including online engagement tools and apps that allow people to participate in their own time, as well as intimate one-on-one or small group conversations that would encourage participation from those who might not feel comfortable participating in large group events.

Diana recommends using a threefold strategy inspired by Margie Warrell’s workplace management approach of Connect, Inspire and Embolden, to improve community engagement across NSW.

To read a brief summary of all the articles in the issue, by Philip Graus, please read: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/engaging-community-city-shaping-new-planner-journal/

To read Diana’s article, please click here.

Studio GL have moved!

LEA NSW Chapter 2018 Grants

The NSW Chapter of Learning Environments Australasia has announced that they will be running a grants program this year, in support of their 2018 theme of Real People, Problems, Responses.

Called Small Numbers, Big Thinking, the Grant will be awarded to two Learning Environments located in NSW, to enable them to undertake a project that will develop and enhance a teaching and learning area. Submissions are due by 30 March 2018, to flewis@studiogl.com.au

For additional information please refer to the link or visit LEA NSW website www.a4le.org.au

High rise schools: Putting students first

Felicity Lewis and Diana Griffiths co-authored an article for the December 2017 issue of the New Planner, a magazine of the NSW Division of the Planning Institute of Australia which provides a forum for news and opinion and focuses on environmental, town and regional planning issues. The article, entitled “High rise schools: Putting students first” considered the Sydney-centric phenomenon of “high rise” schools, where escalating land costs are forcing the consolidation of schools within their current boundaries to meet the rapidly growing needs of communities undergoing urban renewal.

The article recommended a focus on providing choice, so that students can access learning in a manner that is suited to their needs, and on flexibility and resilience so that the inevitable changes that will be required during the life of school facilities can be accommodated into the future.

Please click here to read the article.

Context and Neighbourhood Character Training

Over the last nine months Studio GL has been running interactive training workshops in association with PIA NSW and various local councils, on how to assess context and neighbourhood character. The course clarifies the concept of “neighbourhood character” and “desired future character” and provides a simple framework by which planners can identify and analyze these issues.

The workshop helps participants to learn how to ‘read’ the context and neighbourhood character and appreciate the elements that can be used to ‘respond’ to a specific context. It focuses on defining what context and neighbourhood character means, using photographs to show the elements that contribute to different neighbourhood characters. An interactive case study is also used to engage participants and encourage debate.

If you are interested in the workshops to be run by PIA NSW, please visit www.planning.org.au/nsw

If you are interested in hosting bespoke training, contact Diana Griffiths at dgriffiths(at)studiogl.com.au

Studio GL are moving!

Studio GL is delighted to announce that we are moving. From mid-April we will be relocating our entire office to new premises in Chippendale. We will share the details here soon. Stay tuned!

Felicity Lewis LEA Chair Elect

Felicity Lewis has been elected as Chair Elect for the NSW Chapter of Learning Environments Australasia (LEA). She will hold this position for the next two years and will then take on the position of Chair for a further two years.

LEA is a community of professionals working together to plan and build better learning environments. It is a voluntary member organization, that serves its members through a focus on the key strategic areas of Advocacy, Sharing Best Practice and Research.

Felicity has been involved at a Chapter level for almost a decade, and has been the LEA NSW Awards Coordinator since their inaugural event in 2016.

PIA Award to Sydney Metro Moral Rights Study

Sydney Metro Delivery Office has been awarded a commendation in the Public Engagement & Community Planning category of the Planning Institute Australia Awards for Excellence 2017 – NSW Chapter. This work followed on from work undertaken by Studio GL in early 2016, which identified items that might be subject to possible Moral Rights, along the Chatswood to Sydenham Metro route.

Sydney Metro undertook an extensive process involving contacting architects, artists and designers and where necessary, their families, whose works may be impacted and this award recognizes the high quality outcome of this work.

10th International Urban Design Conference

Studio GL’s founding Director, Diana Griffiths was invited to speak at the 10th International Urban Design Conference held on the Gold Coast in November 2017. Her talk, titled ‘Moving beyond the Circle – Shaping Australia’s Future Cities’, focused on rethinking the analytical tools that Australian cities use for planning, at a time when many cities are transforming to accommodate significant population growth. Diana identified challenges in current planning systems which are designed to accommodate incremental, not disruptive change. Using various lenses including accessibility, efficiency and intersection density, she explained the benefits of thinking holistically about the challenges in order to enhance urban spaces and improve the long term desirability of our cities.

Nowra CBD Urban Design Development Controls Report approved by Council

Staff at Studio GL have been delighted to be back working with staff from Shoalhaven City Council, stakeholders and the local community on the Nowra CBD. Diana Griffiths and Brigitte Buchholz worked closely with Council, the community and the CBD Liaison Committee to develop a cohesive vision for the town centre in 2010-2011 and between 2014-2015 the entire Studio GL team returned to work on creating new development controls for the centre that would reflect the vision identified in the Nowra CBD Urban Design Master Plan.

Studio GL facilitated a series of workshops with Council staff, stakeholders and the local community to create the development controls that have been designed to ensure new buildings would improve the visual appearance and amenity of the CBD.

In April 2016, after public exhibition of the draft Development Controls Report, Shoalhaven City Council resolved to adopt the report. Feedback from Council’s strategic planner at the time noted “Thank you so much for all your hard work on the report. I am really happy with how it turned out and we have had nothing but positive feedback (which is a rare occurrence). So thank you, and please pass on my thanks to the team”.