New Studio, Winter Term, 2019

The power of people and place for good and woe is more tangible than ever. The interstitial spaces, the spaces around the edges, these are the corners and crevices where the magic can happen. Too often however these spaces are dismissed, unloved, and misused. A new renaissance of public space activation, civic engagement, and participation is now emerging, and opportunities to explore these ideas are embedded in this course.

There is no public space without people, there is no activation without participation. How do we cultivate new ways for public, private, and municipal partnership in the curation and stewardship of our shared spaces?

Aldous Huxley: “We can only love what we know, and we can never know completely what we do not love. Love is a mode of knowledge…”

We must know and be engaged with the places we live in and visit, we must develop a connection to this country that is mutually beneficial. The topics covered in this subject include; governance and community engagement; negotiation and decision-making processes; and place evaluation. Crucially important to placemaking, is developing an understanding of the environmental and cultural context of place, and the translation of these into successful placemaking initiatives. These ideas will also be explored in the context of the economics of place, exploring the complex interplay between the urban environment, economic pressures and opportunities, and outcomes including environmental responsibility and individual and collective health and wellbeing.

This is part of the innovative placemaking program being developed by the Place Agency Consortium, a group of five universities working towards enhancing place co-creation capacity in students and industry.

Come and learn the theoretical and practical skills to take your career, industry, and community in a new direction, through participatory design and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Place Agency / University of Melbourne

Place Making ABPL90404_A3