Flickr: Stephen Morris

The concept of the third place is often used to describe the social settings we spend our lives in other than home and work.

The first place being home and the second being the work place.

Our approach is to focus on all three.

“Successful places nurture human capital – the skills, talents and special knowledge of their people”

Charles Landry, Creative Capital – Perth 2007

Place Making is the art of planning beyond the built form and is a growing trend. It considers those who live, work and visit the place in question.

The design of a place should be considered in response to human needs and include sustainable ideas. A great place can generate local economies because people want to come there.

When a place has more meaning (eg. it meets our needs, is comfortable, has beauty and allows diversity), we are attracted to it and want to spend more time there. Whether it be our own home, work place or a public space we are visiting.

Place Making involves activating places but it can also be about creating sanctuary or quiet spaces to contemplate life and our surroundings eg. art gallery or nature walk.

Me and my team use holistic techniques and approaches which considers all aspects of Place Making – either when planning for a new place or revitalizing an existing one.

Our Place Making Approach includes:

• Community and stakeholder engagement and collaboration – that’s all about giving a voice to all citizens
• Working with business to encourage them to become champions of a place – they don’t just exist in the second place
• Global and environmental trending to assist decision making about change – it’s about learning from other people and places
• Research and oral history collection aimed at understanding the history of a place – we’ve also used video to capture stories and history
• Community visioning and trend mapping to identify the potential future of a place – that’s all about getting to the core of what citizens want a place to be
• The evaluation of the physical built form and enhancing what exists to meet needs – we work with people to build on a places strengths – it’s an appreciative inquiry
• Programming activities and events that celebrate and encourage connectivity and meaning in the place – people get to play and relax and create
• Innovation and creativity to find new solutions to existing challenges and priorities – not just outside the box … but also inside it.
• Developing sustainable practices to meet environmental concerns – and that’s about the fundamental survival of the planet

Flickr: Tonylanciabeta

We are particularly interested in:

• Civic Spaces like Public Squares and Community Hubs
• Town and Activity Centres
• MainStreets
• Public Open Space
• Multicultural Places and Spaces that meet diverse needs

We often work with inter-disciplinary teams that include Planners, Community and Cultural Developers, Sustainablility Officers, Community Safety Experts, Traffic Engineers and Urban Designers.

Our clients have included:

Mary Del Casale was involved with the design and facilitation of the public participation ,stakeholder consultation and place making aspects of these projects at times in collaboration with other consultants. Those undertaken at DPI were completed as part of an internal project team .

• City of Fremantle, Youth Plan Consultations – (Co-facilitation of community and industry engagement) 2011
• City of Melville, Arts and Cultural Plan – (Lead Consultants in collaboration with place maker Anne Goodall) 2010-2011
• Department of Housing, Brownlie Neighbourhood Regeneration – (MasterPlan with Hassell Architects/Community Development) 2008 – 2011
• City of Subiaco, Public Market Guidelines – (Stakeholder management and best practice research) 2011
• City of Subiaco, Purple Lounge Conversation linked to Think2030 (Community engagement and video production) 2010
• Town of Claremont, Bay View Terrace Red Lounge Conversations (Community engagement and video production) 2010
• Living Communities, Goomalling Pilot Regional Resilience Project – (Community/Stakeholder Engagement) 2010
• Town of Claremont, Place Making Workshop Series – (Trainer/Facilitator) 2009
• City of Melville, Neighbourhood Planning Project – (Place Making Consultant) 2007-2009
• City of South Perth, Visioning Project – (Consultant Facilitator with CSD Network) 2008-2009
• City o f Stirling, Various – (Peak Oil Scenario Workshop, Review of Scarborough Beach Urban Design Plan with Hassell Architects, Community Development Team Building) 2008 & 2009
• TravelSmart Program, Department for Planning and Infrastructure/Department of Environment & Conservation – (Facilitation  including UWA, Murdoch, ECU, St John of God, Department of Sport and Recreation) 2008-2009
• Port Bouvard Limited, Gidgegannup Town Centre Project – 2008
• City of Fremantle, Fremantle Festival Innovation Session – 2008
• Business Improvement Group Northbridge, Northbridge Festival Review – 2008
• City of Cockburn, Phoenix Central Revitalisation Project – 2007
• City of Gosnells, Kenwick Town Centre – 2007
• City of Fremantle, Meeting Place, Future Directions Project – 2006
• Dept for Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) Urban Regeneration/Place Making Conference – 2006
• DPI Perth Coastal Planning Workshop – 2005
• DOE RRR Local Government and Industry Forum – 2005
• DPI Vision for Cockburn Coast – 2005
• DPI Dialogue with Greater Bunbury – 2005
• DPI Port Hedland Enquiry by Design – 2004
• DPI Dialogue with the Pilbara, Newman Tomorrow – 2004
• DPI Scarborough Deliberative Forum – 2004
• DPI – Dialogue with the City – 2003
• Many one off facilitations for community groups, government and private sector – (internal team building, strategic planning and innovation coaching)