Do young people have the right to the city of Sydney?
An interview with place expert, Claire Edwards
One of the hottest topics in placemaking today surrounds the issue of agency. Increasingly, those involved in ‘place’ are understanding the importance of not just consulting the community, but engaging with them – empowering them to become involved in the placemaking process. But as these engagement practices grow, questions around agency must still be asked: Who has the final say in how new public spaces are shaped? And by capturing some voices and not others, are groups like young people being disenfranchised from public space?
It is a question that place and public space consultant Claire Edwards is seeking to answer in Sydney. Having started out in graphic design and cultural studies before turning her hand to placemaking, Claire is working to ensure public spaces are more inclusive for all – with a particular focus on young people, their spatial equity, and their ‘right to the city’.
On a wintry walk along Bondi Beach, Claire joined me to reflect on her experiences, expertise, and hopes for the future of placemaking in Sydney.
Your background is very unusual – it seems quite a shift to move from the world of design into placemaking. Was there a defining moment that inspired the change for you?
When I was in design, I became an art editor for travel guides. I had the good fortune to love travel anyway, and that brought me to Sydney.
Through that process, with the design of the guides and my background in cultural studies, I became more and more interested in public space – how it worked, and how it didn’t work. I wanted to find out why that was.
But if we’re thinking about defining moments, one of the things that really kickstarted my interest was going to India, and visiting a place called Paharganj. I was looking at the flow of people there, and it seemed totally chaotic. But in amongst the rickshaws, cows, children playing, it all seemed to work, and flow.
It made me ask, what is it about this place? Is it the narrowness, the shop fronts, the facilities? What is it that makes it work?
So you returned to university to study for a Masters of Research in public space. How did your studies shape your professional interests today?
Yes, when I went back to the UK, I worked on my Masters, and chose Professor Franco Bianchini as my Director of Studies. He had a lot of experience working on the European Capital of Culture and had worked with Charles Landry on the first concepts of the Creative City. With that experience and influence I decided to write my thesis on the provision of public space for young people.
I was driven by the rights of the child, and their right to the city specifically. Through these lenses I looked at a number of case studies in Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Spain and the UK. That fuelled my passion even more for public space, and I’ve been working in placemaking ever since.
I have a particular focus on bringing young people into the conversation, but I’m working to bring play opportunities into public space too.
I’m a real advocate that we should be looking for play everywhere, beyond designated play spaces, because play should not be for defined ages.
Why do you think play is so important to placemaking?
One of the reasons is that we’re facing diminishing health – higher rates of obesity and social isolation, and decreasing mental health. If we can create places that suit people’s needs, then they’re more likely to get outside. Public space is for random encounters, for refuge and reflection, for socialisation and observation. I see those elements working in tandem with play and being active.
Play encourages imagination, socialisation, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, expression – all inherent human characteristics. If you can foster these in a public environment, people are more likely to spend their time there in a healthy, active, and social way.
So, the idea is that we’re creating a much more cohesive, inclusive society. That’s a very idealistic vision, but the evidence supports it.
Where do young people fit into all of this?
Well, we know from research that young people experience the impacts of social isolation more acutely than adults. We’re seeing now that mental health problems are increasing among young people. That really intrigues me, because in public spaces, they’re often the groups being asked to move on – they have nowhere to be. We should be welcoming them, not pushing them aside.
What projects have you been following recently that work to bridge this gap?
Darling Square and Tumbalong Boulevard is one place of interest at the moment. It’s newly developed, and it seems to be working really well. It’s incorporated older principles, like a boardwalk or promenade, while reimagining community facilities, such as the library.
Prior to redevelopment, young dancers were established as key users of the area and were consulted during the design and development process to assess their needs. Now, they have a ‘Dancer’s Alley’ (along Moriarty Walk), with mirrors on the walls to help them rehearse. This is about fulfilling their right to the city.
Forging a connection between young people and places is very important. Inspired by the work of Landry and Kyttä in some projects, instead of asking children what they want in a place, we ask them: how do you want to feel in this space? This tends to lead to a more open brief. They may tell us they want to feel safe or excited, for example, leading to deeper questions. And that’s important when thinking about the Indigenous context too – creating deeper connections especially in relation to Country.
Where do you think placemaking is going in the future? What, or who, will make the great places of tomorrow?
Historically, placemaking is about including the community from the start. Fundamentally, this is about having places where people feel free to play, to socialise, be expressive and active. In order to do that, we may need to look at the city as not so ordered and static, with defined age-specific spaces. Instead, we could provide places that are more flexible and experimental – the Tactical Urbanism movement is one example of our frustration with places that aren’t fit for purpose.
I also think there will be more innovative and cost-effective ways to engage community, which will increase both our understanding of people’s needs and their perception of place.
You can look at this spot in North Bondi, and I can tell you that all year round, this place is busy. That’s how you know it’s successful. It’s the middle of winter, and people are here hanging out. It’s not overly designed, but it works.
I hope the best places of the future will be a response to community needs, through deeper engagement or co-creation processes, but this needs sufficient funding and recognition to become a reality.
This is about understanding how people connect, and want to connect, with their own public spaces. It’s about forging an attachment to them, through the memories they make, and the time they spend there.
That’s the big question for me: inclusivity, and how can we fulfil young people’s right to the city, making sure that they feel they can shape their environments in a tangible way? It’s never a tick-box exercise; you have to pay attention to real needs, desires, ambitions, and feelings.
