The New South Wales state government in Australia recently launched the draft NSW Public Spaces Charter and the draft Evaluation Tool for Public Space and Public Life – two initiatives that will enable more quality public spaces for every community across NSW.
The draft NSW Public Spaces Charter is a resource to support the planning, design, management and activation of public spaces in NSW. The draft Evaluation Tool will help government, councils, industry and communities identify how to deliver more and better quality green, open and public space.
The Great Public Spaces Toolkit is a collection of free resources to support local government, government agencies, industry and the community. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is developing tools that anyone can use to support planning, managing and creating better and more vibrant public spaces.
The Toolkit includes Draft Evaluation Tool (PDF 326.4 KB) for Public Space and Public Life and Great Public Spaces Guide (PDF 3.2 MB).
The draft Evaluation Tool is a simple site survey, developed with an international peer review panel, that anyone can use to evaluate a public space and identify its strengths and areas for improvement. The free download from the Department’s Festival of Place website is the first step to identify how to improve and optimise our public space.
The Great Public Spaces Guide [pdf] is an introduction to understanding the meaning of place, and the elements that contribute to creating a great public facility, open space or street. The beautifully illustrated guide outlines an approach for how spaces become places, to assist communities, industry, local and state government to create great public spaces that are full of life. The guide aims to inform future planning, design and investment, building a case for long-term change. It supports the draft Evaluation Tool.
The draft NSW Public Spaces Charter and draft Evaluation Tool are available at: www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/festival-of-place
