Communities are an under-utilised asset in the transformation of our cities

Valuable insights and potential solutions to sustainable urban change are being missed because we are not adequately preparing communities to be innovation partners in the transformation of our cities.

Vocal community opposition to urban change is increasing, anti-growth political platforms are gaining traction, government and developers are often in conflict with communities, and step-change projects are being viewed as high risk - politically, financially and reputationally.

In the next 20 years, this is only likely to be exacerbated, as the east coast capital city regions of Sydney, Melbourne and south-east Queensland are forecast to grow by 6.1 million people. 

The successful transition of our cities will be dependent on our system’s ability to have generative conversations with the community on how we can collectively navigate the changing urban identity of neighbourhoods, find new solutions to challenges and realise the benefits of growth.

Do our current processes truly involve communities as critical innovation partners? Are we adequately preparing the community to be part of the urban transition journey?

Communities as innovation partners 

Our current approach to involving communities in urban change is often through public information and engagement programs, implemented late in the planning process and usually focused on gaining community views on proposed growth strategies or specific planning schemes. 

This approach informs the attending participants of proposed changes but misses an opportunity to work with the community as critical innovation partners in urban transition. 

We believe that our future practice needs to engage the community as a key asset in planning and implementing urban change.

Members of the community should be viewed as a key source of inspiration and insight for leading urban transitions, and as a central partner in helping to reshape place identity and create new solutions to the challenges of growth.  

Pockets of differentiated approaches to working with the community as innovation partners are emerging within our sector -  including deliberative democracy, citizen panels, community-led co-designed development schemes and urban innovation labs - but these practices are not widespread. 

Common across these emerging approaches is the specific objective of building the capacity of the community to participate as informed and future-conscious citizens in shaping the future of their city. 

We need informed communities today

Studio THI’s recent urban change awareness research, involving 351 residents of high-growth urban communities across three states found that our current public consultation processes may not be adequately preparing our communities to participate as informed citizens. 

The research, which sought to understand how ‘change ready’ our high growth communities are to be part of the urban change process,  revealed that we have a major urban change awareness issue.

However, it also showed that communities who are knowledgeable of the who, what, why and how of urban growth are more supportive of change and more willing to participate in the transition journey. 

The research shows there is an opportunity to build awareness and knowledge in the community to aid in preparedness for change. 

ATTRIBUTES OF A CHANGE-READY COMMUNITY

Literacy Community members are aware about why and how urban change takes place, the challenges and benefits of growth and what great outcomes can be. 

Citizenship They can navigate their preferences, the needs of others and their city’s future sustainability. 

Trust They believe that government and developers are acting responsibly and are driven to deliver excellent outcomes for all.

Place (re)attachment They are able to articulate what is special about a place, the values they want to be retained, and help define place re-attachment opportunities.  

Supported Provided authentic and real opportunities to contribute to the development of new ideas and solutions.

Adding a ‘community preparedness’ phase in strategic urban planning  

If we are going to foster essential sustainable change over the next 20 years we need to invest in building informed communities today, so we have an asset to lead the transformation of our cities tomorrow.

Studio THI has developed and piloted a step-change approach to community preparedness that recorded a 36% positive shift in support for urban change and increased community desire to participate in the transition journey.

Our tools and programs support organisations and practitioners to better prepare their communities to participate in the urban transition journey, specifically seeking to build their urban change literacy, citizenship and confidence in the change actors.

The programs are founded on Studio THI’s extensive experience in supporting communities through urban transitions and theoretical models of behavioural change, organisational trust and change management.

Studio THI’s community preparedness tools and programs include: 

TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND AND PLAN

• Urban Change Readiness Index Community research and engagement framework identifying an awareness, knowledge and sentiment towards change, place re-attachment opportunities, and system trust. 

• Urban Transition Strategy Development A growing suite of tools and resources that support practitioners to develop a spectrum of integrated corporate response to urban and community transition.  

PROGRAMS TO BUILD CAPACITY

• Future Shaping Citizens Program A community education resource that  builds the urban change literacy and citizenship of people living in high growth communities and can be specifically tailored to address the strategic growth themes of a city and the specific literacy gaps of a community. 

• Transition Leadership Training Capacity building programs to develop the transition leadership skills of practitioners and elected members and to shape innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities of urban change. 

Jennifer Michelmore is Studio THI’s CEO and a strategic designer with over 15 years of expertise in using design thinking and co-creation processes to define city shaping urban transitions globally.