Goal
The Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner (O24HEC) is one of the NSW government agencies partnering with Transport for NSW (TfNSW) to deliver projects under the Safer Cities Program. The program aims to increase women, girls’ and gender diverse people’s safety and access to public spaces, improve autonomous mobility in the city and increase their active and meaningful participation in urban development and governance.
This specific project focused on two of Sydney’s Purple Flag precincts: the YCK (York, Clarence, and Kent Streets) precinct and the Parramatta CBD. The objective was to design and implement a co-design process that engaged women, girls, and gender-diverse people to uncover insights and opportunities for improving safety and access in these key nightlife areas.
Solution
O24HEC commissioned JOC Consulting to lead the design and delivery of an engagement and co-design program aimed at elevating the voices of women and gender diverse people, consulting them as experts of their experience to help plan, measure and evaluate gender-sensitive interventions.
The engagement included:
- A series of community walkshops with women, girls and gender diverse people to identify concerns and ideas for improvement around safety in the public domain
- Stakeholder walkshops with representatives from local council, state government agencies, hospitality venues, and property managers to identify concerns and opportunities
- Co-design sessions where community members and stakeholders collaborated alongside planning and design experts to co-create well-informed solutions
JOC partnered with Blix Architecture to deliver comprehensive Ideas and Opportunities Reports that combined the engagement findings with planning and design expertise for suggested improvements to each precinct. The reports were supported by best practice gender sensitive design suggestions, case studies, and data from Your Ground NSW and the Safer Cities Survey Report.
Outcomes
Across the entire engagement process, over 110 participants contributed their insights and experiences. Participants expressed they felt seen and heard throughout the engagement process, fostering a sense of inclusion and empowerment. These sessions not only captured the voices of women, girls and gender diverse people, but also facilitated valuable knowledge exchange between participants and stakeholders, helping both groups learn from one another. The resulting Ideas and Opportunities Reports laid out a clear pathway for future improvements in safety, access, and participation in the precincts.
If you are considering applying for Purple Flag accreditation in your precinct, learn more about the application process.