In 2021 JOC Consulting was engaged by Blacktown City Council to prepare a Place Identity and Place Framework for the Blacktown City Centre, involving three rounds of engagement, both internally within Council and externally with the community. The project was highly complex, involving multiple stakeholders, working groups, delivering tasks under a tight deadline to meet funding agreements from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. 

Underpinning the work was a comprehensive 85 page baseline findings report prepared by JOC Consulting, outlining the social, economic, environmental, and cultural attributes which make Blacktown the city it is today. 

Engagement

• Recognising the place framework would require a whole-of-Council approach, JOC Consulting utilised its expertise as engagement specialists to develop a comprehensive internal engagement plan to generate buy-in across 14 Council Business Units and 5 Council Departments. 

• External engagement utilised a variety of creative methods, attracting over 1000 people across our various engagement methods. This included installing footpath decals at pedestrian hot spots in the city centre, with QR codes to our online survey. 

Place Identity and Framework

• Our Place Identity report described the unique qualities of Blacktown, outlined a vision for where the community want to go and what kind of place they want to create together. Importantly, the principles, values and aspirations shared in the report are grounded by community feedback and ideas.

• The Place Framework accompanied and built on the Place Identity, detailing how the place vision will be realised through short-term activations and longer-term design recommendations. These activations were workshopped and developed with internal stakeholders at Council, helping develop buy-in and ensure success for implementation.

(Banner image by Leila Frijat)