Mona Vale Place Plan | Expert Panel & Workshop

I was recently invited by Pittwater Council to get involved with the delivery of the Mona Vale Place Plan, a new “tactical and action-oriented strategy focused on the community’s connection to place”.

The role included a public panel, focusing on retail and economics, and facilitation of a community workshop exploring Mona Vale’s (future) place brand.

Below is an excerpt from my speech at the public panel and a few images including a design thinking approach implemented at the place branding workshop.

Thursday 19th March:

 “But vibrancy doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes time, and two key ingredients that contribute to vibrancy include – population, people moving in and out of the space, and attraction (or reason for visiting).

…In terms of population, William H Whyte, a famous urbanist from the States once said that ‘people attract people’. We desire to be around others and are attracted to spaces that are filled with life, social life. These spaces can happen by accident but they can also be planned, managed and programmed. Having more people live in and around Mona Vale will help create this sense of vibrancy, at different times of the day (and night) and in different spaces.

In addition to population, giving people a reason to visit Mona Vale is key. Mona Vale is a beach suburb but its unique urban setting on the northern beaches is a point of difference that should be celebrated and promoted to attract tourists, but also keep locals visiting time and time again… Improving connections and accessibility into Mona Vale will help get people here, but it’s the experience, the level of comfort in the public realm, that will keep them coming back.”

 

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