We invited Canberrans to share their ideas on how City Hill park could evolve as a valued natural space in the heart of the city. An Ideas Brief made it easy for people to develop their own designs. 69 creative designs were received from residents of all ages. A virtual gallery was created as well as a physical exhibition. 600 people completed an online survey.
City Hill park is over 4 hectares of open space in the heart of Canberra’s City Centre.
With several future development sites in the City Hill Precinct, it was time to reach out to the community about the potential of City Hill park.
In early 2024, Communication Link developed unique and creative ways to capture the public imagination, inviting people of all ages to create designs. We made it easy for people to participate with an Ideas Brief and Submission Template.
We sought written ideas through an online survey, with 600 responses.
We ran a “Day on the Hill’ event, with tours of City Hill led by local experts including a Traditional Custodian, the ACT Chief Architect, an active travel advocate and a heritage expert.
Activities were run in local schools and tertiary institutions.
Discussions were held with local First Nations community members.
A physical exhibition was open for three weeks at Civic Library and people were invited to come and look then create their own designs or share their own ideas.
We heard from community members, tertiary students, school students and design professionals.
Almost 70 drawings and designs were received from the community well exceeding expectations. The level of involvement and engagement from the community indicates that finding new and creative ways to engage can inspire people to get involved.