Matt Baida from the WAX office recently attended the Place
School Master class. Hosted by Gilbert Rochecouste and Kate McMahon from
Village Well with guest speaker Neil McInroy from CLES (Centre for Local
Economic Strategies) the master class looked at innovative solutions for
creating great and resilient communities for turbulent times.
McMahon introduced place making fundamentals that assist in building
creative and strategic frameworks, with authentic community engagement
practices to better connect people and place. During the class participants
were asked to reset their thinking on what is thought of as ‘normal’ in their
approach to place making as today’s communities must be able to deal with the
evitable ebbs and flows of social, political and economic change. By altering
the way we think when dealing with place making and community resilience,
McInroy expanded, we are able to better understand and open discussions on the
interconnectedness of a community’s commercial, public and social economies. It
is within this network where that resilience of community can be created.
Through the creative exploration of effective solutions to
place making challenges, Matt, not only walked away with powerful new knowledge,
tools and approaches on authentic community engagement and place making
strategies but it also reinforced WAX’s approach to such projects as the
Dysart, Inner West and Yorke Town Urban Design Frameworks.