DECISION REPORT
REPORT TITLE:
PLACE ACTIVATION EVENTS PROGRAM 2013/14
ITEM NUMBER:
7
DATE OF MEETING:
15 JULY 2013
AUTHOR:
MANDY SMITH
JOB TITLE:
MANAGER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
RESPONSIBLE OFFICER:
MEGAN BERGHUIS
JOB TITLE:
GENERAL MANAGER COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY GOAL:
Living – Our Path to a Thriving City
Strategic Objective: Activated places
 Enlivened public places support community
interaction, celebration and gathering
 Main streets are active, alive and economically
prosperous
REPRESENTORS:
NIL
ATTACHMENTS:
1. OUTLINE OF THE PROPOSED 2013/14
SUMMER ACTIVATION PROGRAM
PURPOSE
To consider the proposed event program that will form Council’s Place Activation
approach in 2013/14.
RECOMMENDATION
MOVED:
SECONDED:
That:
1.
The report be received.
2.
The 2013/14 Place Activation Events Program as outlined in Attachment 1 of
Item 7/13 be presented to Council for endorsement.
(This is page 7 of the Community and Culture Committee Meeting for 15 July 2013.)
BACKGROUND
What is Place Activation?
Place activation is commonly defined as creating meaningful, attractive, sustainable
places that reflect the needs of the people that inhabit them and the unique local
character of the area. The goal of place activation is to maximise community value
and usage of public spaces. This has become an increasingly important objective for
councils where there is limited open space and a trend of decreasing or no back
yards in private dwellings. Place activation focuses on delivering both community
and economic outcomes.
There are three main components of place activation:
1. Planning, design and infrastructure: Ensuring the needs of users and potential
users are considered in the design of public space.
2. Involvement of people: Both in designing and managing community spaces.
3. Events and activities: Programming of events and activities that bring people
together and introduce them to a space they may not know about or inspire
them to use a space in a different way.
Council’s involvement in Place Activation Events
Activated Places is a strategic objective under the theme of Living in the City of
Unley’s Community Plan 2033 and Council’s 4 year plan.
In 2012/13 Council piloted a number of events through the Outdoor Entertainment
initiative. The purpose of this trial was to determine the type of events and activities
that might be successful within the City of Unley and to obtain community feedback
on events they wanted in their local area.
The pilot consisted of three main initiatives:

Rocking Rosa: a Friday afternoon/ evening street closure event.

Beats and Breakfast: Five Saturday mornings of entertainment and activities
in the Soldier Memorial Garden.

Footstomping Film and Fables: Outdoor cinema/ family event in Heywood
Park.
The pilot resulted in a number of key learnings including:

Strong community support for local events.

Young families were the largest participants of events organised as part of the
pilot.

Preference for events in public parks v’s street closures.
(This is page 8 of the Community and Culture Committee Meeting for 15 July 2013.)

Need for high quality entertainers to attract a larger audience.

Success of unprogrammed activities, including big games and activities for
children.

Realistic understanding of cost and staff hours required to coordinate each
event.

Repetition of event highly successful.

Importance of appropriate food/ beverage options.
A further place activation budget bid for 2013/14 was endorsed by Council for the
delivery of a comprehensive summer events program that will build upon and take
into account the learnings from the Outdoor Entertainment pilot.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The formulation of the proposed event list has been compiled in consultation with:

Council’s Community and Culture Committee.

Key artistic producers, directors and designers with experience in major public
arts events and festivals in South Australia, through the Unley Artist Challenge
workshop.

Community leaders through the Unley “Community Sparks” workshop to
discuss and share ideas on ways to better service the community.

Local event organisers.
Through the consultation process, there were numerous suggestions of events for
inclusion in the Summer Events Program. The Community and Culture Committee
supported the initiatives outlined in the attached proposed Events Program and the
Festival Attraction component and Neighbour Day Activities are two of the
Committee’s suggestions.
Some members of the Community and Culture Committee additionally supported the
reinstatement of the Unley Way To Go event, along with a number of other possible
festivals, and these suggestions were considered with preliminary costing
determined, however have not been included in the proposed 2013/14 program due
to budgetary constraints. There is an opportunity to consider these events as part of
the 2014/15 budget.
DISCUSSION
A total amount of $70,000 has been allowed for in the 2013/14 budget for a place
activation Summer Events Program. The aim of this program is to deliver outdoor
activities and events at key locations across the City of Unley, to create a sense of
place and excitement and for increased community interaction, celebration and
gathering.
The attached program (Attachment 1 to Item 7/13) has been prepared for Council’s
consideration. This program has been developed in consultation with numerous
(This is page 9 of the Community and Culture Committee Meeting for 15 July 2013.)
stakeholders and in consideration of place activation principles and the learnings
from the 2012/13 Outdoor Entertainment pilot. The program suggested is based on
ensuring a diverse range of events at multiple locations and aiming to maximise
community outcomes with the available funds.
Attachment 1
The proposed program aims to provide a balance of building on events that have
been successful in past trials, support for established events in Unley and attraction
of new festivals into the Unley area. Additionally the proposed events aim to
complement rather than compete with other Council events, such as the Unley
Gourmet Gala and the proposed Fringe on Fringe event.
ANALYSIS OF OPTIONS
Option 1 – That Council approve the program of events outlined in Attachment 1
to Item 7/13 of this report to be delivered as part of Council’s 2013/14 Place
Activation initiative.
This option will enable the delivery of a Summer Events Program that will ensure
a maximum number and diversity of events/ activities with the funds available.
The events listed in the program have been developed in consultation with
numerous stakeholders and build on the learning of the outdoor entertainment
pilot.
Option 2 – Endorse an alternative events program
Council may wish to change the type, number or nature of events listed in the
program. Should Council wish to proceed with this option, the following factors
should be considered:
 The learnings from the 2012/13 Outdoor Entertainment pilot project.
 The outcomes for the consultation process.
 Budget implications of changes or additions.
RECOMMENDED OPTION
Option 1 is the recommended option.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Policy/Strategy
The Living theme of Council’s Community Plan 2033 contains strategic objectives of:




Enlivened public places support community interaction, celebration and
gathering.
Main streets are active, alive and economically prosperous.
Arts and culture being a highly recognised and visible aspect of our City.
That signature events and festivals are attracted to our City.
(This is page 10 of the Community and Culture Committee Meeting for 15 July 2013.)
The proposed place activation Summer Events Program is directly aligns to these
objectives and is a key initiative identified in Council’s 4 year plan and endorsed
within the 2013/14 Annual Business Plan.
Financial/Budget
The $70,000 required to fund the events outlined in the attached program is
available within the proposed place activation new initiative in the 2013/14 budget.
CONCLUSION
Activated Places, is a key objective of the Community Plan and the development of a
place activation Summer Events Program is a key initiative of the 4 year plan and
has been proposed in the 2013/14 budget.
The aim of the Summer Event Program is to maximise community value and usage
of public spaces through the delivery of a diverse range events throughout the City of
Unley. The intention of the events is to encourage a sense of place and excitement
and for community interaction, celebration and gathering.
The proposed Summer Events Program has been developed using the learnings
from the 2012/13 Outdoor Entertainment pilot and in consultation with numerous
stakeholders to deliver a diverse range of events at multiple locations and aiming to
maximise community outcomes with the available funds.
(This is page 11 of the Community and Culture Committee Meeting for 15 July 2013.)