The Awards

1. Best Public Facility Idea

Turning public facilities inside out and making them the heart of their community.

Free and publicly accessible libraries, galleries, community centres, showgrounds and museums are key to our community’s sustainability and are of increasing importance as our cities grow. Through telling our diverse stories and being places for everyone, they contribute to our identity, and local character.

Within their buildings, grounds and virtual spaces, public facilities provide places for everybody to gather, share ideas, engage in cultural experiences and learn. They are constantly evolving, including through growing online spaces for culture, learning and connection. How do we rethink public facilities for the future?

2. Best Open Space Idea

Identifying new open spaces and rediscovering underused open spaces

Open spaces are important public spaces where people can relax, exercise, play and enjoy the natural environment. Walkable, accessible, well-designed open spaces are integral to the character and life of local towns and cities. They promote healthier lifestyles and provide relief from our built environment. Green open spaces help to mitigate climate change impacts, provide habitat for wildlife, and improve environmental conditions such as air and water quality.

How can we better create new open spaces that embody these characteristics? How do we transform underused open spaces into thriving community places?

3. Best Street Idea

Reimagining streets including plazas as places for people.

Streets, plazas and pavements are an essential part of our network of public spaces. They take us to other places, while adding vitality to our neighbourhoods and providing spaces where people can exercise and socialise. Great streets are essential infrastructure for successful and healthy neighbourhoods and centres including: doing business, travelling, walking, cycling, outdoor dining and socialising. How can streets meet the needs of the communities they serve?

4. Best Temporary and/or Low Cost Public Space Idea

Developing demonstration, pop-up or pilot projects that challenge traditional thinking about public spaces and placemaking.

Moments of temporary interventions that are lighter, quicker and cheaper can engage and test long term aspirations. Ideas that shift the everyday use of a civic place and the normal fabric of everyday life is when transformation can occur. These inspired moments often linger in the imagination and ambition of a society. How do we demonstrate the possibilities in design and planning that can lead to these transformations?

5. Best Resilient Public Space Idea

Demonstrating how public spaces will help enhance community resilience whilst withstanding disruptions by demonstrating the qualities of resilience.

One of the biggest challenges we face is transforming public spaces to become more resilient to the changes in climate, community and purpose. We need to be aware of the disruptions that will impact people and what they need from community spaces. It’s important to take an integrated approach to address multiple issues through one space. We must become adaptive to a changing climate by preserving the nature of spaces while protecting people’s health and wellbeing. We also need to think about the diversity of spaces and whether we have considered broad perspectives from stakeholders in the creation of spaces, their design and ongoing maintenance. Finally, how can we measure the success of public spaces through funding, caretaking and shared information on the value of space to the local community?