My Place in WA event at Boola Bardip for 150 Year 9 students from schools across WA to complement the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s research on the impact of different living environments on young people.

The Commissioner for Children and Young People invited element’s Place Team to be the keynote speaker at the My Place in WA 2021 event to inspire and stimulate conversation around place and space.

‍element designed a pre-event teaching resource for the high school students to carry out a place performance assessment of their local neighbourhoods. Their findings created a comparative study of neighbourhoods across the metropolitan and regional area and a base understanding of what young people look for within walking distance of their school and home.

On the day of the event Ben and Suzie delivered an inspirational presentation on placemaking in urban design, drawing on global precedents to expand the students’ point of reference. This prepared the sixteen school groups for an engaging creative workshop exploring the concept of a 15-minute neighbourhood and what would make it a successful place to live for young people. The students came from diverse backgrounds and locations from Merredin to Girraween. In sharing their thoughts and ideas throughout the morning the students came away with a new perspective on their neighbourhood – its strengths, its weaknesses and its potential to be a better place for the whole community.

The findings from the workshop and pre-event neighbourhood analysis form a fascinating insight into how our neighbourhoods could be better planned to meet the needs of young people, from practical infrastructure to imaginative activation.