Embedding young voices in planning processes

City of Parramatta

"Paint Your Parra": State of the City for Young People forum and Needs of Young People in the CBD study

By 2036 the number of young people aged 12 to 24 living in the City of Parramatta will quadruple and represent 16% of the population (or 64,000 people). In addition, thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds visit the Parramatta CBD each day to work, study, or shop.

The City of Parramatta asked us: “How can we embed engagement with young people and harness their contributions in our planning processes?” 

Young people are our future leaders and are significant contributors to our society, economy and local vibrancy. While the needs of young people are often discussed, there are seldom formal processes to include or empower them in community planning, design or public engagement processes. 

In 2016, the City of Parramatta engaged Cred to investigate through The Needs of Young People in the Parramatta CBD study, which aimed to recognise the contribution of young people to the city and make recommendations to embed young people in all Council planning activities. The results of the Needs study influenced Council to establish its first Parramatta Youth Forum – “Paint Your Parra” – an annual youth-led forum that provides an ongoing mechanism to build community capacity in planning, to engage with young people across the IAP2 spectrum, and to inform major planning, design, and policy decisions of Council.

Young woman holding camera tripod with kids workshopping in the background

Engagement with Youth ambassadors was photographed and documented throughout the process to capture findings.

Services
  • Engagement
Awards

PIA National Awards for Planning Excellence; PIA Awards for Planning Excellence NSW Division, 2018 - Public Engagement and Community Planning

CAP Awards for Outstanding Planning Achievement in the Commonwealth, 2018 - Commendation

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How we did it

Our approach included social research, integrated planning and inclusive, hands-on and interactive engagement with young people, while a collaborative, capacity building and iterative process was used for the Parra Youth Forum.

Our methodology included:

  • analysis of current and forecast youth population growth and change across social, economic and cultural indicators
  • review of youth-friendly city frameworks from across the world and literature review of best practice approaches to youth inclusion in planning, design and engagement
  • auditing, mapping and benchmarking youth spaces, services and facilities in the Parramatta CBD
  • design and delivery of a unique engagement process to hear from more than 250 young people that included online and intercept surveys, a Hip Hop place activation in Centenary Square (enjoyed by the whole community), networking with local youth groups and services, and the establishment of a successful Snapchat forum and competition
  • planning and facilitation of the first Parramatta Youth Forum – “Paint Your Parra” (attended by over 50 young people) – in collaboration with the Youth Committee and Youth Action, using creative consultation techniques to facilitate engagement and create opportunities to speak, be heard, and ask questions of Council staff about major projects
  • recruiting for a youth organising committee, who we trained in planning, event management and engagement processes
  • promoting the event with the youth committee through Facebook, Snapchat, project postcards and posters, schools and universities
  • skilling the Youth Committee to present the forum findings to Council’s Executive.

 

Creative consultation techniques were helped to create opportunities to speak, be heard and ask questions. (Source: Tom Payne for Cred Consulting).

"On behalf of myself and the City of Parramatta, I wish to express my sincere appreciation and thank you for your partnership with Council to help investigate the needs of young people in the Parramatta CBD and the project ’Paint Your Parra' Youth Forum. The project has delivered multiple outcomes, including changes to internal planning and engagement processes, building the capacity of young people directly involved – and increased participation of young people across a range of ongoing consultative activities.”

Cr Andrew Wilson, Parramatta City Council.

Outcomes

The project sets a new benchmark for involving the youth in planning consultation process, providing an empowering effect and aimed at planning for the future with tangible outcomes. It has resulted in the needs and aspirations of the young influencing Council’s decision-making integrated across all Council departments.

The recommendations continue to be integrated across all Council departments and included the first youth-led annual Parramatta Youth Forum (April 2017) which provided an ongoing mechanism to build community capacity in planning, to engage with young people across the IAP2 spectrum, and to inform major planning, design, and policy decisions of Council.

‘Paint your Parra’ won the 2018 National and NSW PIA Award for Planning Excellence in the Public Engagement and Community Planning category. The project also received a Commendation at the 2018 Commonwealth Association of Planners’ CAP Awards for Outstanding Planning Achievement in the Commonwealth.

Over 50 local young people attended the first Parramatta Youth Forum – “Paint Your Parra – facilitated by Cred Consulting. (Source: Tom Payne for Cred Consulting.)

 

The project sets a new benchmark for involving local youth in planning consultation processes. It was not a traditional consultation process; it was a hands-on, iterative process as the project grew. It had an empowering effect, and was about planning for the future with tangible outcomes. The project has resulted in the needs and aspirations of the young influencing council decision-making. It is something all councils and communities should aspire to across Australia."

Planning Institute of Australia