The Gender Sensitive Urban Design Framework and Toolkit, developed by PLACE Laboratory, OCULUS, Communication Link, and Inhabit Place, for the ACT Government, has won a  Landscape Architecture Award for Research, Policy and Communications at the 2024 ACT Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) Awards.

The project serves as a comprehensive guide to achieving best-practice urban design outcomes for the public realm through a gender lens. It establishes standards for public spaces that are equitable, inclusive, and safe with particular attention to the needs of women, girls, gender-diverse individuals, and other vulnerable groups.

“Creating places in our cities where everyone feels safe and comfortable is critical to the democratic fabric of the urban community. The Awards Jury commends all of those involved in the development of this framework for addressing the issues around equitable access.”

“What impressed the Jury was the adoption of a systematic (rather than a critical) approach to the research and method. This in turn produced a series of documents that are easily and logically applied.”

We continue to share what we have learnt with other built environment professionals in local government and private practice so that this work can be built upon and the evidence based further strengthened. Discover more, including links to download the documents here.

The ACT AILA awards were announced last week at a ceremony held on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country in Canberra.