Landsborough Placemaking & Activation Program
Community contribution to the upgrade of their mainstreet builds local ownership and pride and
sparks a culture of ‘do-it-yourself’ urbanism.
Timothy Birch was one of the local grant recipients who produced a video documenting local creatives in Landsborough. You can view it here.
Client: Sunshine Coast Regional Council
With Landsborough’s main street streetscape project well underway, Fourfold Studio were engaged to deliver a tailored 21-month program to facilitate local community contribution to the project. The Sunshine Coast Council understood improvements to the physical streetscape would create the right environment for public life, but this on its own would not be enough to transform this Cribb Street into the thriving local heart of the community.
Setting out with a goal to embed a culture of ‘do-it-yourself’ urbanism, the team developed a rich multi-layered participatory program involving workshops, one-on-one skills building and a micro-grants program. An initial community assets mapping and story-telling exercise kick-started the process. Community unpacked many ideas and areas of interest settling on four themes to focus their efforts; events, heritage, greening and arts.
The community of Landsborough had established community events which were well-loved and attended but had identified that running events on public land was considered too hard and expensive. To make the process of running events easier as well as to unlock the opportunity to run events on public land, Fourfold assisted the community to develop a 34-page Events How-to Guide tailored to Cribb Street. Small scale community-led events delivered during the program provided the insights and framework to develop the resource. The program also saw development of an ‘On Cribb Street’ logo and brand guide for the community. These resources will continue to grow the placemaking movement in the Landsborough community.
Community ownership over the physical aspects of the streetscape design were also strengthened via their direct contribution to the arts and historical storytelling layers of the upgrade. A mural on a laneway wall, artworks throughout the street and a digital storytelling application, all inspired and co-designed with the community ensure this main street reflects its passionate community and tells the unique story of Landsborough.