Ginninderry Living Lab: open and play space

BACKGROUND
The development of Ginninderry coincides with the worldwide transformation of open spaces into critical public assets delivering multiple community outcomes for health, cohesion and wellbeing. In our increasingly dense urban environments, open and public play spaces must now serve as backyards; sites for outdoor physical activity across the lifespan; communal gathering places and crucial green spaces contributing to urban ecosystems.
Ginninderry has a unique opportunity to work in public-private-people partnership in the iterative design of multi-modal, resource-efficient and compelling public and play space solutions to enhance play, health and wellbeing across the lifespan. The provision of such spaces is particularly important for the Ginninderry community who will occupy a range of residential types including compact housing packages and housing that enables ageing-in-place. The development of unique play spaces will also make Ginninderry a destination.
This research project pilots the development of a productive ongoing partnership between Ginninderry, the University of Canberra (led by the Faculty of Arts and Design) and the Ginninderry community in the development of Ginninderry’s open spaces (including green and play spaces). Ginninderry and the University of Canberra are committed to a whole-of-project approach to open space provision that, where possible, is resource efficient, unique, diverse, sustainable, accessible and that encourages optimal physical, recreational and social activity and play across the lifespan.
To achieve this the partners will work collaboratively in the application of the Living Lab approach as an iterative cycle of trial-monitor-evaluation informed both by community engagement with and feedback about Ginninderry, and
the latest research in user experience and open space design, as well as with community about open space
AIMS
1. Apply the Living Lab approach to co-create open and public play spaces in Ginninderry throughout the length of the Ginninderry project to better serve the health, liveability and prosperity of the Ginninderry and wider communities across the lifespan.
2. Develop a vibrant and healthy culture in Ginninderry with community engaging in optimal physical, recreational and social activity and play.
3. Enable open and play space design that is innovative, resource-efficient and sustainable through an iterative cycle of trial-monitor-evaluation of both permanent and temporary infrastructure.
4. Co-create these spaces in collaboration with Ginninderry communities and with private-public-community-education sector partners for better community outcomes.
4. Undertake a world-first study of innovative, evidence based green and play space design across the life of a project of Ginninderry’s scale.