Using a Human-Centred Design Approach to Win Over Community Support

Challenge

The 109 Pitt Street shopping arcade in Sydney was closed as part of the Sydney Metro Hunter Street station construction. This has caused a major drop in foot traffic, turning the area from a busy thoroughfare to a dead-end space, with small businesses, like food outlets, dry cleaners, and convenience stores, struggling to pay rent and staff. With no compensation from landlords or Sydney Metro and severe noise and vibration from two years of construction, the situation was dire, and a strong resentment grew amongst businesses against the project. Nearby hospitality venues also suffered from construction fatigue, visibility issues due to hoarding, access problems from lane closures, and an unattractive outlook, making the area less appealing for businesses and customers.

Approach

Creating an innovative community engagement approach to build an in-depth understanding of the community concerns and develop practical solutions adapted to their needs

Instead of starting with preconceived solutions, we started by going to 109 Pitt Street shopping arcade and engaging with local businesses and customers on the ground.

We quickly realised that the preconceived solutions that both Sydney Metro and ETP initially had would not address the community's needs and expectations. For example, they initially thought about a new website promoting local businesses to online customers. However, local businesses only rely on local customers and traffic.

This allowed us to co-create new solutions with ETP, anchored in what we heard the community needed. We then tested these ideas back with businesses to make sure they would be supported and effective.

Outcomes

Turning the local community from detractors to advocates and supporters of the project

ETP and Sydney Metro implemented all the recommendations coming from our community engagement project, including:

• Low-cost refurbishment of the arcade to make it an inviting and welcoming space with tables, chairs, plants, lights and a colourful mural on the arcade hoarding
• Pedestrian signage in the vicinity of the arcade to help promote and redirect foot traffic to the local businesses
• Promotional flyers for pedestrians and employees of businesses located near the arcade
• Extra artwork on the hoardings surrounding the arcade to make it more inviting and attract attention
• Local businesses welcomed the proposed solutions and became positive and supportive of the project overall
• Sydney Metro Innovation team praised the approach and presented it as their new standard for effective community engagement on other Metro projects