Background and aims
Seafarers Rest is a public park in the Docklands area of Melbourne that is earmarked for renewal. The City of Melbourne (CoM) worked in partnership with the Victorian Government, developer Riverlee, and landscape architects Oculus to create a park that meets a myriad of purposes – increase pedestrian and cycle access and improve public amenity, while protecting neighbouring heritage sites, preserving trees where possible, and responding to the site’s contexts and constraints.
Our role
Global Research was engaged to analyse feedback received during the two separate consultation phases and present the collated information and insights from each engagement into a tailored, accessible report that would enable the Seafarers Rest Park design to be developed and refined to reflect the views of the community.
Design and method
The first phase of the consultation aimed to determine the ways in which Seafarers Rest is valued by communities, while the second phase presented the proposed design and enabled the community to comment on the design before it was finalised. In addition to the online survey responses and submissions received, CoM held three meetings with Traditional Owners Groups.
For consultation phases I and II, all survey responses, submissions, and comments from public meetings were sorted, coded, and analysed by Global Research analysts. The use of specialist software allowed us to see the key themes, ideas, and the weight of opinion on each point come to the fore. Qualitative and quantitative results were presented in a report structured to answer the aims of the consultation, demonstrate the diversity and representativeness of the participants, and offer clear insights into the community’s wishes for the redeveloped park.
Result
Two cohesive reports were produced in an accessible format, as well as an “at a glance” infographic summarising the engagement reach and key feedback for stage two. These reports offered overall summaries alongside detailed presentation of the qualitative and quantitative results, giving CoM an accurate, robust and clear source to inform their decision-making, as well as ensuring that these results were accessible to the wider community.
See the Global Research Report here.
Outcome
The original feedback collected in stage one allowed the design team to build the community’s ideas and aspirations into the concept design for the new Seafarers Rest Park. Feedback during stage two was notably supportive of many elements of the design brief, highlighting that the first stage of the engagement had successfully captured the views of the community and allowed these to be reflected in the concept design. Stage two enabled CoM to further refine the design to meet the needs of the community.
The final design for Seafarers Rest Park was endorsed by the Future Melbourne Committee on 20 April. The 3500-square-metre Seafarers Rest Park will add more spaces to the Northbank precinct and better connect it to the rest of the central city.
View the project page here.