Social experiment transforms a thoroughfare into a Pop up Park in Australia!

The #BackyardExperiment project, held in the Central Business District of Canberra, Australia was organized by June Boxsell from Street Furniture Australia (SFA) in association with Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA) and Context Architects of Sydney, constructed by Lawn Solutions Australia, Turf Australia and Horticultural Research Council Organisation Hort Innovations Australia. The experiment was setup by a collaborative effort from various agencies, with involvement from WE-EF LIGHTING, The Lighting Society, ACT, Integral Lighting, Affinity Electrical Technologies, Lawn and the ACT Government Libraries. The preliminary result seen by this experiment, was remarkable.

So what was really done to observe such dramatic changes? They targeted a hard landscaped area in the CBD district of Canberra, and monitored the public use of space for a few days. After which, they modulated the space by adding some soft green landscape, street furniture, other landscaping elements, post which, they observed the demographics and public visitation as well as the use of the area. Cameras were set up to monitor the targeted space in three different timeframes – existing scenario, changes after the addition of movable chairs and vibrant landscape elements and finally, the effect after introducing some pop-up activations like coffee and gelato stands. With the help of videos and time lapse over a two-week span, they carried out analysis and reached conclusions. 

So in effect, a pop-up park was set up, featuring 60 movable seats including forum seats, cafe tables and stools in vibrant powder coat colours, a living lawn, library and lighting, which almost doubled visitors in mere eight days. In no time, the park became 8 times more appealing to families, visitors spent thrice the amount of time they spend usually and the footfall was twice the regular traffic. The most noteworthy, was the diversity observed it the visitors. From 98% adults, majorly from the streets or homeless communities, visiting the place before the park was setup, it went to attracting a crowd of families, children and senior citizens. Locals described the space as intimidating, rough, and tired, prior to this humanising intervention. What was meant to be a simple observational study of public life, could actually be be a pivotal point in urban planning and design of public spaces. 

The experiment was answers, few questions revolving around public perception and interaction with moveable furniture. “Can we live in a city that provides more flexibility in the way we want to interact with it? The observations from this experiment will provide knowledge into the public life of Canberra and in particular Garema Place. It will trigger thinking into how the space is used now and reflect on how the installation may change the public environment for the benefit of Canberrans. And therefore how can we change the public domain to bring out the best in our city and its people.”

Ms Boxsell believes, her initial findings were ‘far beyond expectations’. She said, “It’s quite amazing really. We expected there was going to be some lift in visitation and then maybe people staying to linger in the area a little longer, but the numbers we are seeing are off-the-scale and reflective of the anecdotal evidence we gathered from the shopkeepers around the site. Before; during; and then after the construction of the park area; we were regularly talking to the many small business proprietors, the café and coffee shop owners in the area. They all loved the turf, the furniture and the appeal of the space, most of them wanted it to remain as a permanent fixture.”

The ACT Government also carried out their own surveys in the same duration. They had similar observations of a higher space usage. “So far, we’ve seen 190 percent increase in foot traffic, 247 percent increase in what we are calling ‘passers and dwellers’ or those that linger a while, and in the vicinity of an 800 percent increase in demographic diversity, that is, the families that were enjoying the lush-lawn and street-furniture that featured so prominently in the park.” 

Caitlin Bladin, the manager of the City Activation team for the ACT Government, visited Garema Place daily and spoke to people. She was pleasantly surprised to see the shift in the demographics. She recollects a man returning to the park, time and again, as it uplifted his mood. Another woman she spoke to, said the park has put a ‘giant smiley face on the city’. She added, “More than this, #BackyardExperiment delivered important evidence, which we can analyse and integrate into our policies and planning for future activities. For a while there, all was as it should be. Garema Place was the beating heart of a modern, vibrant, dynamic and inclusive city.”