Reactivate Consulting

We are looking forward to the Australian Placemaking Summit this week, in Sydney!  Now in its fifth year, the Summit is Australia’s leading gathering for professionals working across placemaking, urban design, and city making, bringing together over 150 practitioners, policymakers, and place leaders from across the country.    Our Director Andrew Coward will be presenting alongside Sarah Mathews of @summerhilllittlebighouse , exploring what it genuinely takes to build thriving, connected communities within high-density residential precincts  - drawing on the story of the Little BIG House Foundation as a model of resident-led, socially sustainable placemaking  that has only grown stronger over time.   Andrew will also be hosting a panel on the night-time economy alongside Michael Rodrigues, NSW’s @24houreconomynsw Commissioner, Heleana Genaus, Secretary of the @newtownenmore.sydney , and @lorrainelock , District Coordinator of @hqsydney and @rainbowprecinct . The conversation will explore how New South Wales shifted its NTE from place-breaking to place-making via genuine systems of place-led policy, investable renewal, and district capability-building. The panel will also explore what the next frontier of city-making looks like as the morning economy emerges as a new force in how we think about vibrant, around-the-clock places.   It promises to be a rich two days of conversation, and we are looking forward to connecting with so many colleagues and peers in the room. If you are attending, we would love to see you there, come say hello.   Full programme, registration details and tickets are available at .au   #Placemaking #AustralianPlacemakingSummit #AUSPLACE26 #NightTimeEconomy #24HourEconomy PlaceLeadership UrbanDesign CommunityEngagement PlaceActivation MorningEconomy

On our recent Auckland tour, we visited @te_rimutahi_ Rimutahi in Ponsonby, one of Aotearoa’s best examples of community-led placemaking and a space that demonstrates what is possible when indigenous knowledge, sustainable design, sustained programming, and genuine civic advocacy are treated as a single integrated brief. Formally opened in May 2025, Te Rimutahi is a hybrid civic space, part park and part plaza, shaped over more than two decades by a community-led design group in partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, whose gifted name refers to the Ponsonby ridgeline, a traditional Māori walking track connecting Maungawhau to headland pā sites along the ridge. The collaboration with mana whenua was central to every design decision made throughout the project. Designed by LandLAB, as a community hub and place for recreation, gathering, local events, pop-ups and a whole range of other community activation, the project is an incredible anchor for the community. Lead designers, created a space that wears its sustainability credentials visibly, with a repurposed urban canopy, photovoltaic solar panels, and stormwater harvesting all integrated into the design. A vertical steel pou at the Ponsonby Road entrance, inspired by the native rimu, marks the threshold between street and civic space, glowing at night in a way that anchors this end of Ponsonby Road. Thanks to our good friend @boopsiemaran and Ponsonby local, for showing us around, and managing such an incredible space in partnership with the community . For practitioners working in community engagement, indigenous co-design, and night-time activation, Te Rimutahi is a benchmark project to be inspired by! @landlab_ | @ngatiwhatuaorakei | @aklcouncil | Waitematā Local Board | @becagroup #TeRimutahi #Placemaking #PublicSpace #CommunityLedDesign #NightTimeActivation UrbanActivation AucklandStudyTour PublicRealm CreativePlacemaking LandLAB NgātiWhātuaŌrākei

On our Auckland tour, we visited Karangahape Road, one of the world’s great streets and a masterclass in what genuine place activation looks like when physical infrastructure and soft programming work together. Supported by a special-rate levy that funds the Karangahape Road Business Association, @kroadnz is a creative hub and a hive of activity across the full course of the day and well into the night. Wonderful hospitality venues like @lebanesegrocer and The Frog sustain the street’s daily rhythm, while multi-use venues like @opencoffeekrd home to our friends @placecreative_ and NZ Pride, reflect the layered, inclusive identity that makes this street genuinely unlike anywhere else. The 2021 @landlab_ designed streetscape enhancements increased non-vehicle public space from 30% to 50%, with widened footpaths, separated cycleways, rain gardens, and mana whenua-led artwork woven throughout. And with the @cityraillink ’s Karanga-a-Hape Station opening in the second half of 2026, the street is entering its next chapter with its character fully intact. For practitioners working in place activation, night-time economy, and precinct identity, Karangahape Road remains one of the most instructive streets in the Pacific. Karangahape Road Business Association | @landlab_  | @akltransport | @aklcouncil | @kroadnz #KarangahapeRoad #KRoad #Placemaking #UrbanActivation #AucklandStudyTour NightTimeEconomy HeritageRegeneration PublicRealm CreativePlacemaking CityRailLink AdaptiveReuse

On our recent Auckland tour, we visited Te Ara Awataha, “the path of the Awataha”, one of the most instructive placemaking projects in Aotearoa. A buried stream, daylighted. A community, engaged from the ground up. And a 1.5km greenway that has become the green infrastructure spine of one of Auckland’s most significant housing regeneration programmes. Led by Isthmus Group with Eke Panuku Development Auckland (now Auckland Urban Development Office), Auckland Council Healthy Waters, and Kaipātiki Local Board, the project restored the Awataha Stream after decades underground, guided by the Take Mauri Take Hono framework developed by mana whenua kaitiaki, and brought to life through the artworks of Janine Williams and Reuben Kirkwood. The greenway now connects over 1,700 new homes being delivered by Kāinga Ora to the Northcote town centre through continuous public realm. What makes Te Ara Awataha exceptional as a placemaking reference is not just what was built. It is how it was made. A community magazine. A two-year school design lab. A mana whenua-led mauri framework that shaped every design decision. Ecological restoration and community engagement treated not as separate workstreams, but as the same project. Tag a colleague working at the intersection of housing, culture, and public space. @isthmus_nz | @kaingaoragovtnz | @aklcouncil | @kaipatiki_local_youth_board | @janine_divatmd | @reubenkirkwood #TeAraAwataha #Placemaking #EcologicalRestoration #ManaWhenua #KāingaOra CommunityEngagement UrbanActivation PublicRealm CreativePlacemaking IsthmusGroup Northcote AucklandStudyTour

On a recent tour of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, we explored how one of the Pacific’s most dynamic cities is reshaping its public realm through adaptive reuse, cultural programming, and long-term placemaking governance. From @britomartnz — New Zealand’s largest urban heritage regeneration project, where 18 restored heritage buildings and a transport-anchored masterplan have created a thriving 24/7 precinct, led by Cooper and Company and Britomart Group — to the post-industrial transformation of Wynyard Quarter’s Silo Park and Tank Park, where former cement silos and chemical tanks have become some of the city’s most loved community spaces, delivered by Eke Panuku Development Auckland (now @audoakl Auckland Urban Development Office). Looking further ahead, Te Ara Tukutuku — the 5-hectare waterfront park being co-designed with mana whenua at Wynyard Point by design collective Toi Waihanga (@landlab_ , @warrenmahoney , @scape_studio ) — is set to become the most significant new green space in Auckland’s city centre in 100 years. At #cityworksdepotauckland , a former municipal works depot, rigorous adaptive reuse and passion-led tenanting have created one of the city’s most distinctive precincts. At Myers Park, the Waimahara installation by artist Graham Tipene @tewhekemokodesignstudio and technology team IION, commissioned by @aucklandcouncil_local , has turned one of central Auckland’s most unsafe underpasses into a world-first interactive artwork. And at @ponsonby_central — a former 1960s calendar factory — heritage, independent tenanting, and community come together in one place. What lessons from Auckland would you apply to your next placemaking project? Tag a colleague rethinking public space in their city. #Placemaking #UrbanActivation #AucklandStudyTour #Britomart WynyardQuarter PublicRealm AdaptiveReuse CreativePlacemaking CityBuilding HeritageRegeneration TeAraTukutuku

We are pleased to share that our Director, Andrew Coward, will be speaking at the upcoming Placemaking X Sydney Masterclass on 30 April at the @bondipavilionofficial .   Presented by our friends at @village.well and @placemakingx , A New Era of Placemaking will explore the evolution of placemaking practice and the growing shift towards Regenerative Placemaking — an approach that is place led, systems based, and focused on creating places that are resilient, adaptive and socially sustainable.   The session will bring together a strong panel of voices across policy, development and place practice to discuss how placemaking can shape investment, public policy and community outcomes, and what kinds of capabilities and leadership will be needed in this next era of place-based work.   Andrew will be joining an excellent line up of Sydney panellists including Bruce Mills, Director at @placeleaders Asia Pacific, Marcus Westbury, Director of Creative Spaces at @creatensw , Brooke Wharton, Director of Vibrancy at @transportfornsw , and Sam Shepherd, Managing Director at @bellringerpg . It is an important conversation at a time when the role of placemaking continues to expand beyond activation and amenity, and further into the way places are planned, delivered, and sustained over time.   If you are working across development, planning, design, public policy or precinct management, this will be a valuable discussion to be part of.   Tickets are still available here: /regerative-masterclass_sydney #Placemaking #RegenerativePlacemaking #PlaceLedDevelopment #UrbanDevelopment #PlaceLeadership #BondiPavilion #SydneyEvents #PlacemakingX #VillageWell

On the ground in @kiamansw this week, we are spending time talking with the community, and hearing firsthand about what people value most in the area after dark, from local character and hospitality to safety, accessibility and the kinds of experiences people want to see more of. We are proud to be working with @kiamacouncil on the development of a Night-time Economy Strategy for the LGA and Special Entertainment Precinct for Kiama itself. It is an exciting project for us as it is not just about nightlife, but about how Kiama can support a more vibrant, inclusive and locally grounded evening economy that works for community, businesses and visitors alike. There is always real value in being out in the place, having conversations on the ground and listening directly to the people who know it best. @studiogl_au JR & Co (Urban) Pty Ltd Geografia Marshall Day Acoustics

Last week we had the opportunity to visit our friends at the Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct in their new home at the UNSW Health Translation Hub. It is an impressive new building, with thoughtfully designed spaces that genuinely support connection, collaboration and exchange. Designed by @architectusau , with @aspectstudios and @yerrabingin as collaborators, the building brings together health, education and research in one purpose-built environment. Beyond the building itself, the overall quality of the public realm experience reflects a strong commitment to creating places that bring people together. We also explored the new Sydney Children’s Hospital (@sydneykids_ ), designed by @billardleece , and were particularly struck by the welcoming public courtyard, along with the quality of the landscaping and integrated artworks throughout. These elements make a meaningful contribution to the experience of the place, helping to create an environment that feels caring, engaging and human. Projects like this show the value of thinking beyond buildings alone. Together, they offer a strong example of how health, design, art and public space when considered together, they can create places that not only function well, but also support wellbeing, community and everyday connection. #Placemaking #HealthPrecincts #PublicRealm #PlaceStrategy #UrbanDesign #Randwick #UNSW #HealthInnovation #CityMaking #CommunityAndPlace

Last month, our Co-Founder and Director, Andrew Coward, spoke at a recent Young Leaders event hosted by our friends at @placedesigngroup in Sydney, unpacking all things night-time economy as part of a discussion on From Dawn to Dusk: Designing Liveable Precincts. The discussion explored what it takes to create places that work across the full daily cycle, not just within standard business hours. It reinforced that successful 24-hour precincts need to consider a range of key design elements, from design-led safety and accessibility to amenity, programming and public life. Truly liveable places need to respond to changing patterns of use over time and support a more inclusive experience from morning through night. This is especially important in conversations around the night-time economy. It is not simply about extending trading hours, but about shaping places that feel inclusive, welcoming and well considered for a broader range of people and experiences. Thanks to Place Design Group for hosting, and to fellow speakers Georgina Blix (Director, @blix_architecture ) and Hans Oerlemans (Senior Associate, Place Design Group), with Ivan Power (Principal, Lykaios Capital) moderating the discussion. #NightTimeEconomy #Placemaking #PrecinctDesign #UrbanDesign #PlaceStrategy #CityMaking

Last week while in Brisbane, we had the chance to visit the incredible Yeronga Paint Factory (@paint_factory_yeronga ). Once home to a Taubman’s manufacturing site, the 3.4 hectare precinct is an excellent example of creative ‘meanwhile use’. It now supports a significant creative ecosystem, with 6,900 sqm of temporary arts space distributed across former warehouses, offices and the old paint laboratory.   Today, it is home to more than 15 artists, makers, sculptors and creators, spanning emerging through to established practice.Importantly, the site not only provides studio space, but also supports regular creative programming, events and small-scale community pop ups led by resident artists and external collaborators, alongside space for rehearsal and performance across a range of artistic disciplines.   At a time when affordable and adaptable creative space is in short supply nationally, Yeronga Paint Factory demonstrates the value of accessible, low-cost leasing models in sustaining creative practice and cultural production. Importantly its enabled through a supportive landlord during the precinct’s redevelopment planning.   Projects like this are important not simply because they activate underutilised space, but because they help build a city’s creative capacity in real and lasting ways. #Placemaking #MeanwhileUse #CreativeInfrastructure #CreativeProduction #AdaptiveReuse #CulturalPlanning #PlaceStrategy #CreativeCities #Brisbane #UrbanRegeneration

Great to kick off another exciting town centre project with our friends at @placedesigngroup and @cumberlandcitycouncil in Guilford this week! Guilford, in Sydney’s western suburbs is an incredibly diverse town centre ripe with opportunity. As with all of our projects, we started with an immersive visit around the suburb, to understand its identity, values and cultures as well as its built form and urban fabric. We look forward to working with Guilford’s businesses, community and other local stockholders to unpack a renewed vision, activation strategy and brand for this awesome suburb. #placemaking #community #placeactivation

Earlier this month, we were delighted to join Women in Property for an insightful tour of the newly completed Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont, one of the most significant waterfront renewal projects Sydney has seen in the past decade.   The tour offered a behind-the-scenes look at the market’s striking architectural form design by @3xnarchitects , its operations as a working fish market, and the carefully considered public spaces that frame the harbour’s edge. More than a building, the project represents a reimagining of how public realm, commerce, culture, and waterfront identity can intersect in a contemporary civic destination.   A key highlight of the morning was the integration of public art delivered by our friends at @culturalcapital.city , whose contribution enriches the experience of place and strengthens the narrative connection between community, country, industry, and harbour heritage.   Our Co-Founder, Andrew Coward, moderated a panel discussion with three amazing women behind the project; Susan Lee (Placemaking NSW), Angela Bonnefin (Retail Strategy Group),  and Kate Mackarell (Three Fishes), who shared their valuable insights into the project’s vision, retail, delivery and long-term placemaking ambition.   From an experience-led perspective, the Sydney Fish Market demonstrates the power of aligning architecture, retail, experience and public realm strategy to create destinations that are both functional and deeply human. It was inspiring to hear firsthand how collaboration across disciplines has shaped a project that will anchor Pyrmont’s evolving waterfront for generations to come.   Thank you to Women in Property for hosting such a thoughtful and engaging industry event.   📸: @womeninproperty_aus   #WomenInProperty #SydneyFishMarket #Placemaking #PublicRealm #UrbanDesign #WaterfrontDevelopment #PropertyIndustry #CityMaking