Defining your place

Start by defining your place. Is it a park, town square, high street, economic zone, industrial area, a new community or suburb? Remember, smart solutions can support outcomes of places that are different sizes.

Respecting local character

Local character is a combination of:

• land
• people
• built environment
• history
• culture and tradition, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

Smart places should protect and enhance people's experience of a place. It should also improve how it functions.

The use of technology and infrastructure in places should:

• integrate with and complement the surrounding environment
• protect visual amenity
• incorporate elements of a place's local character and function.

Place strategies and plans can help to understand local character. You should also look at how people interact with the place to create the area's distinctive character.

Engage widely to understand people's sense of place. Balance place-based aspects (such as recreation, business and social connection) with the movement of people and freight.

We recommend starting with Country when thinking about your places. We encourage making First Nations history and culture a more visible part of NSW's built and natural environment.

Through this, we can improve visitor understanding. First Nations communities should determine what is appropriate to be shared publicly.

Involving the community

You will need to identify and involve the people who live, work and visit your place, or might in the future.

Set out a plan for engaging your community to understand their experiences and desires for the place.

Involving your community early will help you achieve the first principle of the Smart Places Customer Charter: Co-creating smart places.

Understanding the strategic context of your place

Every place is different. When you are choosing technology and data solutions you need to understand the plans and strategies related to your place.

As a minimum, this will include:

• your area's regional plan. These plans are set by the state government. They set a 20-year framework, vision and direction for strategic planning and land use. This is to ensure regions have the facilities they need to continue to be vibrant places for people to live, work and visit.
• your council's Local Strategic Planning Statement. These set out the strategic planning ambitions for a local government area as a whole and for specific areas.
• your council's 10-year Community Strategic Plan and more detailed Delivery Program and Operational Plans. These are prepared in consultation with the local community. They provide high-level outcomes that smart places should support.

There may be other local and state priorities, strategies and policies that apply. These include precinct masterplans and land-use strategies. You should assess these too before proceeding.

Related resources

• The Smart Places Maturity Assessment Framework is a practical tool designed to help place managers.
• The Great Public Spaces Toolkit is a collection of free resources that help bring the principles of the draft NSW Public Spaces Charter to life.
• The Movement and Place Framework will help to balance the movement of people and goods with the amenities of places.

Related case studies