Community development · Public space · Cross-organisational coordination
Play Streets: making community-led activity easier to deliver
Changing internal Council systems to enable resident-led street events, and launching the inaugural Play Streets and Street Parties Toolkit.
Documented outputs
Revised internal Council processes and the inaugural Play Streets and Street Parties Toolkit, launched in 2023.
Read the contribution and sources below for Alisha’s role in this work.
Project context
- Organisation
- Merri-bek City Council
- Context
- Local government employment experience
- Practice
- Community development · Public space · Cross-organisational coordination
The challenge
A resident-led street event needs more than an invitation to participate. Traffic management, approvals, communication and practical guidance all affect whether people can confidently use their street as a place to gather.
Alisha’s contribution
Alisha coordinated cross-organisational work to establish the Play Streets and Street Party Programme, including changes to internal Council systems that enabled the project to proceed. Early workshops involved more than 30 Council staff, with input across urban design, planning, traffic engineering, communications and community development.
Working through the details
The work involved changing the internal Council systems and processes needed to allow resident-led street events, as well as making the process easier for residents to navigate. Trials and iterative refinement brought traffic management, approvals, communication and practical guidance together, drawing on Play Australia resources and the expertise of the internal working group.
What was delivered
Alisha coordinated the launch of Council’s inaugural Play Streets and Street Parties Toolkit in 2023. The toolkit brought practical guidance and the revised Council process together to enable community-led events, supporting public health, wellbeing and social connection.
What carries into consulting
This work connects community participation with organisational change. Soft Infrastructure applies the same attention to the systems behind an initiative: who needs to work together, which decisions need to be made and what makes delivery practical.
Official information and sources
Public sources provide programme, policy and research background. The contribution described above is Alisha’s account of her experience; these links do not independently verify every personal contribution or imply organisational endorsement.
Contribution, evidence and limits
This account describes Alisha’s contribution in the project context identified above. Read the role credits and source links alongside the account. Prior Council employment and partner-led work inform Soft Infrastructure’s practice; they are not presented as new consulting commissions. Outputs and activities are described where documented. No additional measured outcomes or causal impact are inferred.