The goal of this Innovating Streets for People project was to enable safer access to Māngere College for its students, staff, and whānau in the context of a significant urban renewal programme being undertaken by Kāinga Ora in Māngere West. Place Creative led two projects, on Bader Drive (Auckland Transport) and Elmdon Street (Kāinga Ora,) with a team that included MAU Studio, The Roots, PTM Consultants and Local Communications expert Jo Latif.

The key focus of the project was developing a reciprocal and authentic co-design process with the community, mainly Māngere College, to ensure the project delivered meaningful outcomes that reflected the community’s aspirations for their place.

MAU Studio led the co-design with Māngere College as a Mau Academy course where students earned NCEA credits through designing tactical urbanism interventions. This deepened the connection between young people and their place, and offered a significant stakeholder group a pathway to engage in the future plans for their neighbourhood.

On the ground, the students’ design work narrowed the road by their school crossing, stopping cars from parking on the berm at pick-up time, making it a much safer place to linger after school.