A Sydney council that says gender has historically not been at the forefront of public space design will be the city’s first to build a dedicated park for teenage girls.
Bayside councillors at a meeting last week unanimously voted to involve teenage girls in the design process for a park to be built at the old Heslehurst Reserve in Brighton-le-Sands.
Deputy Mayor Heidi Lee Douglas said many girls stopped using public spaces because they didn’t feel safe, comfortable or included.
“When we design our parks, unfortunately they do not cater to girls,” Douglas said.
“There are so many boys playing basketball, soccer, working out, hanging with friends, but where are all the girls? They’re not there.”
A recent Australian study found teenage girls comprised just 6 per cent of all users in recreational spaces.
The sight of children kicking balls on concrete footpaths or around busy roads are also commonplace in suburbs that lack green space for Sydney’s growing population.
Some have questioned the idea of the dedicated park, which councillor Fiona Douskou said could lead to “unintended discrimination”.
Douglas said the park, to be built by mid-2027, would not exclude boys and young men.
“This is not an exclusive space. This is a space that will cater to everybody,” Douglas said.
“It asks us to include girls in the consultation process of a new park that’s already happening.”
Teenagers Anna Chotchov, 15, and Abi Kennedy, 16, can’t remember when they last visited a park of their own volition.
Anna said: “I never go for myself. If there were parks made for teens, then I would definitely go.”
“Some are hidden in really creepy places, and that’s why I don’t really want to go. [In one park] the lighting was bad; it was hidden behind tall buildings, and you could tell it was built ages ago.”
Abi wanted to see better lighting, gazebos or other shelter-like structures.
Estelle Grech, an urban planner at the Committee for Sydney think tank, said the City of Sydney’s plan to transform Belmore Park showed how planners could think more broadly about designing places that were attractive to girls; that council is integrating warm lighting, welcome banners and decorative graphics.
Grech said that having commercial activities in parks, such as cafes, can activate spaces and increase safety.
“Having more eyes on the park, and people around with things to do, is one of the best things you can do,” she said. “It’s also important that these parks are visually interesting and an interesting backdrop to their lives.”
Any equipment that facilitated movement or synchronicity between friends – such as swinging or jumping on trampolines together – was already popular among girls, Grech said.
Bayside Council general manager Meredith Wallace said the council had never designed with teens in mind, instead focusing on young children’s playgrounds or sporting facilities.
“Gender hasn’t been at the forefront of what we thought we needed to really focus on,” she said. “This is a chance to ask: Should we do something a little bit differently?”
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