OUR WHY | Our Purpose
Commune + Co is a social enterprise characterised by entrepreneurial changemakers, and was started in 2016 after recognising the need for new ways of approaching conventional community engagement and collaboration between community stakeholders, councils and property developers.
Community discontent was occurring with the influx of new residential developments occurring in across infill sites in inner city and high growth fringe neighbourhoods in Victoria, some of which barely met the Better Apartment Design Standards, and that the affordable housing crisis was driving people into fringe and outer suburbs.
Many of these suburbs lack the amenity and infrastructure of inner city suburbs; and that there were increasing numbers of citizens forgotten in marginalised communities.
Traditionally, creative placemaking has been connected with landscape architecture, public space and public art programs, and we also realised that the term 'placemaking' lacked general community awareness.
Placemaking is largely defined as:
"a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces, capitalising on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people's health, happiness and well being".