There are three different settings for a study area:
- site boundary – the defined area the project is responsible for
- area of influence – the neighbourhood, precinct or network the project should address
- broader context – the surrounding environment the project should consider.
In addition, a project should review the policy context and planning intent for these areas.
Each of these settings requires careful consideration to ensure your project responds to its context. These settings are also the foundation for developing the shared vision and objectives for your project.
As the project moves through the Movement and Place core process, these settings may need to be reviewed to accommodate ongoing changes. For example, if a site in the broader context is identified for redevelopment that could change the function of some streets, then this site could be included within the area of influence. This type of reiteration – moving forwards and backwards through the process to review previous analyses and reconsider decisions – is a common aspect of any design process. For more information, see the NSW Government design policy Better Placed: An integrated design policy for the built environment of NSW.
What is the project’s site boundary?
The site boundary is created to define the area the project is immediately responsible for. It is often marked by a red line boundary on drawings.
Depending on the project type and scope, the size of a study area may be defined as larger or smaller, and the site boundary will usually have distinct edges.
Edges can be defined using various criteria, as appropriate for the project type. For example, edges could be defined by:
- strategic planning areas, as identified in regional or district plans
- precinct or master planning areas, including brownfield or greenfield development sites, urban centres, schools, and many other types of precincts
- administrative boundaries, such as local government areas
- geographic boundaries, such as waterways
- infrastructure boundaries, such as railway lines
- public domain areas, such as streets, squares or open spaces
- travel zones or areas of distinct road user activities, such as where people interchange in station precincts
- land-use or ownership patterns, such as areas zoned for urban centre or community activities.
In addition to the site boundary, these edges could also be used to define the area of influence or the broader context.
Generally speaking, the site boundary for a project is already well-established and known to the project team at the start of a project or plan. However, the project team should still review the site boundary to ensure it is strongly aligned with the project’s scope and vision.
Sometimes, the project’s scope may change while the project is underway. For example, an analysis of opportunities and constraints could identify ideas to increase the project’s positive impact on its context. Where this happens, your team may need to redefine the site boundary to include or omit changes or opportunities.
What is the project's area of influence?
While a project may be targeted at a spatially confined site area, a project's influence often extends beyond its immediate boundaries. To take this into account, your project team needs to draw a boundary around the local neighbourhood, precinct or network that defines the area of influence the project will address.
Feedback from project teams highlights the importance of determining a project’s impact on its neighbourhood, precinct or network at an early stage. Considering the project’s context and the wider area of influence from the outset may avoid you having to deal with unforeseen costs or challenges at later stages, when they may be harder to address. A project’s wider area of influence may also yield opportunities for delivering greater value or benefits, or highlight opportunities for collaboration with other agencies.
Projects generally have a broad range of influence on their surroundings, including:
- social impacts, such as connecting people with destinations relating to health, education, leisure, social connection and employment
- cultural impacts, such as engaging with Traditional Custodians and connecting with Country
- environmental impacts, such as changes to views, air quality, noise levels, lighting levels, biodiversity, habitat and drainage
- economic impacts, such as high-quality design treatments that improve the amenity
- planned intent, such as proposed transport or land-use developments
- strategic intent, such as multi-modal transport connections through a study area or to and from an urban centre.
Relevant stakeholders need to be included in the Movement and Place process at the very early stages of a project or plan to ensure the full range of potential impacts on the wider area of influence are being adequately considered when developing the project’s vision and objectives.
| Capturing opportunities and impacts over the longer term A project's interface with its wider precinct or network may not always be clearly defined or understood at the outset, as it can emerge over time. This is particularly relevant for projects with longer life cycles (5+ years). The iterative nature of taking a Movement and Place approach provides a collaborative mechanism to mitigate impacts and harness opportunities outside the study area to achieve a wider vision. It is essential to understand and note these opportunities or impacts as they emerge and to demonstrate to decision-makers the extent to which your project or plan will address them. Broader interventions outside the study area may need to be explored through engagement with other project teams, agencies or stakeholders. You are encouraged to record these opportunities in the Movement and Place collaboration report. |
The wider context for your project and opportunities for collaboration can be captured and documented as part of the implementation plan for your project. During delivery and operational phases, monitoring and reviews can also include considering these opportunities or unexpected impacts (both greater and less than anticipated).
What is the project's broader context?
To inform the project’s vision, your team needs to develop a comprehensive understanding of the project’s broader context, including the social, cultural, environmental, and economic factors that influence the study area. While there can be challenges in considering this broader context, there are also significant opportunities to be gained. The NSW Movement and Place Framework helps projects to clearly define and articulate the project's unique contribution to a place – considering current and future scenarios.
What is the policy context and planning intent?
A project vision also needs to be informed by the policy context and planning intent for the study area. Reviewing the strategic and detailed intent for the study area will help you to identify opportunities the project can contribute to. It may also help to engage other network operators, project teams or precinct partners as stakeholders. This becomes particularly relevant when multiple administrative areas dissect the study area. Considering the relevant government agencies, land managers, communities and industries affected by the project will help you identify additional stakeholders who need to be involved.
Sources for understanding the planning intent include:
- regional, district, and local planning strategies, including local strategic planning statements
- local environmental plans
- precinct plans, master plans and place plans
- State and local government transport plans
- any place or movement guidance material relevant to the study area.
Your team will need to confirm the documented policy context is current and identify any gaps, such as emerging policies or plans.
Once you have assembled the relevant policy and planning materials, you need to assess how your project aligns with them. The project should contribute to the future conditions planned for the area and should avoid any conflict with the planning intent. Identifying these relationships and interactions early in the project can help you to maximise the contribution to place and minimise negative impacts.
Some project teams have reported finding it challenging to translate the many strategic documents for the wider group coherently and transparently. A successful method for aligning the policy context and planning intent with the project's scope is to synthesise key content from the various documents relevant to your study area into a map, table, or figure. You could use the Movement and Place Built Environment Themes to summarise the various documents, so the mapping of the current context is aligned with the future planning intent.
Mapping the context and place analysis
The most important task that a project team can undertake to understand the broader context is to map the area. To support this exercise, it is important to work out who to engage and when, what resources and data you need to acquire, and how best to visually display the findings to the wider group.
Maps can be produced to show the context spatially in a series of layers, for example using layers to explore each of the five built environment themes. The process of researching and producing these maps will give your team a deeper understanding of the project’s context, and this will help you to produce a better quality proposal. The maps can also help you to demonstrate to stakeholders and decision-makers how the project has responded to its context.
Taking a Movement and Place approach requires working concurrently at multiple scales. This involves thinking about how ideas of a project influence the bigger picture as well as the finder details. While each project should consider which scales are most relevant for their particular study, all projects should conduct a site and context analysis using at least three scales. This helps to ensure that broad strategic directions are considerate for what can be delivered in detailed design, and vice versa, that detailed design proposals are considerate of the place and network context.