How it works
UrbanTalk has something to offer every member of the community and the development sector.
Created for
The community
UrbanTalk is a digital engagement platform that has been created to allow you to easily and effectively learn about and discuss new developments and planning policies occurring in your local area.
UrbanTalk brings engagement to your fingertips. We are there when the time is right for you to learn about what is happening in your local area. That might be on your daily commute or while having a morning latte.
Intelligent
When a new development or plan is being progressed near you, you need accurate, unbiased and clear information that you can access in your own time, quickly and easily, online. You want to know that your comments have been listened to and considered. You want to have your questions answered by people who know what the project is about.
We understand you may not have the time to go to community engagement meetings. You do not want to struggle to find and read technical planning documents and architectural plans via complex online DA Tracker portals.
The UrbanTalk project listing is the heart of our digital platform. The project listing enables you to access reliable and trustworthy information, ask questions and participate in online engagement events. The project listing enables you to stay informed about a project as it moves from design through to the completion of construction (this is what we call the development ecosystem).
Robust
Currently community engagement focuses on one ‘Have Your Say’ moment that usually coincides with the public exhibition of a development application, planning proposal or planning strategy. A make-or-break conversation.
Often ‘Have your Say’ moments are not conversations at all because they are one-sided. You never really know if your comments have been heard and considered. A conversation requires active talking but it also requires active listening.
UrbanTalk moves beyond one conversation. It facilitates an ongoing dialogue about a project throughout the development ecosystem.
UrbanTalk has been created by experienced planners and media experts to harness progressive technology and provide a one-stop-shop of reliable and trustworthy information.
Progressive
We want you to participate in conversations about local developments and planning that are progressive, engaging and meaningful.
UrbanTalk embraces digital technology. We recognise that videos and podcasts have a valuable role to play in educating and explaining design and planning considerations. Our content is current, relevant and curated for the moment.
Inclusive
We know that, whatever your age, your ideas and comments need to contribute to the conversations that shape our communities. Our digital products are designed to educate about planning and design considerations and appeal to all age groups.
How you benefit
UrbanTalk’s integrity is paramount to our success. We want communities to be asking the development sector to list their projects with UrbanTalk and to use our digital products to explain their projects to communities.
We want UrbanTalk to be recognised by local communities as being best practice in community engagement. This is how we will measure our success.
UrbanTalk will provide you:
A place where all are welcome.
A platform that supports a balanced and ethical dialogue about a project.
Educational content that helps you to understand the design and planning considerations behind a project.
The opportunity to participate in conversations where your views are heard and your questions answered.
Reliable, factual information online at your fingertips.
A single point of contact no matter what stage a project is at.
Created for
The development sector
UrbanTalk has been created by planners and media experts with three decades of experience working in the sector. We have seen an unhealthy sentiment brewing between communities and the development sector over the last three years that can’t be allowed to fester any longer. Engagement has lost its effectiveness and it’s time to switch things up and reframe past approaches.
At UrbanTalk our mission is simple. We want to bridge the communication gap between the community and the development sector. We do this by embracing digital technology to create a series of smart engagement products that pair clear and considered information with intuitive functionality and our own unwavering belief that engagement delivers better design outcomes.
Better cities through better conversations
We understand that development and planning are complex disciplines and the layers of legislation and range of considerations that apply to any one project are extensive. It can be both daunting and difficult to start talking about a project because of the sheer depth and quantum of information that needs to be relayed if community conversations are to deliver meaningful input.
In this social media age, if you are not going to talk about your project then you are leaving the door open for somebody else to start a conversation on your behalf and this conversation may be factually incorrect, misleading, and adversarial or just downright wrong.
Not talking to communities and dumbing down information is not the answer. UrbanTalk exists to help you have robust and meaningful conversations that deliver better urban outcomes.
The UrbanTalk approach
UrbanTalk’s suite of digital products:
- Build development literacy,
- Educate and explain the design thinking and planning considerations that underpin projects; and
- Open up relevant dialogues with communities, special interest groups and approval authorities to ultimately deliver the places our cities and communities need.
Tell your story
We start by translating your project into a series of key messages that explain the design rationale, regulatory planning framework and key pressure points that we know will be of public interest. Our aim is to ensure that a community has sufficient information to be able to effectively conceptualise and understand your end vision.
Understand community interest in your project 24/7
Our products are supported by digital analytics and qualitative reporting so you understand community interest in and attitudes to your project at all times. We prepare milestone engagement reports that summarise key findings when you need to report engagement outcomes.
Convenient
At the heart of UrbanTalk is the UrbanTalk Project Listing. The Project Listing gives your project its own digital portal so you no longer have to set up domain names and develop a project website. Your Project Listing can stay in place from site acquisition through design, to regulatory approval and construction.
The Project listing provides a reliable and easily accessible single point of contact the community can access to stay informed about your project. The Project Listing is supported by QR coded site signage, community notification postcards, a feedback form and survey questionnaire, all seamlessly managed by UrbanTalk.
Maximum flexibility
Designed for maximum flexibility, our products have been created to assist architects, planning, legal, development and construction professionals. Our products can be purchased as a standalone engagement platform or added to an existing engagement strategy to give it a digital presence.
Smart digital products
Our suite of digital products deliver content-rich, high impact engagement experiences:
Project Listings are the central information hub for your project
Project Listings host all relevant information about the project and will be updated as it progresses. It also acts as a point of contact for community members to get in touch.
Videos tell the story behind your project
Audiences understand the important design and planning considerations you have worked through. Working with our Creative Producer, we develop the storyboard, film and edit the video for your project.
Q & A Webinars
Q & A Webinars provide more people with the opportunity to participate from the comfort of their own home. They remove the anxiety and tension that frequently occurs at face-to-face events and enable you to overcome COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Construction Updates
Construction Update Podcasts recognise that construction is one of the most difficult activities a community has to live through. Our podcasts help you manage community concerns providing communities with reliable and readily accessible information so they know in advance what is happening on the site.
How you benefit
At UrbanTalk we want the development sector to stop approaching engagement as something that it has to do and make it something that it wants to do. This is an important change in thinking that needs to occur if we are to bridge the gap that is emerging between communities and the development sector.
We harness digital technology to spark informed, inclusive and progressive conversations that contribute to the quality of your projects so they are applauded by local communities not feared.
UrbanTalk will provide you:
A suite of digital products created by planners and media producers with over three decades of development sector experience.
The UrbanTalk Project listing, that allows a community to stay informed about your project and have a reliable single point of contact where their questions are answered and ideas welcomed.
Digital content that factually and intelligently tells the story of your project and explains important design and planning considerations.
A non-adversarial, stress-free and enjoyable engagement experience that is progressive and inclusive.
Analytics that enable you to understand community interest in your project at all times.
Accountability of process with digital products that record your engagement experience and milestone engagement reporting.
Digital products that are tailored to statutory processes and approval frameworks.
Maximum flexibility by providing a suite of digital products that you can select from to meet your immediate needs.
Created by
planners &
producers
Grow your understanding of the development sector by reading blogs, watching videos and listening to podcasts.
UrbanTalk acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of this nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
Contact Us
The Commons Surry Hills,
Level 1, 285A Crown Street,
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
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ABN 17 646 538 203