Pre-Summit Day
Great Places, Great Neighbourhoods: Placemaking for Affordable Housing
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Join us while we explore how the focus on placemaking in affordable housing and precinct regeneration can help respond to Australia’s housing challenges by improving livability, connection and long-term neighbourhood outcomes.
This Pre-Summit Day will study practical approaches, investment settings and policy directions that support not just the delivery of more homes, but the creation of resilient, inclusive places for communities to thrive.
Learn from a range of perspectives across affordable housing, urban renewal, local government and community development, with a strong emphasis on resident and community experience. Through a mix of content and interactive activities, the day will explore themes such as understanding place and context, designing great streets and shared spaces, supporting tenure-inclusive neighbourhoods, and sustaining vibrant mixed communities over time.
Meet Your Facilitator
Emma Hall
Director of Placemaking
Village Well
Emma Hall is Director of Placemaking at Village Well, specialising in regenerative placemaking, community engagement and place-led development. With a background in architecture and urban design, she focuses on unlocking a place’s potential to shape inclusive, resilient and high-performing communities.
She leads strategic placemaking initiatives across affordable housing, urban renewal and community development, with expertise spanning place analysis, engagement, visioning and long-term frameworks. Emma has also pioneered trauma-informed and regenerative placemaking approaches, grounded in evidence and systems thinking.
Her work directly aligns with creating liveable, connected neighbourhoods—bringing practical insight into how placemaking can strengthen affordable housing outcomes and support thriving, inclusive communities over time.
Sessions will include:
Streets, Spaces and Services that Make Housing Liveable
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How does the design and programming of the outdoor communal area help build a more resilient community?
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What role does the retail space play in the development?
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How did you deliver active edges, and how does this shift the experience of place?
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How did you engage with the existing local community? Was this constructive? What worked/didn't work?
Lisa Sorrentino, Head of Development, City West Housing
Dan Szwaj, Director, Turner Studios