Our latest Rec+ Research webinar was held on Wednesday 26 April where we were fortunate to hear from Associate Professor Nicole Kalms from Monash University’s XYX Lab. Dr Kalms provided insight into their multi-award-winning digital platform YourGround which is helping to advance knowledge of safety in public space for women and gender-diverse people.
A popular industry topic, with the webinar well attended by members and the wider community. If you missed the chance to attend, you can now access the full webinar recording at the link below.
XYX Lab is a team of experienced design researchers exploring gender-sensitive design practices and theory. Their work operates at the intersection of gender, identity, urban space and advocacy. Through their research, they bring together planners, policy makers, local government and stakeholders to make tangible the experiences of underrepresented communities in urban space and planning.
They partnered with CrowdSpot and 21 Councils across Victoria to develop YourGround, a multi-award winning digital platform that enabled users to anonymously ‘Add a Spot’ directly into an interactive map to advance knowledge of safety in public space for women, girls and gender-diverse people.
You can download the YourGround Victoria Report here.
For anyone interested in partnering with XYX Lab you can contact Nicole via nicole.kalms@monash.edu
Associate Professor Nicole Kalms
Founding Director, XYX Lab, Monash University
Nicole is an Associate Professor in the Department of Design and founding director of the Monash University XYX Lab which leads national and international research in Gender and Place.
As director, Dr Kalms is investigating significant research projects which examine sexual violence in urban space. She is currently working on several major research projects with the aim of providing authorities with information that can enable a change to the way urban areas are planned and designed. Part of XYX Lab’s work is to give a voice to women and girls – an objective at the heart of its approach to co-design. This encourages women to contribute to re-designing areas of Melbourne where they feel unsafe.
Dr Kalms’ scholarly contributions include the edited book Contentious Cities: Design and the Gendered Production of Space (Routledge 2021), the monograph Hypersexual City: The Provocation of Soft-Core Urbanism (Routledge 2017) examining sexualized representation and precincts in neoliberal cities. Her forthcoming monograph She City: Designing Out Women’s Inequity in Cities (Bloomsbury) will draw on interdisciplinary research and case studies from gender scholars, design practitioners, and feminist activists to update the significant research on gender and the city.
With thanks to our partners:
About the Rec+ Research initiative:
Parks and Leisure Australia Vic/Tas Region (PLA Vic/Tas) and Rec People have created a partnership to bring evidence-based research findings from sport, recreation, leisure, play, parks and open space sectors to the physical activity industry. The joint initiative Rec+ Research is a result of both organisations recognising a need to deliver a dedicated program that identifies and presents the latest industry research findings directly to the practitioners who are responsible for the planning and delivery of programs, services and infrastructure in our communities.
The goal of Rec+ Research is to keep industry professionals up to date with the latest data and research on parks and open space provision and usage, sport and recreation facility provision, and physical activity programs and services. To discuss opportunities to present your research findings as part of Rec+ Research, please contact Dan Ferguson, Executive Officer, Parks and Leisure Australia (Vic/Tas) on victas@parksleisure.com.au or 0432 334 054.