Why Place Matters: How Regional Communities Can Build Belonging Through Youth Participation.

Building stronger communities starts with creating places where young people feel they belong.

Across Victoria, there is growing recognition that safer, healthier communities are built through early intervention, community participation and place-based approaches that strengthen protective factors before problems emerge.

This thinking underpins both VicHealth's Place-Based Approach and the Victorian Violence Reduction Unit's Prevention in Practice framework.

Creative Sparks Projects brings these principles to life by partnering with schools, councils and community organisations to co-design permanent public artworks that strengthen belonging, community pride and local connection.

VicHealth's Place-Based Approach.

Place-making begins when young people are invited to shape the places where they live and learn.

Three Ways Place-Making Strengthens Regional Communities

Research consistently shows that successful place-making isn't simply about improving public spaces - it's about strengthening the relationship between people and place.

Creative Sparks Projects achieves three key outcomes that align closely with Victorian place-based health promotion.

1. Building Belonging Through Youth Participation

Young people are far more likely to feel connected to their community when they are given meaningful opportunities to contribute.

Every Creative Sparks Projects project begins with listening.

Students work alongside artists, teachers and community partners to co-design murals that reflect local identity, shared stories and community aspirations. Rather than creating artwork for young people, projects are created with them.

This process builds:

• A stronger sense of belonging

• Confidence and ownership

• Positive community identity

• Pride in place

VicHealth identifies genuine youth participation as an important contributor to wellbeing, leadership and stronger community decision-making. LINK

Belonging starts long before the first brushstroke through genuine youth participation and co-design.

2. Strengthening Communities Through Collaboration

Place-making succeeds when communities create something together.

Every Creative Sparks Projects program brings together schools, local government, community organisations, artists and young people around a shared vision.

These partnerships strengthen local relationships while creating opportunities for organisations to work together beyond the life of a single project.

VicHealth's work with local government demonstrates that collaborative, community-led approaches create healthier, more connected communities because solutions are shaped by local people. LINK

Successful place-making happens when schools, councils, communities and young people work together.

3. Leaving a Lasting Community Legacy

Many youth programs finish when the final workshop ends.

Place-making continues delivering value because it leaves something behind.

Creative Sparks Projects creates permanent murals that become part of a school's or community's identity. Every artwork serves as a visible reminder that young people have contributed something meaningful to the place they call home.

This lasting legacy helps reinforce:

• Community pride

• Connection to place

• Shared identity

• Positive perceptions of public spaces

  
  

VicHealth's place-based research highlights the importance of welcoming public spaces and community participation in creating healthier, more connected neighbourhoods.

The mural is the visible legacy. The stronger relationships and sense of belonging are the lasting impact.

Creating the Conditions for Safer Communities

Research consistently shows that communities are stronger when young people feel connected to their school, their community and the places where they live.

Through collaborative place-making, Creative Sparks Projects creates opportunities for young people to contribute positively to their local community, develop trusted relationships with adults and experience a genuine sense of belonging.

These outcomes - belonging, participation, connection and community pride—are recognised across Australian public health research as important protective factors that contribute to healthier, safer and more resilient communities.

By investing in these strengths, communities are not only creating more vibrant public spaces; they are creating environments where young people are more likely to thrive.

Read more about our Prevention in Practice approach here.

Place-based prevention happens when communities create opportunities for young people to belong, contribute and connect.

More Than a Mural

For Creative Sparks Projects, the mural is never the end goal.

It is the catalyst for stronger relationships, deeper community partnerships and greater youth participation.

By bringing together schools, councils, community organisations and young people to create lasting public spaces, CSP transforms blank walls into symbols of belonging, pride and shared identity.

That is what place-making looks like in practice.

Further Reading

Interested in the evidence behind place-based prevention?

• VicHealth – Place-Based Approaches

• VicHealth – Youth Participation Guidelines

• VicHealth – Local Government Partnership

• VicHealth – Place-Based Resource Hub

These resources provide further insight into the evidence supporting collaborative, place-based approaches that strengthen wellbeing, community connection and youth participation across Victoria.