Art and Safe Communities: the role of Big hART in the regeneration of an inner city housing estate.
OBJECTIVE
This paper describes how a notorious central housing estate nicknamed '' became the first public housing estate to achieve the World Health Organization criteria for designation as a Safe Community.


METHODS
A case study was the method of choice to report on the way Government and non-government agencies worked with tenants in a community development approach.


RESULTS
The Neighbourhood Advisory Board formed at Northcott worked collaboratively with tenants, Big hART, Government and non-government organisations to make Northcott a safer place to live. This resulted in improved social cohesion, improved environments and a decrease in violent crime. Most importantly, tenants reported feeling more valued, much safer and more comfortable since the project started.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the arts are not often considered part of the community development process, the use of the art of story telling was the catalyst for the regeneration of this notorious housing estate. In addition, the criteria required for Safe Community accreditation provided an infrastructure within the Northcott Housing Estate for Government and non-government agencies to work with the Northcott community to establish the inter-connectiveness necessary to turn this community into somewhere that the residents felt safe and were proud to be part of.
Coggan
Carolyn
C
Safe Communities Foundation NZ, New Zealand. coggan@scfnz.org
Saunders
Christopher
C
Grenot
Dominic
D
D001154:Art; D001363:Awards and Prizes; D003256:Community Participation; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009517:New South Wales; D011638:Public Housing; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D012922:Social Change; D014505:Urban Population