Introduction
The project involved women in co-designing public spaces through the design, manufacturing, and data collection of temporary movable seating solutions. The project trialled and tested the seating coupled with smart technology and AI on the UNSW campus.

Benchmark NSW
Research undertaken within the Safer Cities program has revealed that places fostering social connection and a sense of community can lead to improved safety perceptions...
Challenge
Research undertaken within the Safer Cities program has revealed that places fostering social connection and a sense of community can lead to improved safety perceptions among women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals. Participants of the program found that comfortable seating that supports the ability to socialise is important. However, public seating often fails to meet these needs. It's often challenging to measure how changes to public spaces affect these groups.
Solution
In July 2024, Benchmark NSW set up 12 moveable benches near the UNSW Village Green on the Kensington Campus. These benches were co-designed by women industrial design students from UNSW. They were made on campus using 100% recycled plastic. The benches had motion-activated LED lights. They improved visibility and feeling of safety during low-light conditions.
The benches were designed to be moved and arranged in different configurations by users, the movement was monitored by artificial intelligence (AI) vision recognition software to gather anonymised data and understand how people interact with the urban environment. The seating's portable design lets users move it freely, fostering ownership and personalising the space. This flexibility, along with the seating's playful, inviting look, aims to boost interaction and engagement in the area.
The AI vision technology created by MIT's Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism tracks how people use seats, whether they sit or stand, and where benches are located. Surveys and observations provided extra insights. The measurements focused on social interaction, pedestrian flows, and dwell time. They aim to assess the benches' impact and inform future urban designs.
Data privacy is vital to the project. The AI processes images without storing personal data. The project uses the Digital Trust for Places & Routines (DTPR) standard. This open-source standard seeks to increase transparency and accountability for digital technology in public spaces.
The Benchmark project:
- Designed seating that responds to the needs and behaviours of local women, girls, and gender-diverse people, fostering a more welcoming place for everyone.
- Designed seating solutions that incorporate technology, offer comfort, and reflect Sydney's local character and cultural and aesthetic values.
- Created urban spaces that feel safe, inclusive, and are data-driven.
- Used sensor-based systems for innovative data collection. They captured real-time data on public space use. This allowed for precise, analysis of human behaviour and interactions, that can be scaled to other locations.
Outcomes
Smart Places outcomes areas:
- Collaboration and connection
- Equity, accessibility and inclusion
- Safety and security
The benches boosted social activities and activated the green space where they were temporarily installed.
- The number of people staying increased five times after the benches were in place, based on data collected through the camera vision AI.
- The number of women and girls staying on site increased eight times after the benches were deployed, based on human observation.
- Based on the survey conducted, 85% of women said the benches helped facilitate social activities.
- 73% of women survey respondents said the seating made them feel more comfortable
- The project developed a "socialising indicator". It defined it as when a person stayed within 1 metre of another person for over 2 minutes, based on data collected through the camera vision AI. Socialising jumped from zero to nine people per day after the benches were installed.
Resources
Want to implement a similar project? Visit our Smart Places Playbook for help.