Restorative Cities in Australia and International
Australia
"A ‘restorative city’ is based on the principles of ‘restorative practice’. Restorative practice is all about recognising that relationships are central to our wellbeing, community and society. Restorative practices can be used as a shared approach to problem solving based on respect, accountability and support.
A restorative city operates by using restorative practices. Of course, this can happen in many different ways. It’s up to all of us to decide what this means for Canberra."
International
"We believe that human beings are instilled with the need to connect and grow with each other, but not the methods. Here at the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP), we provide our students with the tools they need to effect change within their own lives as well as their schools, their organizations, and their communities. Through intimate learning communities of faculty and students, we teach together, we learn together, and we strive to effect real change. Together."
"The European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) is an international network organisation connecting members active in the field of restorative justice as practitioners, academics and policy makers throughout Europe and beyond. We promote research, policy and practice development so that every person may have access to high quality restorative justice services, at any time and in any case. Our main focus is on the application of restorative justice to criminal matters but other areas, such as family, school and community mediation, are not excluded."
"In a time of increasing material abundance, more and more people are beginning to realise that mental health also plays an important part in everyday life and has a significant impact on the quality of life. In response to this phenomenon, as an urban designer I think we can think about the following questions：
- What designs can make cities heal people in the process of urban design?
- What is mental health and what are its implications for cities?
- What are the implications of the vision of the healing city for the long-term development of urban design?
- In what way should we approach the urban design process in order to make people happy, relaxed and with a high quality of life?"
"Whanganui is the first city in New Zealand to work towards a Restorative City: “Creating the environment for all Whanganui people to thrive and succeed together through respectful relationships.”"
"Abstract: The concept of a restorative city is one of the most recent successful developments in the field of restorative justice theory and practice. Despite the lack of universal standards of implementation, a restorative city can be defined as a process that aims to shape both community life as well as urban space through the lens of restorative justice philosophy, values, and standards. The purpose of this article is to discuss the results of the analysis of how this concept has been implemented in the following cities: Hull (United Kingdom), Bristol (United Kingdom), Brighton & Hove (United Kingdom), Leuven (Belgium), Como (Italy), Tempio Pausania (Italy), Whanganui (New Zealand) and Oakland (United States). The article concludes with a brief summary of activities that have been undertaken in Wrocław in order to gain the status of a restorative city."
There is a wealth of information on this site, below, pointing to many Restorative Cities.
"Around the world, cities have declared either that they are, or aim to become, restorative.
What this means in practice varies from place to place. For some, the emphasis is on creating places where conflicts are resolved restoratively not punitively. For others the vision extends more widely to building strong relationships, breaking down community divides and rebalancing the relationship between citizen and state."
"Mark Finnis was instrumental in developing a whole local authority approach at Sefton Centre for Restorative Practice and a city-wide approach with Hull Centre for Restorative Practice. He has extensive experience of implementing restorative practices in a range of local authorities around the country and is currently working closely with the City of Leeds to realise their vision to become a restorative city. Here, he considers what it means to fully integrate a restorative model across organisations and communities."