Lilac-coloured circle with white text reading, 'The Atlas of Belonging'.
Lilac-coloured circle with white text reading, 'The Atlas of Belonging'.
Lilac-coloured circular logo with a white stylised letter 'B' for The Atlas of Belonging

The Atlas of Belonging is an independent collaborative research project exploring how belonging can be defined and enabled for thriving cities.

A group of people sitting outdoors on a concrete curved bench, at Tadao Ando's MPavilion, participating in a panel discussion and workshop as part of Shaping the Atlas of Belonging at MPavilion.

Join us

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Melbourne Design Week (May 2026) and MPavilion (March 2026). More opportunities to engage with the Atlas will be announced shortly. Connect with us via the following platforms to be across the latest:

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What is it?

The Atlas of Belonging was officially launched at MPavilion‍ ‍on 19 March 2026. It is an independent collaborative research project exploring how belonging can be defined and enabled for thriving cities.

It is intended as an evolving resource and evidence base for designers, place managers, community members and sector leaders interested in progressing community inclusion.

The Atlas brings together shared knowledge - markers, patterns, strategies, indicators and stories - emerging from university design studios, public conversations, surveys and community workshops.

Over time, this material will be developed, synthesised and distilled to support research, practice and potentially, policy. The Atlas will continue to grow with different projects, partnerships and public moments.

A group of seven people and a baby posing together outdoors in front of a concrete wall at MPavilion, with a display board to the left, some trees overhead, and a small bench at the left edge as part of Shaping the Atlas of Belonging at MPavilion.

Who is involved?

The Atlas of Belonging is led by creator Jocelyn Chiew FRAIA AILA FRLA, Director Place Assembly, with input from a growing network of collaborators and contributors.

Co-curating the 2026 public program at MPavilion and Melbourne Design Week are:

+ Tim Dow - Tim Rob Don Dow
+ Annelise Porter - UrbanID

with kind support from:

+ Rümeysa Kul - Image author & MLA student
+ Agata Pytka - BLA graduate

Photos by Madeline and Mine Studios x The Atlas of Belonging

Contributors

Panellists

Nornie Bero - Mabu Mabu 🔗
Tai Snaith - Artist & Author 🔗
Jack Howes - HoMie 🔗
Jac Semmler - Super Bloom 🔗
Olson Hamilton-Smith - Loop Cycles 🔗
Sam Ziino - MECCA 🔗

Contributors to the project include event panellists and studio guest lecturers and participants.

Studio

Students & Staff -RMIT LA 🔗
Emmaline Bowman - STEM 🔗
Heather Chapman - Urbanist & Planner 🔗
Jerry de Gryse - Inspiring Place 🔗
Tim Dow - Tim Rob Don Dow 🔗
Michelle Williams - Strategist 🔗

Collective Moments

A panel of four diverse people, sitting on chairs in a room at Balam Balam Place Brunswick, speaking into microphones for The Atlas of Belonging. An audience faces them, ahead of a series of group activities exploring belonging in public space.
People gathered for a workshop on The Atlas of Belonging. Some people are seated, while others stand, listening or engaging. There are self-supporting felt boards in the background with handwritten notes contributed by participants.

Moment 3 - Shaping the Atlas of Belonging at Melbourne Design Week 2026
Photography - Suzie Haslam x The Atlas of Belonging

A group of people sitting on benches at Tadao Ando's MPavilion in Melbourne for the launch of The Atlas of Belonging. There are trees visible through openings in the pavilion.
A bulletin board with colorful sticky notes containing handwritten words and phrases about feelings of belonging and exclusion in public spaces. The notes discuss places, activities, and barriers that influence a sense of community.

Moment 2 - Shaping the Atlas of Belonging presented by MPavilion 2026
Photography - Madeline & Mine x The Atlas of Belonging

A group of diverse students standing together, smiling at their last Sites of Belonging studio, with final student work pinned on the wall behind them.
A group of students seated around a conference table with laptops and plants, attending a workshop with Jac Semmler, founder of Super Bloom Plant Practice as part of the Sites of Belonging Studio at RMIT University.

Moment 1 - Sites of Belonging master of landscape architecture studio at RMIT University 2025
Photography - Madeline & Mine x The Atlas of Belonging, Jocelyn Chiew

Collective Insights

One of 200+ contributions to Shaping the Atlas of Belonging at Melbourne Design Week. Thoughts on home, food, family, invitation and welcome were among the many that were shared by an all ages, all cultures group. Photo by Suzie Haslam x The Atlas of

One of 200+ contributions to Shaping the Atlas of Belonging at Melbourne Design Week. Thoughts on home, food, family, invitation and welcome were among the many that were shared by an all ages, all cultures group. Photo by Suzie Haslam x The Atlas of Belonging

Moment 3 - Shaping the Atlas of Belonging at Melbourne Design Week was a joyous exploration of identity, recognition, labour, permission, ownership and pathways. Thank you to everyone who joined us, including our stellar panellists - Nornie Bero - Ma

Moment 3 - Shaping the Atlas of Belonging at Melbourne Design Week was a joyous exploration of identity, recognition, labour, permission, ownership and pathways. Thank you to everyone who joined us, including our stellar panellists - Nornie Bero - Mabu Mabu, Jack Howes - HoMie and Tai Snaith - artist & author. Photo by Suzie Haslam x The Atlas of Belonging

Moment 2 - Where have you felt like you belonged? Where have you felt like you didn't belong? What makes you feel like you belong? What makes you feel like you don't belong? Some of the questions posed to participants at Shaping the Atlas of Belongin

Moment 2 - Where have you felt like you belonged? Where have you felt like you didn't belong? What makes you feel like you belong? What makes you feel like you don't belong? Some of the questions posed to participants at Shaping the Atlas of Belonging presented by MPavilion. Photo by Madeline and Mine Studios x The Atlas of Belonging

Moment 2 - On 19 March, we launched The Atlas of Belonging with our first public workshop! Shaping the Atlas of Belonging presented by MPavilion invited participants to reflect on what belonging means to them, where it has been experienced and how th

Moment 2 - On 19 March, we launched The Atlas of Belonging with our first public workshop! Shaping the Atlas of Belonging presented by MPavilion invited participants to reflect on what belonging means to them, where it has been experienced and how this knowledge can inform the design of future spaces and places. Drawing on insights from Jac Semmler - Super Bloom Plant Practice, Olson Hamilton-Smith - Loop Cycles and Sam Ziino - MECCA, participants identified patterns, strategies and indicators for belonging. The event was curated by Jocelyn Chiew - Place Assembly, Tim Dow - Tim Rob Don Dow and Annelise Porter - UrbanID. Photo by Madeline and Mine Studios x The Atlas of Belonging

"Belonging emerges when public spaces allow cultures and unique individuals to blend quietly and naturally, forming a shared narrative where difference exists without standing apart from one another.” Design for an Islamic Australian tile, combining

"Belonging emerges when public spaces allow cultures and unique individuals to blend quietly and naturally, forming a shared narrative where difference exists without standing apart from one another.” Design for an Islamic Australian tile, combining motifs from the Quran and Australian native flora. Image by RÜMEYSA KUL as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

'Under Pressure' develops a spatial strategy grounded in sequences of gathering, holding, and releasing to modulate sensory load. Informed by close engagement and observation, these conditions create public spaces that are more legible, welcoming,

'Under Pressure' develops a spatial strategy grounded in sequences of gathering, holding, and releasing to modulate sensory load. Informed by close engagement and observation, these conditions create public spaces that are more legible, welcoming, and supportive for neurodiverse people. The drawing maps disturbances - sound, sight, touch and feeling across the Melbourne Arts Precinct - revealing where sensory pressure accumulates and eases. The project makes visible the often-unseen impacts of public environments on neurodiverse bodies. From this mapping, the project proposes a set of design guidelines intended for broader application across the city. Project by LUCINDA THOMPSON as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Moment 1 - ‘Urban Avisary Refuge’ foregrounds designing for Australian songbirds in urban environments. It manipulates above and below ground conditions to foster habitat formation. Inclusionary and exclusionary zones explore the coexistence of human

Moment 1 - ‘Urban Avisary Refuge’ foregrounds designing for Australian songbirds in urban environments. It manipulates above and below ground conditions to foster habitat formation. Inclusionary and exclusionary zones explore the coexistence of humans within the refuge. Design proposal by MAX LEONARD as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Bespoke planting palette (excerpt) for 'Urban Avisary Refuge', informed by Hassell's 'Wildlife Habitat Design in the Public Realm' talk which shared the significance of hides and materiality such as rocks, wood and flora to formulate a super ecology.

Bespoke planting palette (excerpt) for 'Urban Avisary Refuge', informed by Hassell's 'Wildlife Habitat Design in the Public Realm' talk which shared the significance of hides and materiality such as rocks, wood and flora to formulate a super ecology. Design by MAX LEONARD as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Moment 1 - Design studio workshop with landscape architects, JERRY DE GRYSE FRLA, Founder of award winning Nipaluna (Tasmania) based practice, Inspiring Place and EMMALINE BOWMAN, Founder of award winning Narrm (Melbourne) based practice, STEM Landsc

Moment 1 - Design studio workshop with landscape architects, JERRY DE GRYSE FRLA, Founder of award winning Nipaluna (Tasmania) based practice, Inspiring Place and EMMALINE BOWMAN, Founder of award winning Narrm (Melbourne) based practice, STEM Landscape Architecture and Design. Part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Moment 1- Proposal for an Islamic-informed Australian garden, building on the persona of a Muslim-Australian woman with protanopia (red-green colour blindness). Design by RÜMEYSA KUL as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging

Moment 1- Proposal for an Islamic-informed Australian garden, building on the persona of a Muslim-Australian woman with protanopia (red-green colour blindness). Design by RÜMEYSA KUL as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Observation by AGATA PYTKA as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025. Photo © Ignacy Płażewski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Observation by AGATA PYTKA as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025. Photo © Ignacy Płażewski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Proposal for an Australian garden informed by the 'Safer Parks for Women and Girls Guidance', focussing on topography as the agent for prospect, refuge and equity. Design by JINRUI RAY CHEN as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Bel

Proposal for an Australian garden informed by the 'Safer Parks for Women and Girls Guidance', focussing on topography as the agent for prospect, refuge and equity. Design by JINRUI RAY CHEN as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Proposal for a public garden, 'Psithurism Place', (the calming, natural, and sometimes almost human-like sighing sound of trees and leaves), foregrounding the needs of immunocompromised users and their carers through seating diversity, use of low all

Proposal for a public garden, 'Psithurism Place', (the calming, natural, and sometimes almost human-like sighing sound of trees and leaves), foregrounding the needs of immunocompromised users and their carers through seating diversity, use of low allergen planting and immersive soundscapes. Design by ALEXANDROS TSAKETAS-CHIU as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Topographical study informed by the 'Safer Parks for Women and Girls Guidance' by JINRUI RAY CHEN as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Topographical study informed by the 'Safer Parks for Women and Girls Guidance' by JINRUI RAY CHEN as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025

Moment 1 - A dog and dog owner's journey illustration by AGATA PYTKA as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025.

Moment 1 - A dog and dog owner's journey illustration by AGATA PYTKA as part of RMIT Landscape Architecture studio - Sites of Belonging 2025.