Evaluating Liveability Policies

Overview

Students investigate local government policies that aim to improve liveability and identify differing perspectives from councils and stakeholders. They then compare approaches using concept mapping, building understanding for later unit tasks on community change and participation.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify perspectives of people and organisations involved in a geographical issue related to liveability.
• Students will analyse how contextual factors influence attitudes and behaviours towards government policies.
• Students will compare and contrast at least two council policy approaches using key liveability factors.
• Students will propose a clear judgement about which approach is most suitable for a local context.

Success criteria

• I can name the problem the policy is trying to solve and the liveability outcomes it targets.
• I can explain a council’s perspective and at least one other perspective (e.g. residents, businesses, community groups).
• I can use a concept map to compare approaches across economic, social and environmental liveability factors.
• I can justify my judgement using evidence from the policy and stakeholders’ viewpoints.

Curriculum links

• GELS-PER-01: Students identify perspectives of people or organisations on a geographical issue.
• PH4-SHW-01: Students assess the influence of contextual factors on attitudes and behaviours to propose strategies that enhance safety, health and wellbeing.
• HILS-LNI-01: Students identify ways to engage with local and national issues (used in student “Who should have a say?” prompts).
• Thinking and working geographically: using evidence to make comparisons and draw conclusions about human wellbeing and development.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Warm-up: “Policy in the real world”. Teacher writes “Liveability = safe, healthy, connected, inclusive places” and shows a brief scenario (e.g. footpaths near a school, park safety, heat-smart streets). Students quickly vote with thumbs on which policy change would help most and why (no discussion yet).

2. 5–15 min · Direct teach: Perspectives + liveability lenses. Teacher models how to read a local government policy focus and turn it into perspectives, using a simple example with three lenses: social (belonging/inclusion), health/safety (wellbeing), environment (amenity/sustainability). Students complete a 3-column quick check: “What the council wants / Who it affects / Likely benefits or concerns”.

3. 15–30 min · Research task: Policy summary (pair work). Teacher allocates two council policies to each pair (or provides a short pack of extracts and policy factsheets in class). Students create a concise summary for each policy: goal, target area (place), key actions, timeframes, and intended liveability outcomes. Teacher circulates and prompts students to identify at least one stakeholder perspective (e.g. residents, commuters, local businesses, parents, young people, carers).

4. 30–45 min · Concept mapping: Compare and contrast. Teacher demonstrates a concept map structure on the board: two main branches for two councils; sub-branches for liveability factors (social, safety/health, environment) and a section for “Context that shapes attitudes” (e.g. population density, local hazards, affordability, accessibility barriers). Students draw their own concept map in notebooks or on a provided template, using evidence labels (short phrases) from their policy extracts.

5. 45–55 min · Mini-debate: Judgement with reasons. Teacher sets a sentence frame for civil discussion: “Council A is stronger for ___ because ___, whereas Council B is stronger for ___ because ___.” Students do a structured share: each pair states one comparison and one judgement for a specific local context (e.g. “for families near schools” or “for older residents in a heat-prone area”).

6. 55–60 min · Exit ticket: Perspectives check. Teacher collects a one-paragraph exit ticket answering:

• “Which council approach better improves liveability in this context and why?”
• “What perspective besides the council’s did you consider, and how might it influence success?”

Resources

• Policy extract packs or summaries from two local councils (printed or teacher-provided digital files without links)
• Concept map template (pre-drawn circles/branches for liveability factors)
• Highlighters/colour coding for social, safety/health, environment
• “Perspectives prompts” card (resident, business, youth, disability access needs, carers, commuters)
• Sentence starters for comparison and judgement
• Scaffolding note-catcher: Policy goal → actions → liveability outcomes → stakeholder perspectives
• Timer for structured discussion and transitions

Assessment

• Formative: Teacher checks pair note-catchers for accurate identification of policy goals and at least one stakeholder perspective.
• Formative: Concept maps are checked for comparing across multiple liveability factors, not just one theme.
• Summative for the lesson: Exit ticket for clear judgement with evidence-based reasons and a demonstrated understanding of contextual factors.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters and a partially completed concept map template for students who need additional structure.
• Offer a “word bank” (e.g. safety, accessibility, wellbeing, inclusion, amenity, sustainability, affordability, participation).
• Challenge extension within the main task: ask high-performing students to add a “trade-off” box (e.g. cost vs benefit, short-term disruption vs long-term improvement) and link it to contextual factors.
• Support EAL/D students with visuals (icons for social/health/environment) and allow oral rehearsal before writing the exit ticket.
• For students needing motor or time support, allow a concept map draft using cut-and-paste labels from the policy notes.