By Stephen Barrett

Year 11 Geography students have been studying tourism as part of their Unit 2 course. They had the opportunity to undertake fieldwork, looking especially at safety and accessibility of laneway tourism in Melbourne CBD. The City of Melbourne were keen to promote a new street art project known as ‘Flash Forward’, where 40 underused alleyways are provided to artists to rejuvenate, along with 40 mini-concerts within these laneways. The creative director spoke to the students about why tourists are particularly interested in street art and laneway culture, and guided students to investigate each of the artworks in different laneways. Students then visited major laneways and tourist hotspots within the CBD to determine the safety and accessibility of each laneway for tourists with mobility challenges. They used an app-based survey tool known as Survey123 which allowed for detailed data analysis once back in the class. The students also interviewed visitors to Melbourne’s laneways to glean their views about street art and laneway culture. Many thanks to Will Creagh for assisting on the day. All in all, it was a terrific day out for Year 11 Geography students.