Have you ever kicked a ball in the park, borrowed a book, taken your toddler to playgroup, met up with a community group, or joined a local wellbeing class? Then you have probably used one of Newcastle's great public places and spaces (social infrastructure).

They are our parks and bushland reserves, beaches and swimming centres, museum and gallery, and libraries and community centres. They are where connections are made, where we learn and grow, and where we stay active and healthy. For many of us, we use these community assets daily.

We have put these community places and spaces, that form the heart of our communities, at the centre in our new Social Infrastructure Strategy.

The strategy has been developed with extensive community and stakeholder engagement, along with grounding research and needs assessments.

The vision for Newcastle is to prioritise partnerships and investment to address current gaps and future population growth, increase utilisation and activation of our existing community assets, and support valuable community inclusion and connection opportunities.

The Social Infrastructure Strategy's action plan (Appendix 1, full strategy) highlights four priority areas of 'Equitable Distribution', 'Quality Adaptive Places', 'Community Inclusion' and 'Planning and Partnerships' to make this vision a reality.

Community feedback on the draft Social Infrastructure Strategy closed at 5pm Friday 25 November. We have reviewed your feedback and made refinements to the Social Infrastructure Strategy (refer to public exhibition stage community engagement reports for details). The Strategy will be submitted soon to the elected Council for adoption.