A small playground in East Redfern, Sydney has scooped a major design award for its clever use of space in a built-up urban area.

The Chelsea Street Playground, which opened in November 2015, took out the top honours in the Parks and Open Space category of the 2016 Australian Institute for Landscape Architects (ALIA) NSW awards.

Local students from nearby Bourke Street Public School contributed their ideas to transform the 1,100sq hectare space into a children’s play area, flower and veggie garden, bike racks, dog lawn, barbecues and a covered entertaining area.

A cute design feature is the way the cubby houses in the children’s playground reflect those of the neighbouring terrace houses.

City of Sydney CEO Monica Barone said Chelsea Street Playground was a great example of excellent design and community input coming together to create a welcoming urban space.

“The City is working hard to provide well designed open spaces for the growing numbers of people living, studying and working in our area,” Ms Barone said.

“Thanks to the creative ideas of local school children and the expertise of our design team, we have a park and playground that current and future generations will enjoy.

“In the dense urban area of east Redfern, Chelsea Street Playground provides valuable open space for local families, pet owners and residents seeking a bit of quiet in the healthy outdoors.”

Another City of Sydney project was also recognised in the ALIA awards.

The Sydney Park water re-use project scored an award for excellence, also in the Parks and Open Space category.

The project was honoured for its integration of landscape architecture with engineering, public art, ecology and play and the way this delivered an open space that benefits the local stormwater system, while enhancing recreational areas.

Fast facts: The City of Sydney local government area has more than 400 parks, including 330 small parks and playgrounds. The City’s parks cover a total area of more than 188 hectares.