Crowds are flocking to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where the iconic burial ground has become an unlikely hotspot for everything from outdoor movie nights to quirky community events.

The cemetery is the resting place for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but more recently it has become the backdrop for cultural events taking place in the city.

From concerts to literary events, lectures, you name it, they all end up at the city’s cemetery.

New RMIT University research suggests it is one way Australia could rethink the role of cemeteries as public urban spaces.

Landscape architect Isabel Lasala said cemeteries in perpetuity were one of the most overlooked spaces in the nation but could be transformed into inclusive and dynamic urban environments.

“Cemeteries have long been central to our relationship with death, traditionally viewed as sacred and static places,” the PhD graduate said.

“But what if we reimagined cemeteries as dynamic, hybrid spaces shaped by time, memory, and ecological processes?

“Rather than viewing their gradual decay as failure, we could explore design-driven alternatives that merge the contrasting forces of grief and play, transforming decay into a catalyst for civic engagement.

“This approach could inspire innovative design strategies for revitalising forgotten urban spaces, creating a new type of urban environment that bridges grief and play, memory and adaptation.”

Ms Lasala said people often avoided going to cemeteries in fear of someone taking offence if they went there just for a walk or chat with a friend, but there were also many amazing cemeteries that everyone wanted to visit.

As part of her PhD, Ms Lasala thought about how cemeteries could stay alive longer because eventually many became dead zones over time and were left to decay.

“My other concern was the ordinary cemeteries that operate in perpetuity, those that don’t have Oscar Wilde, Marilyn Monroe or Jim Morrison lying down,” she said.

“One of the main things that could be done is to open them more to the surroundings so people could cross them more easily.”

Ms Lasala said cemeteries were often closed off from view or surrounded by big fences in the middle of industrial or urban areas that had been built up around them over time.

She said often there was no physical or visual connection to cemeteries that made them inviting places to drive or walk.

But the researcher believes they could be activated with open pathways and streets for people to cross more easily or create more green spaces by breaking the concrete to allow grass and flowers to grow.

Ms Lasala said Waverley Cemetery in Sydney’s east was a great example of how the community accessed the area as public space.

She said the gates were always open and people who lived in the area walked and ran through the cemetery all the time.

“It’s a beautiful place, it’s an amazing spot and it’s quiet,” she said.

“There are cemeteries that are always active for different reasons, like the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and the The Igualada Cemetery in Spain.”

She said new activation interventions being used in cemeteries were things like yoga lessons, movies nights and concerts.

“I know that there are people that find that disrespectful … but my thing is more about opening what we have and making the most of these spaces that have great potential,” Ms Lasala said.

“At the moment they are forgotten and also carry that stigma of death, and people don’t know if it’s respectful to walk through there.

“The Hollywood Forever Cemetery, for example, have many movies. It’s a massive event that happens in summer and it’s such a great experience.”