Community-Led Design

Maja Luna Jorgensen Strategic Projects Manager

@GlasshouseCLD

The Glass-House Community Led Design

People and places

We want to make great places a reality for everyone.

We believe in the power of collaborative placemaking to transform places and bring positive and lasting change for all.

We provide independent… • Advice • Training and staff upskilling • Hands-on project-based support • Research • Thought leadership and knowledge exchange for local communities and built environment professionals

What we do

Collaborative placemaking in different contexts: • Participatory design projects initiated and led by housing

associations, local authorities and developers • Community led design initiatives

How we work:Collaborative Placemaking

Brokering relationships and enabling dialogue • Bringing together various parties in a placemaking process • Facilitating a constructive conversation and process

How we work

•  Placemaking is both an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a place, neighborhood or city

•  It is about the physical form – but also very much the social, economical, cultural aspects of place

Placemaking

‘Place diagram’ from Project for Public Spaces. www.pps.org/reference/what_is_placemaking

Why collaborative placemaking?

•  Design influences the way people feel about their homes, communities and neighbourhoods.

•  Bringing local stakeholders into the heart of the process facilitates change that responds to their needs and aspirations.

•  Empowering local people in changes to their area increases collaboration and builds relationships, skills and employability.

Why involve local people in the design process?

•  Local people hold valuable expertise on their area, which can improve design quality.

•  Involving local people in a high quality participatory design process will lead to better design – and more informed, imaginative and sustainable solutions.

•  Local people involved in the design and regeneration of a place feel a greater sense of ownership and respect for that place and of their investment in its success.

•  A broad mix of people working together can lead to better understanding and collaboration throughout the development of the project and beyond.

What would happen, if we replaced this...

...with this?

... or this?

... or this?

... or this?

What people say might surprise you..

Information or collaboration?

Spectrum of involvement

•  Why are you involving?

•  Who benefits? How?

Community leadership

Partnership

Collaboration

Representation

Consultation

Information

.. gives members of the community skills, confidence and practical tools to: •  Help inform the design process •  Develop an ongoing relationship with design and regeneration professionals

A successful participatory design process...

… give staff the opportunity to better understand the communities they serve – and build lasting relations

A successful participatory design process...

…improves awareness and understanding of design and how it affects our quality of life

A successful participatory design process...

… involves local people in a variety of ways, responding to their needs and lives

A successful participatory design process...

…promotes respect and appreciation for what everyone can contribute to a collaborative design process

A successful participatory design process...

…raises aspirations by showing people a range of real life examples

A successful participatory design process...

…brings the community together to

identify and assess what is needed in the area and develop a shared vision for change

A successful participatory design process...

... encourages local people to play an ongoing role in the use and management of

the new or regenerated place or space

A successful participatory design process...

We support participatory design projects initiated and led by housing associations, local authorities and developers - as well as community led design initiatives.

How we work

Brent Council South Kilburn NDC The challenge Supporting resident participation in the first new build council homes in 20 years Ensuring that the Granville New Homes Resident Steering Group have the skills and knowledge to make a positive and active contribution to the regeneration process What we did Design Training • Homes by Design • Buildings by Design • Spaces by Design

Case Study: Granville New Homes

Project Support • Design skills • Technical Training • Study Tour

The Glass-House Design Training

Granville New Homes Design skills Aim: Help the Resident Steering Group make an informed and objective decision when selecting the design team

As independent advisor we supported the RSG to: •  Set Design Quality Indicators •  Analyse the full project design brief •  Brief the short-listed design teams •  Interview the short-listed design teams •  Man the public exhibition of short-listed schemes •  Select the best design

Granville New Homes Technical Training Aim: Demystify the building process Workshops to clarify

•  Procurement & role of contract •  Building process and RIBA stages of work •  Glossary of design and building terms •  Roles within Design Team, Client Team and Resident Steering Group

GH conducting review of submitted schemes with the GNHRSG

Pre interview, pre public exhibition Design Quality voting with the GNHRSG

GNHRSG members manning the public exhibition of designs

Study Tour of housing design in Amsterdam and Rotterdam Aims: Inspire and inform Resident Steering Group, develop relationships with design and project team The participating group included

•  GNH Resident Steering Group •  Brent Council officers •  South Kilburn NDC board members •  Design Team members

Granville New Homes

Outcome: The entire briefing, design, procurement and development process benefited from local knowledge and collaborative working Project completed in 2009; Brent Council sold the properties to Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) who now manage a well-designed group of mixed-tenure properties with enclosed courtyards

Case Study: Granville New Homes

Outcome Brent Council’s investment in design and people is paying off: •  Brent Council and BHP have excellent ongoing relations with the

residents, who continue to contribute to further regeneration projects

•  Brent Council have implemented learning from the process •  High quality of design is an expectation from the council and has led

to excellent off-plan sales

Case Study: Granville New Homes

Sharing learning with other projects supported by The Glass-House

Kirdford Community Led Plan

•  Strong community group, just developed very successful Village Store"•  Pressure for development adjacent to village"•  Wanted to develop a Community Led Plan to guide development"

"

How The Glass-House supported •  Inception meeting"•  Village walk-about"

•  What is urban design?"•  Exploring the village together"•  Shared understanding of issues and opportunities""

“I’ve lived here for 14 years and the walk-about made me see things I’d never noticed before.”

Mapping Kirdford Workshops

Where are they now?

•  Community identified more sites for potential development than in previous local documents"

•  Working with District Council, VDS adopted, now in final stages of Neighbourhood Plan (submitted for external examination)"

•  Has set up Cluster group with 3 other parishes to address strategic issues (roads maintenance, transport, relationship to South Downs Nat’l Park)"

•  Chair elected member of District Council"

St Paul’s Park, Bristol

Case study

Alley gating, Manchester

Case study

Myatts Field, Lambeth

Case study

St Neot Doorstep Green, Cornwall

Case study

Make Participation Work

•  Help local people gain confidence and skills while they contribute.

•  Set out clear objectives. What are you asking of local people and why?

•  Be honest about how their contribution will be used and what they can influence.

•  Use different participation methods to allow for involvement on varying levels.

•  Encourage and support local people and the community organisations that work with them to lead the process.

•  Give local people an ongoing role in the development of the project.

•  Make sure that it’s fun.

Barriers and opportunities

What are the barriers to good participatory design processes in your work?

What would help facilitate collaboration around placemaking?

Do you need skills, goodwill, resources, training, expert advice…?

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old……we grow old because we stop playing!”

George Bernard Shaw

51 Tabernacle Street London EC2A 4AA 020 7490 4583 www.theglasshouse.org.uk info@theglasshouse.org.uk Follow us on Twitter & Facebook: GlassHouseCLD

Maja Luna Jorgensen Strategic Projects Manager maja@theglasshouse.org.uk 07776224388