Creating sustainable spaces with residents

44 Urban greening

THE GREEN TEAM: WORKING WITH RESIDENTS TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE SPACES

Architecture practice what:if has forged strong links with a wide range of people, including those with a distrust of councils, when designing public realm and greening projects, writes Gareth Morris

Involving local people in the design and implementation of greening projects has helped galvanise a sense of local ownership. It has been key to placing community at the heart of environmental sustainability and addressing the issues of long-term maintenance of new green infrastructure.

For the past eight years, architecture practice what if: projects has been working with local authorities on active travel schemes, providing design oversight on new public realm and greening projects. We have worked in collaboration with Waltham Forest Highways team on infrastructure strategies including Mini-Holland, Liveable Neighbourhoods and Low-Emission Neighbourhoods.

Speaking directly with a wide range of people is a key part of our design process. We aim to reach a wide demographic including those who are distrustful of, or unused to, engaging with their local authority. Each scheme has incorporated a structured council-led public consultation process set at key stages of the design process. In addition, our team helped to develop engagement programmes, with the objective of supporting ‘ground-up resilience’. This approach enables communities to be actively involved in new greening schemes from conception to implementation, with ongoing stewardship of spaces.

Programmes are designed to engage residents throughout all stages of a scheme and provide the opportunity for learning and the sharing of knowledge. This has incorporated: 1. Walks and tours, visiting local green spaces, highlighting local bio-diversity and bringing in green experts with local knowledge. 2. Focused workshops and meetings, and sometimes detailed discussion on the planning

what:if planting day at Coppermill

and layout of new spaces, the choice of tree and plant species and the opportunity to provide stewardship of new spaces. 3. Resident planting days organised in coordination with highways and contractor teams. 4. Enabling community ownership of new spaces by providing maintenance agreements and ongoing support.

Orford Road and Stoneydown Park School

In delivering borough-wide active travel infrastructure, Waltham Forest’s Mini-Holland centred on improving arterial routes and developing ‘Village’ area-based schemes. Orford Road was one of the first ‘Village’ schemes to be completed and was driven forward with the collaborative input of Walthamstow Village Residents Association (WVRA) and their green volunteers team.

At the early stages of the scheme the design team organised a green walk around the neighbourhood to help us understand the local context and to bring local people together. Along the route we began by mapping local bio-diversity, the street trees, green spaces and opportunities for new green interventions. The event helped to open up a productive dialogue with local residents and initiate a collaborative approach.

Working together with WVRA during design development, the design team collaboratively produced a SuDS (Sustainable drainage system) gardens planting plan for new green areas together with a specification for all new street trees.

At the construction phase, the resident group carried out the planting of all new beds in the square and along the new cycle street. Through an agreement with the council, the green volunteers have subsequently provided maintenance and stewardship of these spaces for the last seven years.

The plan for Stoneydown Primary School’s new entrance area in the neighbouring ‘Village’ was developed in collaboration with school pupils, teachers and parents and the local Stoneydown Park Friends Group. Early stage engagement with these local stakeholders helped to shape the scheme with its woodland space, a 30m long rain garden and an informal play area.

During the construction phase the design team organised two hands-on ‘outside classroom’ community workshops with pupils and teachers from the school. There was also a planting day session for parents, young people and local residents. The ‘outside classroom’ involved talking with school children about the types of species being planted and their value for bio-diversity. Following the planting days, residents have continued to provide stewardship of this new green environment.

Coppermill Area Liveable Neighbourhood

The Coppermill scheme covers a broad area at the western gateway to the borough incorporating industrial and residential areas and the neighbouring Lee Valley Park. The objective of the scheme was to reduce local traffic and provide better walking and cycling access connecting to local landscapes.

Engagement with residents opened up with a presentation and walking tour of the area. The day included guests from Lee Valley Park and the council food-growing team, plus representation from local residents, allotment holders and the St James Park Friends Group. Along the tour we took in a variety of green spaces and our discussion was framed around opportunities for SuDS gardens and enhancing local bio-diversity.

This phase of the programme incorporated 10 new carriageway rain gardens and over 30 new street trees. As the project developed, the design team carried out extensive online workshops with resident teams where we discussed and finalised raingarden planting and street-tree specifications for each individual street. This sustained engagement opened up opportunities for additional SuDS gardens in the area brought forward by residents.

Again, local people participated in the scheme’s implementation through a series of planting days. These became celebratory events where residents organised street parties. The community have since been maintaining the gardens and have organised a core resident group to manage the variety of spaces.

Leytonstone Low-Emission neighbourhood (BLEN)

A particular focus for Bushwood in Leytonstone has been around tackling local air pollution and increasing bio-diversity locally through new green walking and cycling links through the area.

The scheme design kicked off with two nature walks through the area, with residents together with expert input from a local green volunteer team for the neighbouring Wanstead Flats.

The walks have inspired a range of innovative projects and planting strategies that connect with the adjacent historic landscapes of Epping Forest. The scheme incorporates over ten new SuDS gardens with an aspiration that many of these spaces are comaintained by local residents. The first phase of the scheme is due to be implemented in 2022. n Gareth Morris is director at what:if projects