8 minute read
Consultation and engagement in a fast-changing landscape
Steve McAdam and Gabrielle Appiah
Steve McAdam is a founding director at Soundings and an architect and ex-academic. He has extensive experience in urban regeneration, co-design, masterplanning and public consultation. His path to co-design was through teaching and academic research at the Architectural Association and London Metropolitan University where he founded the Cities Institute and helped to launch a post-graduate MA course on multidisciplinary urban design.
Gabrielle Appiah is Project Coordinator at Soundings, with a background in town planning. Her personal journey into the field of co-design started when she joined the LLDC Youth Panel and Board for the London Olympic legacy masterplans. This is where she and Soundings first met, over eight years ago, during which time she has gained professional experience in coordinating various built environment professionals toward the common goal of enabling diverse communities to participate in shaping places in major developments across the city.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the importance of public and green space in providing people with a refuge for meeting, relaxing, taking exercise and relieving the mental stresses of crowded domestic environments.
In March 2020, the government announced a new slogan – “Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives”. These words formed the start of unprecedented changes to the behaviour of individuals in the way our streets, green spaces and immediate locality are viewed and experienced. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of journeys made by car and public transport decreased, and the number of pedestrian and cycle-based journeys increased. Individuals tended to make shorter journeys in the local area for essential purposes like shopping. Interestingly this is now matched by those taking exercise outside, possibly a learned behaviour in response to ‘legal use’ of outdoor space. Frequent trips to the supermarket on the way to and from work were replaced by one large weekly shop at the supermarket, supplemented by more trips to specialised shops on the local high street.
Exhibition Boards for Brent Cross South Replacement Claremont Primary School Consultation with links to an online exhibition (on display at Claremont Primary School).
© Gabrielle Appiah
The relationship between private and public realm changed dramatically as social and physical barriers began to melt while we stood outside and clapped for the NHS on Thursday evening’s, took part in social distancing events with our neighbours, and witnessed children playing outside in the streets and roads due to the spectacular decrease in vehicular use.
Though unintended, government guidelines on permitted excursions caused an unusual divide to open up, one that hadn’t been examined before – the divide between those who had access to private open space, and those who didn’t. ‘Communal’ space became second best, and balconies and front and back gardens suddenly became a luxury. For those who didn’t have their own private space, local public open spaces such as parks became essential. Parks and ‘public open space’ were becoming more and more a basic human right for many who could not afford or access their own outdoor spaces or indeed, ‘nature’. However, this was limited by government restrictions in terms of numbers, uses and length of visit. In this there was a strange echo of the urban poor of a century ago for whom nature was a luxury.
Northfields Masterplan Online Interactive Workshop.
© Gabrielle Appiah
In May 2020, the government advice changed, and so did the slogan – now we were encouraged to “Stay Alert [no longer ‘at home’], Control the Virus, Save Lives”. This led to another shift where public open spaces became more greatly appreciated and heavily used. Parks and beaches, and indeed anywhere that was ‘public’, became havens in good weather, allowing people to safely meet up with friends and family they hadn’t seen in months while still adhering to social distancing guidelines. Travel modes and journey types changed too: ‘Active travel’ became a more popular way to get around, with walking or cycling a safer alternative to avoid the use of crowded public transport services for those now commuting to work again or engaging in social or leisure pursuits. The allocation of space shifted accordingly to allow for queueing outside shops, eating outdoors and for more people walking or cycling.
In this we have seen a kind of democratisation of public space as the relationship between individuals and public realm has shifted. Individuals have piloted new ways of enjoying public space, from ‘enforced’ family outings, to sport and creative play, and the social value of supportive venues has increased. The public realm has demonstrated its excellent ability to absorb new drives for exercising, socialising and sustainable forms of travelling.
However, these conditions are ‘provisional’ and the consequences, though enjoyed, are a by-product of the coronavirus pandemic; an unexpected result, rather than a targeted outcome. What we need to decide is if these by-products should, instead, have their own policies in place. If so, how do we ensure that changes to parks, streets and other spaces are properly made for the benefit of those communities most in need of these changes?
Local and regional authorities are now investing in an overhaul of the urban environment, and at speed. Temporary measures, such as pop-up cycle lanes or widening pavements for social distancing, allow us a unique opportunity to trial whether we want them to become permanent in the future. The ‘sacrifices’ (essentially restricted use of private vehicles) for those not yet parted from their cars will seem easier to bear where commuting is reduced through working from home and citizens are more evenly spread across the city at all times of the day, easing pressures of use. These are simple but profound changes.
At Soundings, we see community engagement as a process that has social value in its own right. With 15 years of experience working for major clients across London and the UK on some of the most challenging projects in the built environment and working with communities to shape better places for all, Soundings have established the benchmark for public and stakeholder consultation. We support and encourage inspired and enjoyable interactions with people from all walks of life, leading to valuable contributions, insights and outcomes. One of these outcomes is the formation of empowered communities. In our experience, and from what we have witnessed from the many local organisations and community groups we have worked with over the years, is that most people have a desire to come together and exchange thoughts and ideas about how our society, and the places we build together, can be better. When engaging in the process of shaping new developments, people especially want to know about what they can access and enjoy, and public parks, streets, and paths are high on the list. But we need to engage more to better define the experiences and needs that are emerging. Inclusive engagement and inclusive design are indivisible.
New forms of public life in lockdown. Muswell Hill residents reclaim the road as a play space without the fear of cars.
© Christina Norton
More so than before, the coronavirus pandemic has put greater onus on community engagement and made us realise we have a responsibility to ensure consultation remains inclusive and harnesses the opportunity to champion social value in our communities. To properly understand and achieve inclusion, we need to recognise what excludes people from participating and enjoying the public realm, both now and in the past, ensuring that as we move forward, these barriers are removed. This includes physical barriers linked with age or disability, and the mental and cultural barriers restricting people from viewing space as theirs along cultural and socioeconomic divides. Here perceptions are as relevant as realities, requiring a subtle understanding of context and use, making co-design the only viable form of problem solving in our view. Inclusion in the process by those very individuals who are normally outside the reach of typical forms of engagement, and who stand to benefit the most, can influence the space and help to build real and shared ownership of place. Nothing should be allowed to manifest itself that allows particular groups to feel uncomfortable – for instance, signals of who is meant to be there or not and how they are meant to behave, monuments and statues of a bygone era, overactive wardens, exclusive activities or expensive catering facilities.
One of the key challenges that many of our clients and partners are confronted with is ensuring that any consultation with stakeholders and communities is well-placed and well-timed, that it remains valuable and meaningful, while being sensitive to quickly evolving situations. In these unprecedented times, we have taken precautions to ensure that any planned or future engagement activities adopt a responsible, sensitive and considered approach. Though there has been an inexorable drive toward digital means of communication, often with the explanation that it ‘is more democratic’, we find that just as for rights to physical space, the ease with which digital space can be accessed is unequal. For this reason we ensure physical alternatives are always in place. Exhibitions can be staged externally in parks and open spaces as well as online such as for our Brent Cross South and Soham projects. Workshops can be held in physical venues observing social distancing with links to on-line clusters supported such as for Northfields, Brent and the same is true for project meetings. Increasingly various forms of video conferencing are being used to support meetings, and we have offered and facilitated some basic training to allow this to take place. On some projects we have been involved in ensuring digital equipment is available to all, in partnership with schools and universities.
Despite the enormous social challenges that we have all faced, COVID-19 has shown us the power of the human spirit to manage adversity, adapt and find alternative ways of doing things. We have been inspired by the ways the communities we have the privilege of working with have continued to maintain supportive and communicative networks, against the odds. We have been moved by the determination people have shown to ensure that everyone within their communities continues to be given a voice. We must recognise and support these grass roots activities. They are the real basis on which democratic actions can be built.
