5-STEPS TOWARDS WOMEN-LED URBAN DEVELOPMENT XIAO LI 25/05/2017
CONTENTS
[Background]
1
[ Context & Analysis ]
[Overview]
2
[ Spatial design strategy ]
[Position]
3
[ Urban installation ]
[Precedents]
4
5, 6, 8, 10 7, 9, 11
[ Critical reflection & References ]
12,13 14
[Background] Sheffield City Centre x5
Chose Site Exploration
Site 5
The need of WOMEN
Community-led Development tio n
Lack of SPACE for
pe ra oo C availability of space Action
GIRL'S DAY
Women in burngreave occupy
Involved
Appropriation
Vacancy
Theme
46.7%
a whole variety of TRADES AND SKILLS that women don't usually have access to...
start-up support for both creative and social enterprise projects
The aim is to promote and support women for community -led development.
ire
Insp
Group topic: 5 steps towards women-led urban development
ACTIVITIES
he lp de ve lop
Main question: What if the neighborhood's living places were built and improved by a women-led community land trust?
Introduction: This project proposes strategies to establish a community land trust, which builds houses and public spaces in the borders of Burngreave, Wicker and Darnall, on both sides of the railway. It considers the community's women as the starting point of the organsation, reinterpreting their roles in the public spaces. Physical character
Cover three areas (junction)
Boundary
1
[Overview] Stages Theme
Week 7
Week 8
Introduction to Project 3 and Brief #1 Site Walk
Introduction to Brief #2 Conversation with Matt Hayman (SCC)
+WALKING
Week 9 Introduction to Brief #3 Workshop with Mark Southcombe (Victoria University of Wellington) and Mark Parsons (Studio Polpo): Design Responses
+MAPPING
I was responsible for policy and land ownership study.
Group establishment Go into the topic +REMOTE SOURCING How to explore ethical and just way for vacant space?
How to fulfill the potential of a CLT?
Introduction to Brief #4
+MAPPING
Develop design principles
+MAPPING Process & Methodology
Week 11
Develop spatial strategies
I chose site 5 as I felt it is depressed and much vacancy left.
choose a site
Week 10
+WALKING +INTERVIEWING
Explore issues and identify 5 steps for group principles
+WALKING
Intervention areas Partnerships Spatial arragements
Event publicity detials
"Making space for communityled housing in urban areas"
Rethinking the role of community-led development +REMOTE SOURCING
Studio Reviews and Feedback with Prof Doina Petrescu, Mark Parsons (Studio Polpo), Sam Brown (Broome Architects), other guests TBC
Proposal for installation +PROPOSING +WALKING
Week 12 Installation in Sheffield City Centre: Final Public Presentations
Reflection on the whole process
+MAPPING Final integration +REFLECTING
Communicate with relevent staff (like Tesco m a n a g e r , Burngreave TARA)
+COMMUNICATING
Urban installation +PARTICIPATORY EXHIBITION +INTERVIEWING
2
[Position] WHAT is my role within group approaches?
Sub resiponsible strategy 1.1 Promote women's meetings from the community
1.2 Build a temporary playground
Main resiponsible strategy 2.1 Open the discussion about housing
+ Collect and analyse women data
+ Explore local material for building
2.2 Looking after funding possibilities
2 1
BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
ESTABLISH CLT AND RAISING FUNDS
+ Learn people's needs through interaction
+ Think about arts program for connecting community
3.1 Artistic installations + Addressed collective activiies and explore for potential use
4.1 Self-building + Apply reserached policies 4.2 Physically connect the area
3.2 Promote comunity activies + Analyse its value for saling food and sustainablity
3.3 Growing food at the railway bridge
3
5.1 Publicise
4 BUILDING PERMENANT STRUCTURES
5.2 Industrial Cooperative
5 UPSCALING THE CLT
BUILDING TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
3
[Precedents] The Mahila Milan “Women Together" in Hindi—is a decentralised network of poor women's collectives that manage credit and savings activities in their communities. Mahila Milan aims to provide a space for women to take on important decision-making roles and be recognised for their contributions towards improving their communities. Resource:http://www.sparcindia.org/aboutmm.php
STEP
1
Resource: http://www.theruss.org/
Resource: https://sheffieldfeministnetwork.wordpress.com
Build A Temporary Playground
Sheffield Housing Festival
RUSS is a volunteer-led Community Land Trust based in south London, founded in 2009 with the mission of creating sustainable neighbourhoods and genuinely affordable homes. We aim to bring together people and nature to build a more mutually beneficial world. Resource: http://www.theruss.org/
3
Promote Womens’ Meetings from The Community
Sheffield Feminist Network has been set up to connect feminists across the city interested in activism, friendship or a bit of both. The Network is designed to be an umbrella group within which members are free to form their own groups for discussion, activism, mutual support and socialising.
Rural Urban Synthesis Society
STEP
In The Dalston Mill, architects created an agricultural space based on a wasteyard to gathering different groups of people together. This intervention provides a way to reconstruct the empty and abandon areas.
Sheffield Feminist Network
The biggest housing rally in a generation took place on 17 March 2015. Following this, South Yorkshire Housing Association want to build on the success of the London Association want to build on the success of the London event by hosting The Sheffield Housing Festival on Saturday 18th April to: 1. Give the campaign a Sheffield focus 2. Take the message wider than the housing profession Resource: http://www.integreatplus.com/events/ sheffield-housing-festival
The Dalston Mill, London
2
Growing Food At The Railway Bridge
The Live Projects, Sheffield Students work in groups with a range of clients including local community groups, charities, health organisations and regional authorities. The Live Projects set real constraints, responding to budget, brief and time. Resource: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/architecture/ march/liveprojects
Discuss About Housing Looking After Funding Possibilites
Building And Using Temporary Structures
Quinta Monroy Housing ELEMENTAL made a name for themselves in 2004 with Quinta Monroy, a social housing project in the very centre of Iquique, Chile. The site had been illegally occupied by 97 families since the 1960's, who they rehoused on the same 5,000 square metre site.
4
Permanent Houses
Resource: http://www.arcspace.com/features/ elemental/quinta-monroy/
4
[ Context & Analysis ]
Human Activites & Traces An extra Tesco attract people to shop here, so we can see many people walk or drive to this big shopping centre. Moreover the main street nearby also have some different kind of shops.
Subjective Mapping
Subjective Feelings: The street have good commercial atmosphere. Many people come cross this area.
To Northern General Hospital
Leisure park
The public space did not have activities for local community. It lacks of vitality. The house facade looks like disused and old. It seems to be abandoned for a long
Library
To Rotherham
Many old industrial storages have already been abandoned.
Many private cars park in the street near the factories.
Tesco extra
To Neepsend & Kelham Island
Gate & Railway Factory
There are many rubbishes along the street in industrial area The bridge feel dark. Few people come across here.
To City Centre
Along the main street several buses link Burngreave to city centre, most people who live here choose to travel to another place from several bus stations. This green space might be the only public space with good condition and few people spend their time to relax here on weekdays. Around Burngreave, some workshop and factory are still on work, but these areas kept really calm and full of industry refuse. People are busy with work and we can hardly see few people pass by. The most traces we have found were the industrial traces. Through the heritage of factories we realize that this area is falling and the economic structure is changing.
There are large area of empty space here and river Don go across from the site. So we can find the trace of animals along the river and the place with few people tread.
Near the residential district we can see that the management of garbage is in a mass. This influence the condition of green space and people refuse to stay outside.
Urban fabric Empty Space
With the decline in Industry, this place was left with large area of empty space.
Large Volume Buildings
And some large volume buildings stand tall and upright in this area. Most of them are old industry and shopping centre.
Little Blocks
In the residential district, the fabric of buildings keep small block but they form a regularly urban fabric.
Terrace houses (commercial)
Beside the main street to city centre, the buildings are mainly in terrance house.
5
[ Context & Analysis ] Highway
Junction
Burngreave
Commercial Street
Park
Square
High
way
Darnall Ra
Spitall
Where can we go?
ilw
City Railway
Wicker
ay
Outdoor spaces used mainly by men
Women? River
Children
Women
The idea is to form a community land trust led by women. They can help to organize the daily activities and also offer opportunity to them to enjoy the outside world. Moreover, the children who take care by women are also considered important actors to the project.
Name Conditions Previous use Description
Forum House Good Social centre and Parking Visible location, large empty area
Owner
Bungreave regeneration project team
Conditions Regular Previous use Car mechanic Description Beside the railway Owner A
Possible Uses art studios
Possible Uses housing
community centre
community centre
spaces for training
C
B
spaces for educational children facilities
6
[ Spatial design strategy ]
1
Swimming cafe
BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
2
ESTABLISH CLT AND RAISING FUNDS
Collective cooking Skill learning workshop
1.1 Promote women's meetings from the community
1.2 Build a temporary playground
2.1 Open the discussion about housing
Actions
To understand the needs of the community and including people interested to live/work in the area.
Training course
Training course
Burngreave TARA
Hold the regular meeting
Aims
ÂŁ
Join active member to CLT, precise the community's needs.
Potential active member
architects
Mixed-use of space
2.2 Looking after funding possibilities
Hands-on experience and making products
Young artists who are interested in alternative workspaces
Driving lessons
BUILDING TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
$
To involve funders and partnerships and looking for any members of volunteers to donate or contribute their help.
Actions
Aims
BUILDING PERMANENT STRUCTURES OTHER PROJECTS
ÂŁ
Burgreave TARA
FUNDERS& PARTNERSHIPS
$
To support all the strategies for community-led development.
SAVTE
Raise people's awareness of the importance of women in Burngreave area.
Writing application
charity box make some balance to see the best and affordable options
define different possible incomes in the future
7
[ Context & Analysis ]
C
Community Spaces HOLDBACK OF RAILWAY A big problem is that railway go across the site and it made Burngreave to be a suburban area. Moreover, because of the situation of railway this area seems to have less vitality. People would not stay in this area.
UNSAFE FEELING People go across the site by several crossings under the bridge, where we had a feeling of unsafeness. Some guests in the site are not welcome by local people.
Railway
Will the Sheffield’s Station of High Speed 2 be built in the place of the former Victoria Station?
Art studios Hostel
There are some wastes in the green space of our site.
Café
Community centre
Allotment gardens
Industrial cooperative Charity shop
This photo shows the railway bridge and there are some empty green areas along the railway.
Nursery
P
Public Spaces Public Square
1851 1989 Station demolished to give place of Victoria Hotel’s extension
1970 Victoria Station is closed
Conditions Good Previous use Small stores Description Located on the Wicker’s main street Owner Private Possible Uses coffee and charity shop
spaces for training
Unused land with industrial wastes
2020’s HS2: Sheffield City Region’s phase due to start Potential for temporary uses!
Public waterfront
Cycle paths
Railway
2016 The station area is underused
Victoria Station is open, linking Manchester to Sheffield
housing
Playground
2034 Completion of HS2
Conditions Good Previous use Church and small stores Description Located on the Wicker’s main street Owner Private Possible Uses skills learning
A
C
B housing
coffee and charity shop
skills learning
spaces for training
8
[ Spatial design strategy ]
3
BUILDING TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
9
[ Context & Analysis ]
industrial cooperative
H
art studios
spaces for training
A
Conditions Regular Previous use Industry and parking Description Along the river, hangar structure and large unbuilt area Owner Private Possible Uses
Conditions Regular Previous use Industry Description Along the river, hangar structure Owner Private Possible Uses
housing
skills learning
industrial cooperative
spaces for training
Name Conditions Previous use Description Owner
REGENERATION PROJECT There is also some ongoing regeneration project in this area. That provides a possibility to involve more stakeholders to establish the CLT together. We can develop the CLT base on the preview experience of this area.
Commuter academics 3 generations family 60-OVER
SINGLE ADULTS
COUPLES
FAMILIES
SHARED HOUSHOLDERS
0-14
15-19 20-59 Age groups
educational facilities
Awareness of flood risk
Single mothers
Migrants Artists
Students
B
Possible Uses spaces for skills learning community training centre
Young couples with children
C
Global real estate consultants
skills learning
Housing
Eldery people
Saville House Good Offices Is underused, but the main facilities still work. Space for temporary activities
1 BEDROOM STUDION
2 BEDROOM 3 BEDROOM WITH KIDS
CONNECTION Our intervention sites are located at the two side of railway bridge which we are going to connect and bring vitality from city centre to Burngreave area.
4 BEDROOM OR MORE
High probability
River Don
Medium probability
10
[ Spatial design strategy ] LO
MIX TYPE Permanent housing can also use temporary structure inside which can swich from different type of housing.
O
SHARED TYPE According to population mobility, the housing should change to large volume rooms.
1B
CK
L 1B
CK
BUILDING PERMANANT STRUCTURES
Ground floor expansion for Community use.
CK
FAMILIES TYPE Families need extra room for children which are larger than single type.
CK
SINGLE TYPE For young adults and couples. This room type is small and can change flexible.
LO
1B
O
L 1B
Expansion
Flexbility
4
4.1 Self-building
UPSCALING THE CLT
Flood prevention There are several measures that can mitigate the damage caused by floods in Burngreave area.
Further expansion could build the house higher for living.
Original
Sustainable design
Allows residents’ decisions in the design process, but keep flexibility to future interventions and necessities of the residents.
Participatory design
5
5.1 Publicise The funds of the construction must come from a pool of different sources, such as: • Profit of the CLT’s social businesses • Rent of commercial spaces • Donations • Grants
Raising Funds
Chance to engage new people for the organisation and also contact new potential fund partners.
Publicise the initiative to residents of the area and external interested.
4.2 Physically connect the area
Improve connections of the two sides of the railway (cycle paths, light, maintenance)
5.2 Industrial
Develop a industry on the site to supply the housing construction and further social housing to Sheffield City Council (SCC)
Pedestrian
SCC
Cooperative ￡
Low cost material for their own buildings
try
n rpe
Ca
o
co
tive
Supply material
ra pe
Training construction skills
11
[ Urban installation ]
PREPARATION Consult with Burngreave staff to discuss the tour and ask Tesco manager for permission
SITE 4 (PUBLIC EXHIBITION IN TESCO)
Check the site and choose a busy and proper place for more engagement
IN THE PROCESS SITE 3 (FOR STEP4&5)
11:00 - 12:30 17 May SITE 2 billborad show time (busy bus stop): Ask more about Wicker area. 12:30 - 13:00 17 May
SITE 2 (FOR STEP3)
SITE 3 billborad show time (busy bus stop): Ask more about Burngreave&Darnall area. 14pm - 17:00 17 May
SITE 1 (FOR STEP1&2) CANCELLED BECAUSE OF FEWV PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO STOP
SITE 4 Public exhibition (served snack, juice and provides seats): Interview and deep talk
END 17:00 - 17:30 17 May Group final reflection about the whole event day and urban installtion.
12
[ Urban installation ] sticker and comments board
ask about peoples's feeling about the area
Effective way to collect value information
strong
People waiting for bus and passers-by prefered to have a look People were more willing to give ideas and join the interview
weak Many people (most Muslim women) passed behind the camera Some people did not participate
Very busy location
two different colors for women and men
snacks
photographer
ask about favorite places
For good discussion and more people to engage with us
hands-out in the entrance
outcome
Space was too tight; there was a clear conflict of use, annoying people
Efficient and let passersby to stop for a while
Not so open to outside participants participate
seats
People who live in the area tend to say that it is a safe area, and people from outside tend to see some problems, especially on evenings. But our question about safeness was to vague. We should have asked about specifically types of safeness.
The last woman that we talked provided some detail about different problems in the area: the drug dealing (which is very organised and she did not consider a problem in itself), and sexual harassment (which was a much bigger problem to her), specially for young women and female.
People were friendly, but not very engaged. teenagers. Many said that the city council should do something. They ignored that can be part of it. Or even reject, when we explicitly mention that they could change the community by themselves.
Distribute card asking for later interaction
Tesco
bus stop
13
[ Critical reflection & References ] In the project 3, which is the last project of my master urban design study, I have really learned a lot. I have been exposed to many tools for graphic communication this year, while this project gave me the opportunity to create my narrative design by producing billboards and urban installation. In week 7, I was required to explore the Sheffield by walking, which reminds me of urban methods of tools last semester. This time, I was more familiar with how to capture what I have feeling and seeing or smelling, and I did well in picking out characteristic of the area and thinking more about how to develop it to inspire my intervention and relate it with the project theme. During my previous study, I understood that vacancy means empty space or unused building, but this project enabled me to realize that vacancy can represent a potential availability of space, and this stimulate designers or decision-maker to make great efforts to gain support for both creative and social enterprise subjects .I began to gain knowledge of community land trust, which is less to be seen in my country. From my point of view, this kind of non-profit corporation could be developed and is helpful for designing affordable housing in China, which may be a a part of my future practice. Then I went into the topic, using remote sourcing tool to research on policies and its relation with land ownership. I was always lack of studying policies in the past, while this time I start to learn from my group member and they taught me the key is to pick out more topic sentence and select the information which is relative with my topic. After seeing other group’s presentation and teacher’s comments, I realized my lack of combining policies into the time frame and what I did well is that I had connect three different areas’ policies into a simple and clear way because of our site’s special location. In week 8, I was responsible to explore issues and identify 5 steps for principles with group members. As this session was to establish innovative modes of practice involving ideas of agency and community participation, it enabled me to rethink the role of both designers and citizens in the process of city-making, and also explore approaches for social engagement and community participation. We did a site field work, during which I was good at interviewing people to know more about their daily life and current concern, as I was interested in this kind of social interaction with people in this case, which make me think about my role in future practice as well. As I reflect this process, I think I might be lack of address broad concerns and provisions, while I did well in applying what I have learned from reflection on urban design course where I gained knowledge about the community land trust. Also, in this section, our group work was so efficient that we came up several principles and applied the week 7’s work into a more specific and pointed way. This first version we came up the 5 steps’ ideas and divide each one’s responsibility, but my group members and I were care less about our connections and intersections, which made our story line less logical and integrated. In week 9, I was rethinking the role of community-led development, and using mapping for developing spatial strategies. From my point of view, I was strong in start from social-spatial perspective in this process, and what is important that I tried to figure out the relation between government and design team together with any engaged groups, then explore the characteristics and mechanisms of social-spatial transformation in post-industrial landscape. However, I was weak in applying the policy and basic theory into the practical projects. In the next 2 weeks, I was improving and integrating the whole step, in which I was impressed that the other group members and I were inspired each others’ work and we gave ideas and dealt with differences then reached a consensus through our coordination. In the final presentation, we received lots of comments. From other groups’ questions, I found that I was lack of knowledge about target group, from whom it also gave me a challenge to collect feedback, and I was lack of thinking about making interventions of value and the transition between knowledge and communication. From teacher’s comments, I realized that the use of color is a positive aspect of our work and my group members and I did well in making a clear structure. If next time, I might want to establish a hierarchy, as some information seemed confused. Also, I was weak in emphasize the space connected with raising money together with lack of analyzing deeply into women perspective. My consideration about the event was weak in this stage, which is needed to be connected well with the site. Though the questions should be oriented, but the answers should keep open for efficient engagement, and the question that opened to be public had to help either going further with a conclusion or making participants to agree with our idea in some level. In the urban installation process, we improved our weakness in the final presentation and did better than we expected. I did well in leading people to engage with our topic, and let people give comments and pin tag to give their scores for each session calculating the area’s environment. But there were still some weakness, I had not been considered more about how to reach Muslim women which resulted in losing some helpful engagement and the snacks sometimes made the answer supportive and very generic. If next time, I should have practiced more about how to do a very short presentation to catch people’s attention. I am very appreciate that I have gained so many different methods and tools to engage in the urban design projects this year. And I would look forward to apply all of my knowledge in my future practice as an urban designer.
References Jarvis, H. (2015). Community-led Housing and ‘Slow’ Opposition to Corporate Development: Citizen Participation as Common Ground?. Geography Compass, 9(4), pp.202-213. Bennett, K. (2014). Women and economy: complex inequality in a post-industrial landscape. Gender, Place & Culture, 22(9), pp.1287-1304. Community led estate regeneration handbook. (2000). Totnes: Churches National Housing Coalition. Svatoňová, H. and Lněnička, L. (2013). Post-industrial Landscape of Region Oslavany, with Emphasis on the Use of Old Industrial Complex. Geografické informácie, 17(2), pp.26-39. Thompson, M. (2015). Between Boundaries: From Commoning and Guerrilla Gardening to Community Land Trust Development in Liverpool. Antipode, 47(4), pp.1021-1042. Sparcindia.org. (2016). Mahila Milan. [online] Available at: http://www.sparcindia.org/aboutmm.php [Accessed 25 May 2016]. Sheffield Feminist Network. (2016). Sheffield Feminist Network. [online] Available at: https://sheffieldfeministnetwork.wordpress.com [Accessed 25 May 2016]. Integreatplus.com. (2016). Sheffield Housing Festival | Integreat Plus. [online] Available at: http://www.integreatplus.com/events/sheffield-housing-festival [Accessed 25 May 2016]. Rural Urban Synthesis Society. (2015). Home. [online] Available at: http://www.theruss.org/ [Accessed 25 May 2016]. Sheffield, U. (2016). Live Projects - MArch Programmes - School of Architecture - The University of Sheffield. [online] Sheffield.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/architecture/march/liveprojects [Accessed 25 May 14 2016]. Arcspace.com. (2016). Quinta Monroy. [online] Available at: http://www.arcspace.com/features/elemental/quinta-monroy/ [Accessed 25 May 2016].