DESIS UK: Case studies

Leeds Love It Share It CIC Margins Within the City projectKatie Jane HillSeptember 2013

Margins within the cityPilot for new regeneration methodologymore on: loveitshareit.org.uk

Organisation: Leeds Love It Share It CICIncluding BLA Architects, Permaculture Association, Leeds Metropolitan University Design Department, Leeds University School of Geography, Media and Arts Partnership

Funders: Yorkshire Forward, Local Enterprise Growth Initiative

Place: Leeds, West YorkshireKeywords: neighbourhoods, local resource valorization

Inner city neighbourhoods, in the ‘rim’, identified as deprived and problematic, needed new ways to identify and understand resources and possibilities for positive change in the context of triple crunch – climate, economic and energy crises. Redesigning how we do ‘regeneration’.

Creative research methodology produced:•Report used by local activists and local authority•Mapping that visualised new understandings of the area•Images and stories of people, places and organisations•Toolkit for undertaking resource mapping

7 Leeds based professionals concerned about the strategic direction of the city

Combined design, architecture, public art, permaculture design and geography

Devised a project and approached funders, with the aim of engaging local activists and authorities in re-thinking approaches to disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the context of climate change

Attributes of actors:Commitment to localityActivist – reaction to city brandingFlexible employment / mixed economyOrganisational resources – staff, space, students Professional profile Shared design thinking

Process was to collect information on the themes of skills, resources and spaces, lots of time was spent talking, planning, developing the process as this was the main ‘output’

We had learning days where the project team, other organisations, participants and the public joined in reflecting and planning through drawing,

We worked with photographers and a story teller to collect individual stories about life in the neighbourhood

The Role of Design was evident in the way of conceptualising the process and in imagining the possibilities of resources rather than focussing on what was missing. Visualisation was a key tool that made the messages different and powerful.

Project output and impact: •Report used by local activists and local authority•Maps that visualised issues within the area•Images and stories of people and organisations•Toolkit for undertaking resource mapping•Set of relationships and networks

Follow on: Supporting local activistsworking with local authorityproducing community engagement toolConnected Communities work

Legacy:

Evaluation during process but not afterTangible and intangible outputs – report and relationshipsBenefits sustained through presence in the city and people

Project and benefits transferable:

The aim was to design a transferrable methodology but on reflection what I think is most transferrable is the message that designers can find ways to address the problems of their own neighbourhoods. In the context of the triple crunch everywhere is in crisis, it’s no longer just about deprived or problematised neighbourhoods, all neighbourhoods need to rethink how they develop to become more sustainable.

Successes and Shortcomings/ Barriers and Enablers Strength: Started conversations, stirred debate, connected peopleWeakness: Dissemination and communication was difficultBarriers: Time, speed, openness of authority, closure of funderEnablers: open brief for funding, commitment to context, sharing of practice, part of long term practices in the city