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Author: Charles John

Exploring Neighbourhood Hubs

Written by Charles John on . Posted in Research.

During the last few years, the practice has been challenging our understanding of how to design for people, for activities and for moments; not just making spatial decisions for specific land uses, but understanding the components that need to be in place to empower the formation of successful communities. This work has moved us away from the idea that community uses are just a planning requirement or relate to financial viability, but seeing community uses – or Neighbourhood Hubs – as a design tool to ensure people are the primary consideration of design decisions.

The way we envisage communities should ensure that residents, occupants and users have a say in the place they engage with, by designing high quality spaces where relationships and ownership can be built, self-sufficiency can be encouraged, and adaption and flexibility is inherent allowing places and spaces to evolve at the same time communities emerge and demands change.

One of the key challenges we face when shaping new communities is how to allow a community to emerge and thrive when there are no societal dynamics from the outset: …How to anticipate what new residents will need …How to learn from other communities’ behaviour and reinterpret these characteristics in new schemes? …Exploring alternative and bespoke approaches to community stewardship and understanding their role in the formation of community.

As part of our ongoing work and associated research, we’ve recently had the exciting opportunity to explore the needs and aspirations for a new sustainable neighbourhood of ~3,000 residents in Worcestershire that forms part of a larger Garden Town. In doing so, we set a strategy of developing a focal point for a Community Trust and a series of flexible, multifunctional spaces where communal and enriching activities can take place within 15-min walking distance of all new homes on the site.

By celebrating existing site assets, proposals for a Neighbourhood Hub were formulated that would re-purpose traditional farm buildings and a walled garden into a community hall, farm shop, a home-work hub, community cafe with complementary adjacent open spaces including neighbourhood play (within adjacent woodland), a community orchard overlooking existing Parkland connected to a more expansive network of green corridors and spaces.

The process for designing the Neighbourhood Hub included establishing the various uses and functions that would be needed to support a new community of ~3,000 people, factoring in locations specific demands around work, learning, recreation and mobility, then reviewing the condition of the structures to be retained and the areas available to be used and then testing what types of activities could they hold. Simultaneously, we looked to emphasise the footprint and traditional arrangement of the retained buildings and was in which to enrich them to facilitate social interaction. This was done by creating a sequence of more intimate open spaces contained by multifunctional structures, all accessed by the wider network of active travel routes.

As designers, this exercise allowed us to understand how to spatially interpret community needs and the role that flexibility and adaption plays when working with a growing population. We strongly believe that designing for a community should never be a static process. It should unashamedly allow for evolution, be owned by residents and users and support people-focussed placemaking.

TCPA Stewardship Spring Conference

Written by Charles John on . Posted in Latest News.

After the last two years of Zoom calls and generally being stuck inside, myself, Ana and Maria took advantage of an actual in-person conference down in London last week for the TCPA Spring Stewardship Event at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in South bank.

The TCPA’s suite of guidance on delivering successful new communities spans a wide range of key issues, from planning and investment to delivery and longterm stewardship – so it was a great opportunity to interact with some of the key influencers in the field. Chaired by Mary Parsons (who was regrettably retiring from the position after this event), presentations came from the likes of Katy Lock (TCPA Director of Communities & Project Delivery) The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP (Minster for Housing), and Pete Richmond (Chief Exec of Bournville Village Trust) who we have worked with on a few recent projects for BVT.

A holistic approach to long-term stewardship is something we are investing a lot of time in here at Define, especially when it comes to creating better places for people in new large scale garden community projects. The TCPA’s Tomorrow 125 project is a great resource, and looks at how exploring the Garden City idea can help us construct a pathway to a hopeful future based on a fairer society. Understanding the identity and DNA of a place, both from a physical and socioeconomic perspective is key. There will never be a ‘one size fits all’ approach, so early engagement with the people who will actually live and work in the development is vital.

We need to be ambitious, but realistic about what is achievable – we need to communicate, share experience and learn from others – but most importantly be collaborative and inclusive in our approach to stewardship moving forward, so we can build sustainable communities where people can really thrive.

In many ways the topic is more prevalent now than it has ever been. As people begin to recover from the social and mental impacts of Covid, getting out and spending time interacting with others is essential to everyone’s wellbeing. And, in true Define style, we made time after the event to randomly explore the streets of London to see what gems could be found, with the Leake Street Arches Graffiti Wall, Vaulty Towers, and Pizza Pilgrims all highly recommended if you are ever in that part of town.