Hamdee Yusuf reflects on her day yesterday at Placemaking Europe Week with Senior Strategist – Gabriela Spangenthal.
‘Reflecting on my and Gabi’s visit to Strasbourg at Placemaking Europe Week, the importance of involving communities in regeneration and development at a meaningful level not just as the receivers of consultation. It’s clear that communities have a deeper understanding of their neighbourhood’s culture, history and overall needs, the skill is in translating that into meaningful action.
By involving them as participants and, in some cases, as clients ensures they develop a sense of ownership and pride in these places, and new developments will reflect the true physical and emotional character of the area.
And after the developers are gone the community (new and old) can support the growth of the neighbourhood with ‘place keeping’ and ‘place management’. This in turn can lead to a better upkeep and pride and a stronger sense of real connected community.
The theme of ‘involving communities’ was played out in a series of plenaries and workshops which discussed how people, place and profits can be unified, how activating public spaces through programming can turn them into cultural gateways, on building resilient communities through a process of bringing together local activists for collective action towards creating a collaborative urban development. And lastly, civic engagement for changing cities and how placemakers turn developers, are revitalising town centres in decline by fostering an economy led by local heroes.