During the long gestation of masterplans and large developments, ‘meanwhile’ and ‘pop up’ projects can help bring people together around a shared vision and identify community champions early on in the process.
In the South of Ashford Garden Community project, the meanwhile initiative ‘Artist-in-Residence’ was able to build strong connections and meaningful experiences with many local residents in just two months. The availability of a temporary premise on site fostered a greater sense of community among residents, establishing relationships before the completion of the development (Daley, 2022).
At the King’s Cross redevelopment project, Soundings led and carried out a range of events in a range of locations, such as people’s places of work, youth clubs, market stalls and festivals. These were called ‘mole’ events, named after the ambition to ‘pop-up’ whenever and wherever possible (McAdam & Norton, 2022).
The consideration and centring of the needs of a wide and diverse range of people with different impairments, disabilities and backgrounds in the design and use of space.
Being in a space and testing interventions out physically, even just with tape or chalk, helps to create a sense of ownership and agency over the tested ideas. It also helps participants to work with a better sense of scale and speculate possibilities that might be eluded otherwise in drawings.
Temporary interventions and physical outputs can help communities visualise and understand complex and often unseen processes that may take a long time to fully develop. These interventions can serve as a catalyst for further community engagement, sparking conversations and encouraging residents to take an active role in shaping the future of their neighbourhoods.
‘Consultation fatigue’ is really disillusionment – often people are not tired of being consulted, they are tired of nothing happening as a result of that. Understand the true cause of the fatigue.
“To overcome a negative response to ongoing consultation (particularly for masterplans), the project must identify early wins and reinforce the importance of a deliverable scheme with a realistic timetable for implementation” (CABE, 2004).
Explicitly seek out marginalised communities by working with organisations that represent them, being adaptive to times of day, engagement style and platforms that meet their needs and interests (Cosgrave, 2022).
The power to take a position, assert, influence, deliberate or decide on something.
Engagement strategies should continually work with established resident networks to understand directly from them the best way in which the process of consultation can take place (DSDHA, 2022).
Accessibility is for all – ensure a mix of visual and verbal communication. Always design for mobile-first in web layout terms. Use Plain English and accessible information and communication formats.
“Attitudes in highlighting inequalities have shifted since Covid-19, but it is not enough to carry on as we are. Advocacy is important in changing people’s perceptions of what they should be doing” (Man Oram, 2022).