This presentation was given at a public lecture hosted by the Hebrew University at Jerusalem City Hall on November 1, 2012.

1. SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY:
From concept to practice in urban planning,
urban renewal and new neighbourhoods
What? Why? How?
Saffron Woodcraft
01 November 2012

2. Social Life is a new organization with a long-heritage of
work on communities, planning & placemaking.

3. 200 years of large-scale planned new communities in the UK but still
relatively little known about what makes places thrive.

4. SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY:
CONCEPT TO PRACTICE IN THE UK

5. What is social sustainability?
“A process for creating sustainable, successful
places that promote wellbeing, by understanding
what people need from the places they live and
work. Social sustainability combines design of the
physical realm with design of the social world –
infrastructure to support social and cultural life,
social amenities, systems for citizen engagement
and space for people and places to evolve.”
Source: Social Life (2012). Design for Social Sustainability: a practical framework for building
communities.

6. Table 1: Urban social sustainability: contributory factors, Dempsey et al., 2009.
Source: Dempsey, N. et al., (2011). The social dimension of sustainable development:
Defining urban social sustainability.

7. “Lexicon of austerity” & social unrest

8. Debate in planning practice: “… arguably
creates a space for innovation and change
that we have not seen for decades.”
Bertolini et al., 2011. Planning and the Recession.
Planning Theory & Practice, 12 (3)

9. Language of social sustainability is reframing and combining
existing ideas and practices in new ways.
Holistic way of approaching planning that considers social
needs today and in the long-term.
Emerging area of practice and policy. Much work still
required to build evidence base and practitioner experience.

10. LEARNING FROM THE PAST:
WHAT WORKS? HOW DO PEOPLE
EXPERIENCE NEW PLACES?

12. The first question: what is a
community?
Source: Egan Review, 2004.

13. An alternative view: what
makes a community?
• Physical boundaries to promote geographical
identity
• Local myths & stories
• Visible leadership
• Strong social relationships, networks & bonds
• Opportunities for informal, spontaneous social
encounters
• Rituals and rhythms
• Shared belief systems eg. garden cities, new
towns, eco-cities.

14. Reviewing the evidence
• Experience from the English New Towns, Garden Cities & different
forms of post-war council housing
• Extensive literature about mixed communities and neighbourhood
deprivation in the UK
• International experience of planned new towns (eg. USA to China)
• Combined with practical work and applied research in new
communities
• Experts workshops to corroborate findings

15. Barking Riverside, East London

16. Barking Riverside, East London

17. Buckingham Park, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire

18. Whitecross Street Estate, London. Peabody Trust.

19. Birmingham CC: Viewing lessons learnt
from Community Land Trusts & seeing if it
will work as a model for Birmingham.
Lozells and Handsworth
Lozells and Handsworth, Birmingham

20. Malmo, Sweden

21. Heygate Estate, Elephant and Castle, London

22. Heygate Estate, Elephant and Castle, London

23. Patterns in residents’ experience
1. Good housing, schools and safety are initial priorities but “novelty”
of new housing wears off after 12-18 months if social infrastructure
is inadequate
2. Cohesion & integration are local issues: affordable housing plays a
key role.
3. Need for services, as well as buildings, to help people settle
4. Early provision is crucial – especially basic shops, schools,
nurseries, community buildings, open spaces, transport and
support workers
5. Spatial and social integration matter within new development &
integration with wider neighbourhood
6. Shared public spaces and services are important to encourage
informal interaction & to build trust

24. Patterns in residents’ experience
7. Lack of social infrastructure affects community wellbeing and can
create reputational issues
8. Involving residents in planning community infrastructure creates
better built environment & stronger local groups and networks
9. Strong connection between wellbeing and ability to influence local
decision-making
10. Neighbourhood-based workers and/or micro-investments for
community groups and projects make a big difference
11. Communities need ‘space to grow’ – physically and socially

25. “ … planning for hard infrastructure alone would never build a
community … it would only be done by a matrix of formal and
informal opportunities or supported activities.”
Cambridgeshire PCT (2007)
“… where these facilities were already in place when people began to
arrive, the community came together and networks were formed more
easily”
CLG New Towns Review
“ … most mixing across social groups takes places between children. It
is these contacts … that provide opportunities to meet and form
relationships.”
CIH/JRF 2005

26. The importance of social relationships to wellbeing, trust,
community strength and willingness/ability to act

27. Social sustainability as a
planning framework
Source: Social Life, Design for Social Sustainability: a practical framework for building communities, 2012.

29. Building Blocks: Social &
cultural life
People-friendly layouts Timebanking – promoting Neighbourhood-based
eg car free areas, speed mutual exchange and groups eg Neighbourhood
reductions, eyes on the development of social Watch, Residents/Tenants
street, well-lit areas capital though peer-to-peer Associations, Pledgebank
timebanking or people-to-
Distinctive architecture/ agency timebanking Inter-generational, cross-
landscaping to reinforce/ cultural events and
create sense of local Community projects activities eg Under One
identity to encourage inter- Sun, The Big Lunch
generational/inter-group
Public and congregational
mixing Local celebrations – eg
spaces eg open spaces,
festivals, street parties,
parks, wide pavements, Neighbourhood Charter, fetes, family days, artists
benches Community Design in residence
Statement
Third spaces (eg cafes,
pubs, shops), playgrounds Local oral history projects
Local rules and norms like East Midlands Oral
and playspaces
eg Home Zones, car free History
streets, neighbourhood
Connections to agreements, local taxes or
neighbouring communities Local events – eg
fundraising
to avoid isolation eg litter picking, planting,
pathways and shared fundraising
Informal local currencies
public spaces
eg Local Exchange Trading
Systems (LETS) Neighbouring activities
Flexible working spaces to
eg household network,
encourage home-working,
loanables
local enterprise (eg spaces
in a community centre or
café)

31. Thames View
• Predominantly low -rise
council houses built in 50s
& 60s
• Roughly 50% white & 50%
BME residents
Great Fleete
• Private development built
in 80’s
Barking Reach
• Private development built
in 80’s
Barking Riverside
• Location of the new
school and community
centre
Fifth dimension: change in the neighbourhood
over time.

32. PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE FROM
THE UK & EUROPE

33. Freiburg Charter
• 12 principles for sustainable urbanism
• Planning “collaborative experiment”
• “Magic triangle of urban development” –
social cohesion
• Designed as a tool for progressive dialogue
& practice in sustainable urban planning

34. merge whenneighbourhoods emerge when individuals have
“Great individuals have
neighbours of pridecollective neighbours have a collective
a sense have a and their
y ofresponsibility for the quality of the places where they live,
the places where they live,
Geough and visit.” Kevin McGeough
work
SPATIAL PRINCIPLES
CITY OF NEIGHBOURHOODS NEIGHBOURHOODS
CITY OF II
SPATIAL PRINCIPLES
degree of empowerment and degree of empowerment and personal
personal
II
responsibility, is indispensable for cities and is indispensable for cities and
responsibility,
should be actively encouraged. should be actively encouraged.
importance in: residential living and working, residential living and working,
importance in:
social infrastructure, education and culture,
social infrastructure, education and culture,
recreation and management of green spaces management of green spaces
recreation and
and networks. and networks.
precondition for sustainable urban planning for sustainable urban planning
precondition
and development. and development.
RIESELFELD is one of several newly developed neighbourhoods sever
RIESELFELD is one of on
brownfield land where the City of Freiburg has revealed its forward-tC
brownfield land where the
policies over the last three decades. Schools, churches, sports three d
policies over the last facilitie
Source: The Freiburg Charter for Sustainable Urbanism
shops, recreation areas and public transport hubs give shape to the
shops, recreation areas and
Local markets are open for Local markets are open for heart of Rieselfeld’s community; a demonstration of the principles of
heart of Rieselfeld’s commu
business in the newly developed business in the newly developed Freiburg Charter. Freiburg Charter.

35. Government-backed scheme
for assessing design quality
and spatial planning in
neighbourhoods.
Contributed to improved
public realm and integration of
social and private housing in
new neighbourhoods.

36. Eco Bicester: working with council and developer of exemplar stage
to build social sustainability into the ambitious new development,
planned to be 20,000 homes over 20 years.

37. Community-led planning:
Shaping amenities & infrastructure; addressing business &
social issues; innovative work to capture different voices.

38. Development Trusts & Community Land Trusts:
Managing assets, delivering services, providing affordable
housing.

39. Chapter 5 Step by step guide to developing a local charter 25
What are the community’s priorities?
What do existing documents, surveys, and forums tell us about local community priorities?
What do local councillors believe community priorities are?
Is additional consultation on priorities needed?
– Are all areas of the community represented by the existing information?
– What could additional consultation be coordinated with?
What are agency priorities locally?
What services do agencies provide locally?
Where does the delivery vary from the norm? How to develop a local charter
Which LAA targets are particularly relevant for the area?
What are agencies’ priorities locally and which initiatives do they wish to pilot or promote? A guide for local authorities
What local level data do agencies have on the community and community level needs?
What will the charter cover?
What actions are planned to meet local priorities?
Is the charter going to focus on all relevant issues or will the charter be better focused on a single
set of issues?
Is there consensus on local priorities?
Is there a consensus on priorities for the local area? Do If agencies won’t
agencies and communities agree? Do voluntary and engage, what
community sector organisations agree? is the role of the
Is there a community organisation with an appropriate local authority, LSP,
mandate to agree community input and responsibility on local members to
behalf of the community? If not what further consultation is encourage buy in?
necessary?
What will the published charter look like?
Is the charter short enough to publish in its original form? If not, how can a shorter, more readable
version be produced?
How will the costs of publication be met?
Is the charter written in plain English and in an accessible style?
Does it include contact details for service providers and local councillors?
Charter signed and published
Who will sign the charter on behalf of the local authority and community?
Is there LSP endorsement of the charter and commitment by them to monitor?
Will there be a high profile launch event?
What wider monitoring and evaluation will be put in place?
www.communities.gov.uk
community, opportunity, prosperity
Community charters & agreements:
Tools for dialogue & shared responsibility between
residents and public agencies.

40. Timebanking & neighbouring schemes:
Building social networks and mutual aid; creating shared
experiences for people from different backgrounds.

41. Meanwhile use:
Temporary and pop-up use of land and buildings to boost
local economic development and create community focus.

42. MEASURING SOCIAL
SUSTAINABILITY

44. Could other frameworks we be used?

45. Social sustainability indicators
• Three dimensions, 13
indicators,
underpinned by 45
questions
• Majority of questions
from nationally
recognised surveys or
industry frameworks
• Small number of
created questions

46. Data analysis
The
• Data from residents survey Hamptons
benchmarked against national data OAC
& statistically tested categories
• Benchmarked against national
psycho-geographic categorisations
(OACs)
• Only results that had statistical
significance reported
• Site survey data assessed against
industry standards
• Created questions assessed
separately

47. Empire Square, Bermondsey
567 homes, 30% affordable, completed 2007

48. • Pic and v short description
Imperial Wharf, Fulham
1,428 homes, 47% affordable, completion 2013

49. Knowle
• Pic and v short description
Knowle Village, Hampshire
701 homes, 31% affordable, completed 2012

50. The Hamptons, Worcester Park
645 homes, 33% affordable, completed 2012

51. Resident responses

52. The Hamptons

53. Spatial exclusion of different housing tenures created
tensions.
Few if any opportunities to shape decision-making about
physical environment or social life.
Problems encouraged residents to organize and act. Initially
as campaign group, now to run community assets.

54. Challenges and future work
• Social sustainability is complex and context
specific
• Requires serious consideration of how social
justice & equality translate to the built
environment
• Investment in capacity-building within public
agencies/government and private sector

55. social-life.co
saffron.woodcraft@social-life.co