Community development and regeneration: a Scottish perspective

SCDC We are an independent voluntary organisation with a 21 year history Our mission is for an active, inclusive and just Scotland We work with communities, practitioners and policy makers We specialise in community engagement, community capacity building, action research, community led health and participatory outcomes focused planning and evaluation 2

Glasgow 1950s – commerce, shipbuilding, housing, industry, thriving (our office is in what was a shipping agent building)

Here’s the same thing these days – the docks have been replaced with a string of new ‘cultural’ buildings – an exhibition centre, a science centre, two music venues, two hotels, the HQ of both the BBC and SMG, a transport museum designed by an internationally renowned architect … only the crane remains as a reminder People will tell you that this is regeneration – it boost civic pride, attracts visitors, creates jobs, the air is cleaner, and the economic benefit is said to ‘trickle-down’ to the many poor people in the city A post-industrial city – note the emphasis on culture and creativity City of Culture! But is this the only narrative, or the most important one?

… or is it about fixing past mistakes? Here’s a different image: communities campaigning in the 1980s to protest about conditions in quite newly-built estates

… that same area now looks like this: ‘Yuppies’ have moved in, the poor people are either still there or have been moved away. So have things changed? We have two versions of regeneration, one is top down, macho and physical infrastructure – the other is community-led, about social justice (ref social inclusion partnerships) and community development.

Community-led Regeneration ‘defined by actions that are based on the needs and issues understood by and experienced by communities themselves, where communities are supported to take the lead in identifying and implementing local solutions’ It is a complex story, and we are making it very simple, but our government provided a policy document in 2009 (?) called Achieving a Sustainable Future which put the agenda in the hands of communities as this quote makes clear. Where does community developmet fit in? A few years earlier, as the idea of ‘partnerships’ between communities and government was taking hold, we had prepared what became the National Standards for Community Engagement – drawn up with engagement of communities, workers, police, municipalities etc – and basically some ground rules to make participation as effective, productive and inclusive as possible!

Supporting Participation The 10 commitments Monitoring & evaluating Open participation Giving Feedback National Standards for Community Engagement Clear Plans & Purposes Supporting Participation Improving skills Practical supports Working with others Appropriate Methods Sharing information Working together

The stark health inequalities in Glasgow are demonstrated by the drop in life expectancy of 2.0 years for males and 1.2 years for females for each station on the railway line between Jordanhill and Bridgeton 14 years males Source: McCartney G. Illustrating Glasgow’s health inequalities. JECH 2010; doi 10.1136/jech.2010.120451 .

Christie Commission ‘’A decisive shift to prevention… building services round people and communities’ It is a complex story, and we are making it very simple, but our government provided a policy document in 2009 (?) called Achieving a Sustainable Future which put the agenda in the hands of communities as this quote makes clear. Where does community developmet fit in? A few years earlier, as the idea of ‘partnerships’ between communities and government was taking hold, we had prepared what became the National Standards for Community Engagement – drawn up with engagement of communities, workers, police, municipalities etc – and basically some ground rules to make participation as effective, productive and inclusive as possible!

Policy environment in Scotland Public services reform – changing the relationship between the citizen and the state Interest in social model of health Co-production prominent in health and social care Emphasis on community led regeneration Moves towards hyper local models Impending Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill

Examples of support for community led regeneration Development Trusts Association Scotland – asset ownership Housing associations – wider role activity Community Land Scotland Community Woodland Trusts, grants, investments but small scale, benefiting confident communities!

Regenerated, healthy and empowered community Develop shared spaces Encourage social support networks Identify local assets - knowledge, experience, time Support local people to come together to turn individual issues into community concerns Environment is structured, predictable and explicable More community involvement to address neighbourhood issues text Personal and community development seen as worthwhile Increased individual responsibility for behaviour change Build community Regenerated, healthy and empowered community Strong, resilient and influential community Build capacity Build influence Take this further – how to build ‘capacity, community and influence’ More positive health and wellbeing outcomes Engage communities in decision making processes Support the development of skills and knowledge on wider regeneration issues Use local knowledge and experience to influence decisions Develop initiatives which engender meaningful local involvement Support independent action Opportunities for individual, family and community advancement taken up Build skills and knowledge Untap, mobilise and build on local assets Build local groups Support local governance Greater engagement with initiatives such as work programmes Decreased impact on public services

https://www. youtube. com/watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3wsy3GWEMw&list=PLFQQySjap6rPfM5thjAHfAaxjAaXiwycc&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnNVF582eRE&list=PLFQQySjap6rPfM5thjAHfAaxjAaXiwycc&index=2