Julie Cowans Urban Policy and Sustainable Communities Advisor Julie Cowans Urban Policy and Sustainable Communities Advisor

Sustainability n Environmental n Social n Economic ……….Effects of micro, or neighbourhood socio- economics, on community sustainability

Socio economic polarisation n Increasing n Gated communities n Concentrations of poverty = intolerance, social exclusion….. = intolerance, social exclusion….. n Solution: mixed communities (organic eg buy to let, right to buy) and policies

Why Mixed Communities? Why Mixed Communities? We know better what does not work : “Living in poverty is bad enough, but living in a poor community magnifies everything bad about being poor.” (Prof. Suzanne Fitzpatrick, University of York, JRF Centenary paper 2004)

Concentrating Deprivation For the individual, it hugely magnifies : n Physical and mental health problems n Low educational achievement n Skills deficit and joblessness n Low self esteem, expectations and well being n The likelihood of offending and being a victim of crime

Concentrating Deprivation Cities of neighbourhoods: n Stigma by postcode n Cycles of/intergenerational deprivation n Reinforces negative perceptions of societal norms n Creates a negative ‘neighbourhood effect’

Concentrating Deprivation n Physical regeneration efforts are expensive and not sustainable (OECD) n ‘Social’ support and capacity building has little long term spatial effect Hardware and software are interdependent – having one without the other is useless….

The Objective Proactive: 1.De-concentration of Deprivation 2.Aim for better socio economic balance in new communities: create neighbourhoods of choice and opportunity

The Aims n Social – skills, education, capacity building n Economic – building a strong and sustainable micro economy n Physical – building housing and an environment which will attract those with choice

How to attract those with Choice: We know what makes a community successful n Quality school provision (IPD value correlation) n Quality and range of services – public, leisure, retail (IPD, CBI) n Community safety - a ‘sense of the normative’ n Transport infrastructure n Public realm- aesthetics, kerb appeal (cabe, house mark) n Broad range of quality, varied, interesting housing (MORI)

Public Policy Local Authority Statutory duty to endeavour to create socio- economically - as well as environmentally - sustainable communities?

Julie Cowans Urban Policy and Sustainable Communities Advisor Julie Cowans Urban Policy and Sustainable Communities Advisor