Over the next few months, as part of a series of Open Enquiries that link to our Civil Society Approach, we want to collectively build a shared view of how communities and wider civil society can thrive. We briefly outlined a little about this approach and why we think this is important late last year.
We want to hold the space for an open conversation with communities and wider civil society, so we can sense, feel and iterate our way towards the future together. We are not expecting easy answers, but think it is important to grapple with the complexity, trade-offs, and possible opportunities, acknowledging the known, unknowable and unpredictability.
We have built a space where we can collaborate and build ideas and thinking together. We began on the 16th of February with Thriving and Powerful communities, followed by Everyday Infrastructure we need now on the 19th February 2021. We will be exploring 3 further areas in the coming weeks, building the conversation. You can register for these sessions here. There will be dedicated times when you can join us and contribute your ideas, and beyond that the space will be open for you to explore whenever you want.
As we delve into different areas, we will share some thoughts about what we are hearing, some of the weak and strong signals of change that we are encountering, what possibilities are emerging, and the challenges and questions we are grappling with. We’d love to hear your experiences, thoughts and ideas.
For the first time in decades, social infrastructure is having a moment in the sun - from the growing interest in 15 minute cities, the recrafting of our streetscapes to cope with social distancing, the rekindling of our love of local parks, the critical role that digital platforms have played in helping us stay connected or the reimagining of our high streets as retail businesses fall under the strain of the pandemic. Social infrastructure is being seen as an important part of the answer to some of the biggest challenges we face. Decades of research is showing us that these places can have an extraordinary effect on our personal and collective wellbeing (see for example what works wellbeing).
For over a decade we have been dealing with the loss and degradation of many elements of our social infrastructure, as well as experiencing shifts in what we need from it. Research from Oldenberg and others shows there is a vital role for places such as local cafes, or barber shops where we can congregate and come together. However, we have witnessed the closure of almost a fifth of the UK’s libraries, an estimated 763 youth clubs, approximately 35% of music venues, and the loss of 25% of pubs. Much loved infrastructure such as parks have been experiencing rising use and declining resources, with some parks in the UK reporting an 87% reduction in budget. There has been an increase in privately-owned pseudo-open-public-space, which in some cases limit or exclude communities or restrict who and how these spaces are used. And of course we don’t yet understand the repercussions of the pandemic.
Distribution of our social infrastructure is uneven, with data from Local Trust and the APPG for Left Behind Communities highlighting that the 225 neighbourhoods identified as ‘left behind’ have seen their social infrastructure decline disproportionately compared to the rest of the country. Yet we have seen that those communities with strong connections and great social infrastructure have fared better than those without during the pandemic.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg highlights in his 2018 "Palaces for People", “When social infrastructure is robust, it fosters contact, mutual support, and collaboration among friends and neighbors; when degraded, it inhibits social activity, leaving families and individuals to fend for themselves.” We also know that some social infrastructure is not inclusive, and may result in increased discrimation and marginalisation. This is highlighted by movements such as the Black Land and Spatial Justice Fund, founded as a response to historic racism around land and space.
Digital tools and data have played a critical role in helping us to navigate life in the pandemic; we have seen positive impacts. However, we also see myriad challenges that need addressing. Issues range from the regularly discussed digital divide to the lack of universal access to reliable internet, from the growing impact of data poverty to the domination of opaque and monopolistic platforms that are subject to little community control. Many feel that it is time to have a much bigger conversation about the digital infrastructure that will support strong and thriving communities in the future:
How might we have a bigger say over its design? Who should own and govern it and why? What are the public goods that can be produced with our digital social infrastructure?
We find ourselves at a critical junction - our social infrastructure is fragile, yet it’s critical in building thriving and powerful communities. As renowned wellbeing economist Richard Layard has recently argued, social infrastructure needs to be at the heart of renewal and recovery efforts:
Social infrastructure is what we need to refurbish. If wellbeing is the goal, that is the most important investment we can make.
We have been combing through brilliant examples of emerging and well-established everyday social infrastructure in the UK and worldwide. They are too numerous to list individually. They include community pubs breathing new life in communities like The Bevy; communities buying up whole high streets to bring new identity and enterprise to towns in Scotland; new models of housing such as YorSpace in York; energy projects such as the largest urban solar farm in Edinburgh; community buildings such as reimagined Launderettes at the heart of our places; approaches to developing high quality and community-led journalism such as Bristol Cable; or ways to share and better-use our resources with projects such as Libraries of Things and Repair Cafes. There is an exciting field to explore.
We’ve also been looking at the great work of organisations that help to support these fields, like those in the Lottery Family such as the Local Trust, Power to Change, or The Centre For Ageing Better. These organisations - alongside others such as Shared Assets, Locality, and an array of designers, architects, academics, public sector organisations, and many others - have been making the case for investment to support social infrastructure for many years.
There have also been waves of newer approaches to supporting the experimentation and imagination required to shape future practice in the field, including the Future Parks Accelerator. What support is helping bold experimentation? What's missing from the support system and how can we better enable every community to have access to the help they need?
It seems clear that we need better ways of investing and support in our existing social infrastructure, ways that are fair, inclusive and sustainable, that preserve and build on the best of what we have. Obviously we need to take care of and repair what we already have. But we also must recognise that we have opportunities to shape our social infrastructure going forward.
Infrastructures have a way of symbolising historic periods and expressing dominant ideas about how to organise economy and society. Our railroads, highways, parks, and power grids reveal who we were and what we aspired to become at the time that we built them. The systems we build in coming years will tell future generations who we are and how we see the world today. If we fail to bridge our gaping social divisions, they may even determine whether that ‘we’ continues to exist. **Eric Klinenberg, Palaces for the People (2019)