Written by:
Sophia de Sousa
A call for contributions to our new Glass-House blog series
We invite you to contribute an anecdote about community leadership and /or cross-sector collaboration in design and placemaking that has inspired you
Our new blog series is a space to celebrate what you see as the ideas, processes and projects that are pushing boundaries to empower people and communities to shape their places. We want to hear, in your words, about a story that you think should be shared, and about how it has inspired you.
We are particularly interested in celebrating “inspired” approaches, whether complex or very simple, to enabling civic leadership and cross-sector collaboration in shaping buildings, open spaces, homes or neighbourhoods.
This should not be about your own work or project but instead, your take on a place or project you have encountered in your personal or professional life.
Here are a few examples of projects we admire:
- May Project, London – Started in 2007, Co-Founder Ian Solomon-Kawall. He wanted to create a legacy for his late mother, whom he’d cared for his whole life, by turning her large derelict garden into a community space which was open to the public.
- Strontian Primary School, Scotland – Faced with the possibility of the village school becoming temporary modular units, parents and residents of Strontian worked alongside the Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust and came up with the idea to build a school and lease it to the Council. The new school transformed the educational experience of the local pupils by creating more space, facilities and green spaces for recreation and education.
- Storyhouse, Chester. What began as a local campaign to save a local Art Deco cinema led the development of a multi-award-winning building that brings together a library, theatre, cinema, community hub, cultural centre and restaurant.
- Playing Out, Bristol – A group of daring parents decided to develop a model where neighbours could close their street to through traffic for a couple of hours, creating a safe space for children to play out. Find out more here. They have since become valued and inspiring play champions and have developed a range of useful resources to help others follow their lead.
You can contribute to our blog series in a number of ways:
- write a blog for our website (600 – 800 words + at least two images)
- create a video or audio piece for us to share on the blog and through social media (max 3-5 minutes)
- share your anecdotes and images to signpost projects using #inspiredplacemaking, #incubatingleadership
If you would like to contribute to our blog, please contact The Glass-House team.