ambitious communities asset mapping and campaigning
TRANSCRIPT
Community Asset Mapping & Campaigning
Annemarie Naylor
Head of Assets
Every community has assets and potential within it – land and buildings, people,
skills and networks, funding – even the most deprived communities. But, we don’t
always recognise what we have in our midst…
GET PRO-ACTIVE!
Take the first step! We believe mapping assets of community value – in the
broadest sense of the term - is the most helpful way to begin identifying local
strengths and opportunities.
Places of value - “we particularly value this place and what it means for us”
• Cultural or sporting or play spaces – museums, theatres, sports centres, play spaces• Community spaces – community centres, community offices, resource centres, village halls, faith buildings • Local democratic spaces – town halls • Green spaces – village greens, nature reserves, parks, sports fields • Landmark buildings - buildings with particular heritage or architectural merit
Places of opportunity - “this site could be used for so much more…”
Sometimes we need to use our imagination. What does the local community want its local area to be like? Are there opportunities to create new places or services? Is there anything important missing or in short supply?
Opportunity sites might be:
• Derelict or currently unused• In use, but in need of refurbishment• Previously undeveloped• Only temporarily out of use
Services or activities of value - “we particularly value this service/activity and what it does for us”
We might value these services even if we are not so bothered about which building they are located in.
• Public services – such as libraries, health centres, schools, children’s centres• Retail or commercial services – such as the post office, village shop or pub
Map >
Online surveys can reach hundreds of people easily and can be done free of charge. If you have a membership database, you could try this, asking them to email you suggested assets or going to a survey web page to give their views. A more open ‘crowd sourcing’ approach can also be used, inviting the public to take part, maybe through your website, twitter or social networking sites.
Focus groups and discussion groups are good for bringing people together to identify possible opportunities, discuss issues and see where people agree. Having a map in front of you can help stimulate ideas.
Walkabouts with small groups of people, armed with cameras, can both stimulate ideas and generate discussions within the groups. You could agree which streets each group will look at.
The local media can be used to generate interest and report on discussions, including newspapers and local bloggers
http://www.theplacestation.org.uk/
Visualise >
Prioritise >
ACT!
locality.org.uk