The Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods recently launched the report of its work, No Short Cuts, outlining its strategy to support neighbourhoods by building social capital and investing in community-led initiatives. During its work the Commission visited Clapham Park estate where we worked last year. Our experience of working with community researchers on Clapham Park highlighs the value of rooted community insight to neighbourhoods undergoing change.
Regeneration is often top-down and disconnected from the realities of everyday life, it can be an alienating experience for residents and in a number of places we have heard residents express feelings of powerlessness over the process. Community-led research offers an alternative approach: working directly with communities to build a better understanding of an area and inform decision making.
In 2024, Social Life was commissioned by Clapham Park LLP to carry out research into the social impact of the regeneration. The research explored residents’ perceptions of the estate, their everyday life and how they feel about their neighbours and the wider community. It was structured around Social Life's social sustainability framework, assessing neighbourliness, social integratoin, belonging, sense of safety, wellbeing and residents’ ability to shape decisions.
We recruited and trained six paid community researchers living on the estate to support us in carrying out the research. The researchers - Aysha, Barbara, Jochebed, Montse, Vanessa and Julian - all lived on the estate, most had lived there for over 10 years. They worked with us to design the survey, carry out street interviews and reflect on the findings. They helped us identify priority issues and contextualise the data, bringing insights from their experience.
Co-designing the questionnaire with community researchers
We discussed what emerged from the research with with the researchers, who shared their reflections of how they have observed the community changing since the regeneration.
Clapham Park Fun Day, July 2024
Reflections from the community researchers
Researchers described how residents were more willing to share their thoughts and experiences once they knew that the researcher also lived on the sstate. This helped build trust, break down barriers and encourage a more open dialogue.
“...when you feel connected to the person or you feel comfortable, you feel like community researchers give this feeling of trust. Which doesn't need to be built with a random researcher because you almost have the feel of connection or community already.”
The experience gave the researchers new insight into their own community. They learnt about local groups, events and initiatives they hadn’t been aware of before. Some were inspired to become more active in their communities and start their own community groups. Participatory research can catalyse longer-term involvement, collaboration and advocacy. Its impacts can extend beyond a single project.
“It's been a really interesting opportunity doing this. It's something completely new to me. And I think it's going to lead to me having a chance to get more involved in the estate in general, which I think is good. I think it's a stepping stone to other things […] I always was one of the people who felt a bit distant from all that…I didn't feel I’ve got much influence over what happened or much involvement in the broader estate and knowledge.”
The process supported personal development. For several researchers, this was their first time carrying out interviews and navigating sensitive topics. They felt this had supported their personal development and increased confidence.
“I'm so pleased that I have achieved it and it's giving me more confidence. I feel like I'm brave, you know, doing this is really a big achievement.”
Community researchers can reach groups often excluded from consultation, ensuring more diverse voices are heard. A Spanish speaking researcher was able to connect with residents who otherwise might not have been reached. One researcher reflected on the value of hearing different views and perspectives, how they had become aware of researcher bias, and developed an ability to hold space for other people's lived experiences.
As highlighted by ICON, neighbourhood recovery requires new and deeper community-led approaches. Our experience in Clapham Park, working with local residents, but also in Lewisham working with Community Health Champions and in Mayfair and Belgravia with youth researchers - has shown us that participatory approaches generate deepe neighbourhood-level insight, build local capacity and strengthen evidence, helping to build neighbourhoods that reflect the complexities of lived expereriences of everyone within the community.
