Good Local Economics
Community-led housing is a small but important area of activity. Across the country, groups of residents are working hard to address local housing problems collectively. Often the problems being solved are in areas where the challenges are not tempting enough for ‘bigger players’. Groups like Giroscope in Hull take on and renovate empty properties – often in areas of little or no commercial interest – providing training for local people as well as affordable homes. Buckland Newton Community Property Trust (situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in West Dorset) saw high house prices threatening the long-term survival of the village community, and built affordable homes for local people, obtaining long-term community assets in the process.
More community action take place in Bristol than perhaps anywhere in the UK. Bristolians speak of a sense of agency that allows them to make things happen. From night walks led by teenagers to a community zone on a 1970s roundabout, here’s ten of the city’s best ideas for change:
1. Knowle West Media Centre and Bristol Maker Lab: Putting arts at the heart of community renewal
