Active Communities
Sustainable Communities Programme handbook
This is a practical guide to help everyone work towards making their neighbourhood a better place to live in.
Title: Sustainable Communities Programme Handbook
Author: Peter Hirst and John McHarry (Encams)
Published: September 2004
Number of pages: 132
- Improving the quality of the local environment - Open spaces
- Getting around - Improving mobility and access
- Creating a flourishing local economy
- Pollution
- Energy - Getting energy efficient
- Healthy people and healthy communities
- Community Safety and Reducing Crime
- How to get involved
- Starting your own group
Practical ways a community can achieve greater sustainability
Improving the quality of the local environment - Open spaces
As space in our towns and cities comes under increasing threat from 'development ', encouraging the use of open space for the good of the community is important.
It only takes a small number of people to transform neglected or uncared-for sites into something that will benefit the area. Financial backing for a project can be overcome by finding key partners that share the same vision can help break through these barriers (e.g. landowners, the local authority and funding agencies).
Why is it important?
Land once derelict is often difficult and costly to restore.
Parks and adventure playgrounds provide leisure facilities for local people.
Derelict land devalues local property but cleaning it up may increase the value and stimulate the local economy.
'Greening the city'
Efforts to restore open green spaces and to create small ecological parks and urban nature sites have been very successful. Projects don't just have to be wildlife sites. A recent Government report suggested that local authorities should invest in allotments and turn them into community gardens to act as a resource for the whole community.
A role for everyone
Creating a more sustainable environment involves:
Improving the quality of local streets and open spaces
Creating the opportunity for new employment
Providing social meeting spaces and safer places.
Many problems are caused by external companies or the outside community (e.g. council, shops, rail authorities), but keeping pressure on the appropriate land owners can help.
Possible actions
Local people, residents, and community groups can also help by:
Getting involved in campaigns to protect & improve streets and existing open spaces
Securing safe access for all to streets and open spaces
Suburban homes with gardens - is a great opportunity to grow food and encourage wildlife through 'greening ' your own garden
Help spreading the word and raising awareness.
Possible actions for:
Tenants/residents groups - adopt and improve environmental problems in a street.
Schools - many have made a garden and wildlife area in the school grounds.
Community environment groups - forming a 'Friends of the Local Park ' group.
An A to Z of issues and actions that can be taken for the local environment can be found in the full report. This includes plans for playgrounds, church yards, streams and rivers etc.
Getting around - Improving mobility and access
The UK is badly in need of an integrated and sustainable transport policy to reduce environmental impacts such as air pollution and provide a safer and better quality of life for rural and urban areas.
Access to transport is essential for the health of local communities. For example, it enables access to employment opportunities, to shops, banking facilities and health services, fresh and affordable food, recreation and leisure.
A role for everyone
Whilst transport is a huge issue to tackle, local people and groups within the community can help by:
Working with the council on awareness campaigns connected to travel
Help support initiatives by schools to set up Safe Routes to School
Comment on council schemes. Different perspectives from a range of users are important
Raise awareness within the local community for provision of secure cycle parking facilities.
An A to Z of issues and actions that can be taken to tackle the problem of transport and pollution can be found in the full report. This includes issues such as air pollution, bike facilities, car-sharing schemes, home zones and parking etc.
Possible actions:
Support public transport by using it.
Reduce unnecessary car use - use public transport, bike or walk where possible. Double up on car journeys rather than making separate trips (e.g. combine a trip to the shops with a visit to a friend).
Share your car journey to work if possible.
School car run - take it in turns with other parents to collect children from schools.
Support local shops and services/ by reducing the distance you have to travel by using local services.
Creating a flourishing local economy
Without a strong economic base and flourishing local economy, people 's needs may not be met, affecting their well-being and causing poverty and social exclusion to increase.
Local economic development strategies should aim to provide rewarding and fulfilling work for local people (with particular emphasis on disadvantaged or excluded groups), meeting local needs and minimising environmental damage.
Access to finance for the local community
Communities have increasingly suffered from financial exclusion when the traditional banking system has refused personal and business customers access to mainstream services. The decline of local branch banking has contributed further. Ensuring that a range of financial and economic services are available to individuals, social entrepreneurs and small businesses at the neighbourhood level has become a key issue in tackling social exclusion and achieving urban renewal.
How can you stimulate the economy?
Ideas include:
Identifying the potential for Community Centres to make use of their assets, rooms and other facilities for small business start up
Community groups might become involved in the development and management of street markets
Regeneration agencies might be encouraged to support the development of green businesses
Tenant and resident associations might develop and run Credit Unions, and Local Exchange Trading Schemes
Gardening groups might be encouraged to explore local food production, perhaps with support from local supermarkets.
An A to Z of issues and possible actions can be found in the full report.
Possible actions
Many activities to improve the local environment like recycling and growing vegetables will stimulate the local economy by providing jobs and training opportunities. Rural economies though have suffered recently through BSE and Foot and Mouth, and need to explore new forms of income generation otherwise the trend of rural communities becoming dormitories for nearby towns will intensify.
Regional Development Agencies must have an important role to play here, along with DEFRA itself.
Last update: Thursday, July 26, 2007