Gill Davidson

‘On the Side of the Angels’: Community Involvement in the Governance of Neighbourhood Renewal

Community involvement in regeneration is far from easy, and is difficult to define. The New Deal for Communities programme has directly involved residents in the governance of neighbourhood renewal with some success. However, community capacity has proved to be limited, adequate representation is difficult to achieve and there has been friction with local government. Community empowerment has to be enabled and supported by getting the structures and processes right, and supporting community representatives.

Swimming against the tide: a study of a neighbourhood trying to rediscover its ‘reason for being’– the case of South Bank, Redcar and Cleveland.

Many of the programmes and initiatives to regenerate deprived neighbourhoods appear to have had limited lasting impact. It has been argued that one reason for this is that we still have little real understanding of the nature and scale of the problems some communities face (Bernt, 2009). This article attempts to add to our knowledge through close study of an area with multiple problems and a history of failed regeneration attempts. An in-depth case study, undertaken to explore the current situation and future prospects of South Bank, a small neighbourhood in the North East of England, highlights transferable knowledge which may be applied to other regeneration areas. The analysis considers the nature and consequences of industrial decline; entrenched deprivation; the stigmatization of communities; the value of community consultation and the potential impact of retail-led regeneration. We question whether negative stigma attached to places can be changed and we ask what the future may hold for deprived communities now that public sector funding has largely dried up, and we consider an alternative approach: the potential impacts of private sector retail-led regeneration in the absence of public sector funding.

Analysing the Technical and Behavioural Shifts of Social Housing Tenants Following the Retrofitting of External Wall Insulation

Environmental, economic and social issues present local housing associations with many challenges in terms of management of their existing housing stock. Multiple problems arise from poorly insulated properties, and the twin foci of this research regards the performance of residential external wall insulation (EWI), and identifying the additional benefits that EWI provides to social housing tenants,, which are uncovered through means of behavioural and technical monitoring. The research process generated two sets of data points per household relating to the start and the end of the study and comparative analysis techniques are used to identify changes in user behaviours. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using survey methods that explored environmental knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and everyday behaviours with regard to energy consumption and use. Additional data capture involved temperature logging, meter reading, thermal imaging and the analysis of energy meter readings to monitor changes in usage in the pre and post stages of retrofitting EWI. The results of this study identify changes in the technical performance of the properties and benefits in the well-being and behaviour of the tenants.

Student Work Placements as a Focus for Building Partnerships Between Universities and Sustainable Development Stakeholders

The Department of Geography at Northumbria University has run a successful (and expanding) work placement module for a number of years now, which seeks to work with external partners and stakeholders to enhance employability of prospective graduates, and to contribute to the capacity of the partner organisations in terms of selected mini-projects. These are flexible in set up and execution, but with a required report output for the placement host, as well as a reflective portfolio for assessment of the students. A significant strand has been on sustainability projects, including green travel surveys, biodiversity mapping, marketing, and feasibility project research, working for instance with business parks, social enterprises and logistics companies. This paper reviews the key methods of engagement with these partner organisations, and the way that students are selected, placed, coached and assessed. It identifies some of the challenges and risks involved in the process, and critically explores how even small exploratory and applied projects can make a difference regarding engagement by a university department with external stakeholders at city/regional (and beyond) and societal level, and effectively foster understanding through a reflective process of student learning and assessment of the nature of environmental, social and economic challenges in promoting more sustainable practices in cities and societies.