Embedding social integration principles in London’s changing regeneration landscape

Dr. Alex Prior

On 11 November the Social Integration and Regeneration Learning Network welcomed over 20 borough regeneration officers to its launch event. The theme of the event was two-fold: first we focused on understanding the changing regeneration landscape in London. Second, we focused on how regen officers can embed, in practice, principles of social integration (SI) into policy and infrastructure.

To guide us through the social integration and regeneration context in London were James Parkinson (Senior Programme Manager, Regeneration & Economic Development) and Janaki Mahadevan (Social Integration Manager) from the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Both speakers provided a comprehensive and convincing case for the relevance of regeneration, the built environment and social integration. They prompted a great deal of reflection on collaboration (between, and beyond, London boroughs), engaging the network in participatory approaches, and trying to embed these in the design of regeneration projects for social integration.

However, embedding social integration principles in the day to day practice of regeneration can prove tricky, especially in the complex context created by the Covid-19 pandemic. To kick off this conversation and offer some useful advice was Sarah Drummond, Service Designer and CEO of the We Are Snook design studio, who led the work on the GLA’s Social Integration Design Lab in 2018/19.

The lessons from the Design Lab show the importance of:

• bringing people together, working across teams and changing working cultures;
• co-production and continuous engagement with communities as part of the regeneration process;
• strategic leadership buy-in and support;
• commitment of resources;
• shifting the focus from delivery to impact.

In breakout rooms, the attendees discussed practical aspects of embedding social integration principles in policy and infrastructure. For example, one observed that this task is heavily reliant on physical places — and networks of people using these places — which has been particularly difficult during the Covid-19 pandemic.

To embed SI principles at project, policy and strategic level, participants highlighted specific ways in which the principles were interconnected, and relevant to regeneration:

Relationships

• Whilst different ways of working, such as cross team collaboration, became a necessity as a result of the pressures created by the pandemic on local authorities, there is a need to learn from that and reflect on how it can best support embedding social integration principles within the whole organisation.
• Connecting with the community about programming was described as essential from the outset of (re-)development initiatives so community needs are built into plans.
• Having specialists working alongside planning and regeneration teams was found to be a key example of relationship-building; for example, adult education specialists working alongside library regeneration teams.

Participation

• The question of “Who has participated during Covid-19?” merited further discussion, since maintaining connections with a wider group of citizens was described as vital to post-Covid recovery and regeneration.
• Given the lack of availability of ‘usual suspects’ for consultation during Covid-19, participants found that they were able to cast a wider net. These included younger age groups, local business owners affected by the pandemic, and headteachers who could, in turn, reach hundreds of families.
• Community engagement is not a one-off event, but a meaningful ongoing process of understanding local space and communities. Participants spoke of the need to understand and preserve what the community sees as their local identity as a central tenet of efforts.
• Participants highlighted the links between regeneration of housing estates and social integration. It was maintained that SI principles should be considered in all aspects of regeneration, from project incubation to delivery (with continued resident participation as a key factor).

Equality

• The participants had learned that recruiting into their own teams from a range of communities — and, in doing so, reflecting their own broader community — is a means of strengthening diverse relationships.
• The move to online working had opened up certain possibilities (attending more meetings, and with more diverse groups, colleagues and teams), though the participants missed face-to-face interactions.
• Rebuilding a Greener Hackney was cited as an example of the challenges local authorities faced in attempting to ‘bring the community along’ (which is a time-intensive process), while also needing to act quickly and decisively.

Questions were also raised about effective uses of existing community assets in planning regeneration projects. Whilst Covid-19 brought about significant financial pressures on both local authorities and on the communities they serve, the participants recommended further consideration of the sustainability of existing financial models supporting regeneration, which often follow established patterns (e.g. private sales funding the project). Organisations such as Future of London have held related discussions on post-Covid regeneration funding, with Community Infrastructure Levies and investment partners constituting possible options.

These events reinforce the value of discussion and knowledge exchange across different local authorities. The Social Integration and Regeneration Learning Network has already proved an invaluable forum for new ideas and projects, and discussing the application of social integration principles. To support this further we created an MS Teams platform where our network participants can engage with one another and continue the conversations covered in our formal events.

We have an exciting programme of future events ahead of us, building on the discussions within our introductory co-design workshop, held on 21 October, in which we co-produced our forward programme with some early input from event participants:

The Social Integration and Regeneration Learning Network will continue to provide updates on events, as well as blog posts summarising key findings from these events. We’re already looking forward to early December, when we will be running a workshop on community engagement and the most effective means of harnessing the ‘volunteering wave’.

We want to hear from you. Your inputs and shared experience across regeneration, community engagement and inclusion teams are central to our network exchange. Please sign up for the network here, tell us about your ongoing projects at (Teams link) and join the conversation.