Measuring Impact - Nicva
Measuring Impact - Nicva
Measuring Impact - Nicva
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Assessing the impact of regeneration projects 31<br />
5.3.3 Social capital,local residents and community involvement<br />
A range of respondents felt that the Lansbury Festival offered a new arena for, and resulted<br />
in, social interaction. The very nature of the events meant that there was a mixture of both<br />
bonding and bridging social capital, with people who would not normally mix coming<br />
together to get involved in the festival. Sometimes the projects contributed towards the<br />
breaking down of barriers, helping people to feel able to mix. This was also the case with the<br />
Racial Tolerance football tournament.<br />
“When we first went on the estates, the kids from Teviot wouldn’t go to Aberfeldy, and<br />
the kids from Aberfeldy wouldn’t go to Teviot, and there was a bit of territorial<br />
warfare. But the good thing about the football tournaments was the kids were actually<br />
coming across and getting involved with tournaments on opposite estates.”<br />
– Member of staff, Leyton Orient Football Club (Racial Tolerance project)<br />
“A whole range of people got involved – older people, young people, very young<br />
people, Bengali people, and it’s because we had a good facilitator who knew how to<br />
work with different groups.”<br />
– Member of staff, Leaside Regeneration Ltd (on the Lansbury Festival)<br />
“After the festival there was much less segregation.”<br />
– Member of staff, London Development Agency (on the Lansbury Festival)<br />
These findings complement recent work on social capital by Robert Putnam, which shows that<br />
people are becoming disconnected from neighbours, family friends and their communities.<br />
Linking social capital also resulted from the Lansbury Festival, as it provided an opportunity<br />
for local residents to have their voices heard by local and central government. Similarly, Lea<br />
Rivers Trust ensures that it engages local young people in their decision-making and planning<br />
process, giving them an opportunity to have their views heard.<br />
“There was an open debate at the architectural conference and anybody could get up<br />
and speak, so you had renowned architects standing up and saying what they thought<br />
of the estate and then you had residents standing up and saying what they thought.”<br />
– Member of staff, Leaside Regeneration Ltd. (on the Lansbury Festival)<br />
There was a strong feeling that one impact of the projects, in particular the Lansbury Festival,<br />
was to mobilise and activate local residents, many of whom would not normally get involved<br />
in local issues. However, it should be noted that respondents tended to be realistic about the<br />
impact on local residents and the community. For example, only a relatively small percentage<br />
of local residents actually got involved in the Lansbury Festival. There is clearly a long-term<br />
impact resulting from the involvement of local residents. Residents getting involved in football<br />
coaching for example will increase the likelihood that the football league programme will<br />
be sustained after the funding runs out.