Penge Parks & People
Why
The Penge Parks & People project grew out of a set of coinciding events; the requirement of a community wide response to the targeted investment from the London Borough of Bromley in three of Penge’s ‘neglected’ small green spaces; the election of a new UK government promoting its ‘Big Society’ idea; the need of the local parks community umbrella organisation, ‘Penge Parks’ to cultivate a strategy, diverse volunteer network and sustainable framework for the future in regard to the improvements and ongoing development of the facilities and activities in the three parks in question.
In response to the heated Public Consultation meeting about the council’s proposed schemes, and following the brief of Penge Parks, the project aimed to creatively find out what marginalised user groups wanted and needed from their parks, what they thought about the council’s proposals, and how Penge Parks could create the ‘stepping stones’ to greater community involvement in the parks’ future. The wider objective of the process examined the usefulness and credibility of participatory design techniques in the facilitation of community groups and networks supporting greater management of local facilities and services.
How
Having experienced the efficacy of participatory design techniques as a student mentor with the Joinedupdesign programme with the Sorrell Foundation and inspired by work of organisations such as Thinkpublic, the dominant methodology employed was participatory design, specifically, 3 co-design workshops with participatory activities tailored to the abilities and interests of the 3 target user groups (older people, parents and children and young people) in the 3 parks. Some co-design tools (‘ideas dice’, ‘future news’, ‘through the eyes of’) were adapted with advice from Thinkpublic, and some (‘treasure hunt’, drawing games) were developed from scratch for this project, as a way of exploring and responding to the space in a new way.
When
The programme of workshops ran throughout summer 2010, with 3 workshops (‘Tea and Cakes in the park’ in Winsford Gardens; ‘Treasure hunt and games’ in Penge Rec; ‘Young Peoples Fun Day’ in Betts Park) taking place in the parks themselves, alongside an open online survey and selected interviews. All results were finally presented to Penge Parks, Local Authority representatives and community groups in early September at their committee meeting.
Who
The Co-design workshops in the parks succeeded in reaching out to marginalised user groups in the community in ways that inspired participants where conventional techniques had failed to engage. The bespoke activities and events gave voice to a plethora of innovations and subtle commentary from young people, older people, parents and young children in Penge. The project itself regenerated local interest in the parks and demonstrated the potential of the community to imagine and effect positive change. For Penge Parks the project provided a wealth of locally sourced ideas to build their framework for the future, and insights to facilitate volunteering adapted to Penge’s distinct identity and diversity of lifestyles. For the Local Authority the project delivered a focussed and comprehensive commentary on their proposals, an alternative view of consultation itself and a positive vision of how residents saw the parks’ role developing.
What
As well as the outcomes delivered for core clients and end users, an analysis of the project techniques was documented in experiential format, allowing the reader to take a journey into the project and experience for themselves the positive and disruptive effects of active participation.
For further information and to read the full report in experiential ‘pop-up’ format please do not hesitate to contact: alisonmasters@hotmail.com
