How can a place-based community development model transform an urban context?

Context

Over the last decade, the community of Earlsfield, London has worked together to transform the social, spiritual, and environmental landscape of their suburb. Drawing on the expertise of many passionate and skilled leaders, the community has created a community garden, cozy cafe, food bank, and several thriving businesses. This project aimed to understand the underlying mechanisms and key components that have made this type of community transformation successful so that, if desired, leaders from other communities might be able to replicate this model. 

Research

We conducted 25 extensive interviews with key persons connected to Earlsfield’s place-based initiatives with an eye towards drawing out the main processes, values, design features, and contextual variables that contribute to this ecosystem. In synthesizing the interviews, we endeavored to identify and name the key qualities in a generalizable manner which, in turn, allowed us to develop a model of community transformation.  Place-based community development is designed in response to the place – its unique needs, gifts, challenges, and physical environment. Thus, by describing a model rather than naming specific initiatives or leaders, other communities can start to use the research to think about how they might apply the same principles to their location.

Deliverable

The final report – presented in an easily shared, magazine format –  sought to describe features of selected initiatives as examples of key principles rather than focus on the initiatives themselves. The same was true of leadership: we drew out leader traits and skills that promoted the development and maintenance of the ecosystem rather than highlight the contributions of named leaders. Alongside these findings, we offered sidebar commentary, meant to draw out why the finding stood out as especially important. We also posed questions for the community leaders to consider as they read the findings. This report, then, helped local leaders see their own processes more clearly, offered a compelling example of community transformation that might inspire other leaders, and identified key components other leaders might foster in their own communities.