Title: Beckton Parks Community Vision
Date: 2022
Location: Newham, London, UK
Client: Street Space & Newham Council
Date: 2022
Location: Newham, London, UK
Client: Street Space & Newham Council
This project aimed to co-create a community-led vision for the future of Beckton Parks. With a huge space (36 hectares!), high levels of interest from local residents and pre-existing conflict around the recent closure of Newham City Farm Site - we devised a sensitive and open approach that focused on listening to and documenting a wide range of honest perspectives. This included launching an interactive online map and survey, hosting a pop-up roving hot chocolate bar, organising events in collaboration with local groups (yoga, collage workshops, martial arts, nature walks, litter picks and watercolour workshops), conducting interviews and even a field trip to inspirational places across London. We also hired Faith, a local young person, paid as part of our team!
To celebrate the ideas of local people we hosted a spring fete in collaboration with local groups to test ideas for the future LIVE within the park. Groups were supported to create their ideas, deliver them amongst their community and together learn about what works well for the future. Ideas were captured on camera using a 6ft red balloon from high in the sky - a rig created by a local youth group.
We complied everything we’d learnt in a ‘Playbook for the Future of Beckton Parks’ - a resource created and used by the community, council and future architects as a starting point from which future designs and engagement can emerge. The book was published publicly alongside a public exhibition within the parks and local libraries for everyone to see. This provided the first step towards the creation of the Beckton Parks Masterplan - which has now been approved as one of the most ambitious urban green space projects in London.
To celebrate the ideas of local people we hosted a spring fete in collaboration with local groups to test ideas for the future LIVE within the park. Groups were supported to create their ideas, deliver them amongst their community and together learn about what works well for the future. Ideas were captured on camera using a 6ft red balloon from high in the sky - a rig created by a local youth group.
We complied everything we’d learnt in a ‘Playbook for the Future of Beckton Parks’ - a resource created and used by the community, council and future architects as a starting point from which future designs and engagement can emerge. The book was published publicly alongside a public exhibition within the parks and local libraries for everyone to see. This provided the first step towards the creation of the Beckton Parks Masterplan - which has now been approved as one of the most ambitious urban green space projects in London.
