Demand for housing in the UK is still rising, however, the future of many house building progammes is now uncertain. Although much is known about what makes homes physically and environmentally sustainable, much less is known about the social aspects of what makes a community thrive. You can see our initial thoughts in the discussion paper Never Again, avoiding the mistakes of the past.

The Future Communities consortium explores the practical ways in which new and existing housing developments can succeed as places where people want to live. This is done by encouraging the right mix of social engagement, networks, mutual support, public institutions, leadership and shared identities, to make sure that communities in transition can thrive. The programme draws on local and international ideas from architects, designers, and the academic community. Have a look at the Future Communities blog to see some of the ongoing work and discussion.

Consortium members include the Homes and Communities Agency, LG Improvement & Development, Birmingham City Council, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Aylesbury Vale District Council. and Peabody Trust. International projects are also underway with the City of Malmö, Sweden, and Australia.

The Future Communities programme includes: individually tailored practical projects in communities to explore in more detail an area of particular interest to each consortium member, learning visits and a series of action learning seminars. Findings and lessons are shared through an ongoing programme of events, research papers and think pieces.  Key questions explored include:

• how to get the right balance of design and ‘incompleteness’ in new developments so that residents can play a shaping role
• how to cultivate social networks and relationships
• how to manage participation of existing and prospective residents in design and decisions
• how to cultivate identity and belonging, through activities, rituals and rhythms
• managing diversity and conflicts between different groups and interests
• lessons about leadership at different scales, from the neighbourhood up to whole developments
• exploring the link between participation and pro-environmental behaviour
• strengthening the relationships between key local stakeholders, including local authorities, health, police, transport agencies as well as housing providers and local voluntary and community sectors
• the location, governance and roles of key public institutions from primary schools to post offices
• physical design and conviviality (including the roles of pathways, lines of sight etc)
• the role to be played by other institutions, including local media, websites, exchanges and forums
• how to build income streams for long term maintenance of community facilities and activities, through endowments, development trusts, community land trusts etc
• how to incorporate these measures effectively and efficiently, building on both officer and community capabilities and strengths

The programme will run for three years and findings will be shared among the consortium partners and distributed to wider networks.  For more information about the consortium please contact Saffron Woodcraft, Neighbourhoods Programme Leader or Tricia Hackett, who is leading the local project work of Future Communities. 

Futurecommunties.net
In early 2009, the Young Foundation launched futurecommunties.net Sponsored by HCA, LG Improvement & Development and CIH, the site is aimed at everyone involved in building the successful sustainable communities of the future.

futurecommunities.net focuses on community participation and place management. It explores how new developments can become socially, economically and environmentally sustainable, building in resident involvement and engagement from the start.

The website draws on the stories and experiences of a range of practitioners from both England and further afield, drawing out lessons and inspiration for agencies and residents.

You can also follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/Future_Coms