The Young Foundation, sponsored by HCA, IDeA and CIH, has developed a new website 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. 

This project is supported by the Homes & Communities Agency, the IDeA (Improvement and Development Agency for local government) and the Chartered Institute of Housing.

The website brings together a bank of case studies and draws on a series of seminars. Between April and June 2008, the Young Foundation hosted four seminars which brought together invited representatives from English Partnerships and other key agencies involved in delivering the government's housing targets. The seminars highlighted a variety of case studies - projects from the field of regeneration, and looked at the experiences of the agencies and residents involved. Each of the four seminars was informed by a framing paper:

Seminar one
28th April - Building participation in new developments – what is known from good practise and research? To download the framing paper please click here.

Seminar two
19th May - The tensions between aspirations and what people want – how can ways be found to negotiate solutions locally? To download the framing paper please click here.

Seminar three
2nd June - The link between environmental sustainability and participation – how can sustainable lifestyles and behaviour-change be encouraged in new housing developments and how does this link to participation? To download the framing paper please click here.

Seminar four
30th June – Constructing longer term stewardship and governance – through new mechanisms like community councils, neighbourhood charters, development trusts and different ways of generating income streams for community activity. To download the framing paper please click here.

To see pictures taken of the case studies involved in this project, click here