I’m drawing on my experience of community development to consider six categories of community assets, and the fourth is physical resources and ecology. You can find the full list towards the end of my post, What Are Community Assets?
Of course, physical resources include buildings and I wrote about buildings as assets in the first of this sequence. So, I will not explore them further here. Let’s turn instead to …
Geomorphology
Land
This includes the shape of the land; its hillsides and plains. If you don’t believe this is important, consider the plight of those who are experiencing repeated flooding. Flooding is to do with the shape of the land and land use. This may have an impact on other areas. So, poor land use in one neighbourhood might lead to flooding in another.
The shape of the land determines its use. Its shape determines routes through the land and the positions of buildings. On hillsides, the larger houses will often face across the valley whilst poorer housing faces other houses along the hillside. The well-to-do get better views, often at one time over the industry they own in the valley below.
Parks and views enhance neighbourhood identity and attracts visitors. Good walks can bring people into an area and local businesses benefit from their presence. Sheffielders will tell you their city is built on seven hills. I’m not sure how many hills there are but certainly walking the city, there are always interesting views across the valleys.
Rivers and other waterways can often form a focal point for an area. Canals always have a bridal path alongside and rivers are often associated with walks. These are good for pedestrians and can link neighbourhoods together. Waterways are usually closely related to the industrial history and heritage of an area and I’ll look at this in more detail in a later post. Trying to track the course of a river and its tributaries can make for an interesting few hours, often leading into unfamiliar places at the back of the familiar.
Climate
Prevailing winds also decide the positions of housing. Industry is often found downwind of better housing.
Land use is central to so much of our experience of a neighbourhood. The layout of the roads may help movement around the neighbourhood. Impassable multi-lane roads can break up a neighbourhood or cut it off from other neighbourhoods.
Urban Environment
It may be worth looking at the significant buildings in your area. If significant buildings are close together maybe they form a focal area for your neighbourhood. Are there ways in which that area can be made more attractive to new enterprises or businesses?
Industrial areas can be a blessing and a blight. Older industrial areas can be a fascinating resource of vernacular architecture. Buildings erected before prefabrication often display ornate brick and stonework under the grime. But more recent business estates can be, well, boring.
Example of street art by Phlegm, by the River Don.
Street art, not to be confused with graffiti, enhances many disused buildings. Street art is often practised inside disused buildings and what we see from the streets is usually there by arrangement with the owners. Perhaps the most famous street artist is Bristol’s Banksy but in Sheffield we enjoy the works of artists including Phlegm, Kid Acne and Faunagraphic. Whilst most people don’t travel to view street art, it enhances appearance and so adds to that sense of community identity.
The second part of Julian Dobson’s book, “How to Save Our Town Centres”, looks in some detail at the various types of land use that can make up a healthy town centre. Much the same applies to any neighbourhood.
Ecology
Pollution
Another issue in industrial areas is pollution. Perhaps we think of pollution as immediate and indeed it can be quickly distributed by waterways or in the air. However, polluted land can be most pernicious. In effect it restricts possible uses of the land. Polluted ex-industrial areas cannot be used for housing and so where there were large-scale factory areas, there is little that can be done to return them to residential use.
A challenge many communities face is the uses they can make of the spaces between. Polluted land limits these uses and land ownership can be a real headache. However, it is possible for communities to do a great deal with determination and otherwise limited resources. A good example is Todmorden’s Incredible Edibles, where local people grow food in any spaces they can find.
Trees and Plants
Indeed with guerrilla gardening, it is possible to find fruit trees and the like springing up in unexpected places. Cuts to local government services means local authorities sometimes need unofficial help to maintain flowerbeds. Whether they appreciate it is another matter.
Another great amenity is wayside trees and in Sheffield at present there is a massive struggle between the local authority and residents determined to save Sheffield’s trees. Wayside trees have a massive impact on the health of residents, their value is not just in their appearance. Sheffield is one of the most tree-lined cities in the country. Unfortunately, the Council has entered into a PFI contract with a company that cuts down mature trees, replacing them with small trees that won’t get in the way of their equipment. Currently residents are contemplating challenging the Council in the courts.
Deregulation
The problem here, as with so many corporate activities, is they subscribe to a narrow understanding of economics. The narrow view seeks to maximise profit to shareholders by making activities as economic for the company as possible. You would think the Council’s role would be to represent the interests of all who have an economic interest in the area and not only the interests of a single company.
Whilst it seems many people agree that there should be less red tape and theoretically believe regulation is a bad thing. When confronted with specific examples of what regulation protects, they often see the value of it. The assets of any neighbourhood do not lie solely in the activities of businesses. Maintaining and supporting land use that may seem unproductive can bring other benefits in the long-term. It may be easier to argue for areas such as ancient woodland but the same is true of oases of green in primarily urban and industrial areas.
If the bureaucrats win the argument and cut down most of Sheffield’s trees for reasons of economic efficiency, they will have changed the character of the city forever. They close off possibilities for the future so that they can save a few pounds now. Indeed we don’t know what we’ve got till it’s gone.
If you keep your eyes open, you will find many examples in your place of good and bad management of local physical resources and ecology. Why not share them here?