A Community Economy? Joseph W. Hampson January 2011

1 STOKES CROFT- A COMMUNITY ECONOMY? JOSEPH W. HAMPSON JANUARY 2011 “Presented as part of, and in accordance with, the requirements for the Final Degree of B.Sc. at the University of Bristol, School of Geographical Sciences, January 2011. 2 Abstract This dissertation aims to engage the reader with the area of Stokes Croft and the project of the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC). I used an Action-Research based approach to work with and study the PRSC as an organisation, investigating their model of community development. Having situated Stokes Croft and the PRSC alongside relevant literature, my analysis will focus on telling the story of the PRSC in relation to Gibson- Grahams theory of the community-economy. I will use a range of sources to help elaborate their unique take on defining and developing the ‘community’ before looking at Coalition policy. By examining policy rhetoric I help to discern what the future may hold for this organisation. Total word count: 12, 832 Words in tables (figs 1.2- 58, 1.8- 218, 4.1- 99 & 4.4- 667): 1,042 References in brackets in text: 288 Final word count: 11, 502 3 School of Geographical Sciences CERTIFICATION OF OWNERSHIP OF THE COPYRIGHT IN A TYPESCRIPT OR MANUSCRIPT Dissertation presented as part of, and in accordance with, the requirements for the Final Degree of B.Sc at the University of Bristol, School of Geographical Sciences. I hereby assert that I own exclusive copyright in the item named below. I give permission to the University of Bristol Library to add this item to its stock and to make it available for use and re-copying by its readers. AUTHOR Joseph Hampson TITLE Stokes Croft- A Community Economy? DATE OF 18/01/2011 SUBMISSION Signed: ………………................................................................................................. Full name: Joseph William Hampson ………………................................................................................................. Date: 18/01/2011 ………………................................................................................................ 4 Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank Maria Fannin for her interest and help in theorising and completing this project. I would also like to thank everyone at the PRSC, particularly Chris, Jake, Rich and Jamie. To all my family and friends who have read drafts and generally supported me, I owe you everything. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................................................4 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, TABLES AND MAPS ....................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................7 AN INTRODUCTION TO STOKES CROFT .............................................................................................................8 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PRSC...................................................................................................................13 LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................................................17 CULTURAL QUARTERS .....................................................................................................................................17 GENTRIFICATION ..............................................................................................................................................20 CONTEMPORARY GENTRIFICATION IN STOKES CROFT...................................................................................21 THEORISING ‘COMMUNITY’ .............................................................................................................................22 METHODOLOGY AND POSITIONALITY................................................................................................24 WHY ACTION RESEARCH?...............................................................................................................................25 ACTION RESEARCH IN GEOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................26 MY PARTICIPATORY PROJECT .........................................................................................................................26 ANALYSIS..........................................................................................................................................................28 THE COMMUNITY-ECONOMY ..........................................................................................................................28 COMMUNITY- ECONOMY- THEORY AND PRACTICE........................................................................................31 STOKES CROFT- A COMMUNITY ECONOMY?..................................................................................................32 1. What is necessary to personal and social survival?........................................................................32 Necessity in the work and ethos of the PRSC............................................................................................33 2. The appropriation and distribution of social surplus......................................................................35 Social surplus in the work and ethos of the PRSC....................................................................................36 3. The production and consumption of social surplus.........................................................................38 Consumption of social surplus in the work and ethos of the PRSC.........................................................39 4. The production and sustaining of a commons..................................................................................40 The commons of Stokes Croft in the work of the PRSC............................................................................42 COALITION POLICY ..........................................................................................................................................45 CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................................................48 LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH..............................................................................................49 BIBLIOGRAPHY:.............................................................................................................................................51 APPENDIX..........................................................................................................................................................59 6 List of Illustrations, tables and maps page Figure 1.1: Jamaica St. Corner, Stokes Croft 7 Figure 1.2: Table to summarise Deprivation Statistics for St. Pauls (2007) 8 Figure 1.3: Map of Stokes Croft including Conservation Area Boundaries 9 Figure 1.4: A view up Stokes Croft Road 10 Figure 1.5: Pieces on Hillgrove Street 12 Figure 1.6: Practice Wall in the newly built PRSC workers yard 14 Figure 1.7: Jamaica Street Outdoor Gallery, PRSC HQ and Jamaica Street Studios 15 Figure 1.8: Table to summarise the work of the PRSC in 2009/10 16 Figure 2.1: Stokes Croft- Britain in Bloom Winner 19 Figure 4.1: Gibson-Grahams Diverse Economy 30 Figure 4.2: Stokes Croft China and the reallocation of profit 34 Figure 4.3: No Tesco in Stokes Croft Mural 43 Figure 4.4: Table to summarise the policies contained in the Localism Bill 46-48 and the Conservative Party Green Paper on Returning Power to Local Communities 7 Introduction Figure 1.1: Jamaica St. Corner, Stokes Croft This dissertation aims to engage the reader with the area of Stokes Croft and the project of the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC). I used an Action-Research based approach to work with and study the PRSC as an organisation, investigating their model of community development. Having situated Stokes Croft and the PRSC alongside relevant literature, my analysis will focus on telling the story of the PRSC in relation to Gibson- Graham’s theory of the community-economy. I will use a range of sources to help elaborate their unique take on defining and developing the ‘community’ before looking at Coalition policy. By examining policy rhetoric I will help to discern what the future may hold for this organisation. 8 An Introduction to Stokes Croft In this section I introduce the literally and metaphorically colourful area of Stokes Croft. I will begin by painting the reader the stereotypical picture of the Stokes Croft urban environment that I was subjected to upon my arrival in Bristol. I will then contrast this picture with my own experiences of Stokes Croft in an attempt to re-shape this overly negative image of this area. Stokes Croft is officially recognised as part of St. Pauls, a Lower Super Output Area 1 in Bristol with an index of multiple deprivation at 60.98, 815th most deprived of 35,482 nationwide and the 13th most deprived in Bristol out of 252 (BCC 2007). Figure 1.2 below summarises some key statistics from the 2007 Deprivation in Bristol Report for St. Pauls. (BCC 2007) Figure 1.2 Statistic Figure Bristol Rank National Rank Index of Multiple Deprivation 60.98 (IMD Score) 13 815 % of people experiencing Income 50.2% 2 532 Deprivation % of work age people experiencing 23.9% 12 1474 employment deprivation Health deprivation and

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