Social sustainability mapping for Castle Vale, Birmingham Social Life July 2016 Introduction Social Life was commissioned by Castle Vale social amenities, systems for citizen engagement creating new places. We call this our “social Community Housing to map selected indicators and space for people and places to evolve”.1 sustainability framework”, it was frst published from Social Life’s Community Dynamics data for in our report “Design for Social Sustainability”. Social Life has developed a framework for the Castle Vale Estate and surrounding area. The understanding how places thrive. This is based Social sustainability is often overlooked within aim was to help understand the impact of over 20 on a review of the evidence from the UK the sustainability feld and is largely neglected in years of investment in the area, and to feed into and internationally about what makes places mainstream debates. Past experience shows that work to develop future prioirities for the Estate. succeed or fail. The framework came out of a the long-term social needs of new communities are This report project originally commissioned by the Homes often downplayed in the drive to deliver housing on and Communities Agency, to infuence how a large scale. Without the right social infrastructure This report includes maps of data predicting levels built environment professionals think about new communities can quickly spiral into decline. of residents’ sense of belonging, and the strength of local social relationships in Castle Vale. Figure 1: Social Life’s social sustainability framework These factors have been selected from Social Life’s Community Dynamics data. This reveals Voice & Infuence Amenit aspects of social sustainability giving fresh per- ies Residents’ ability & willingness & e S to take action to shape the spectives on the residents and communities liv- c oc n ia local environment; governance ing on the Estate and in the surrounding area. e l lu structures to represent f In n f residents & engage them in The data is predictive, it shows expected levels of I r a shaping local decisions. & belonging and the strength of local relationships. s e t r c i u Amenities & Social Our aim was to explore how this kind of data can o c Infrastructure t V u Amenities & support services be used to support future decision making, and r e for individuals & communities: community engagement, in the Castle Vale area. schools, social spaces, transport & community Social Life’s social sustainability framework workers. e Social Sustainability is defned by Social Life as f i Social & Cultural Life L “a process for creating sustainable, successful S l Sense of belonging, wellbeing, places that promote wellbeing, by understanding p a community cohesion, safety, a r relationships with neighbours & what people need from the places they live and c u e t local networks. l work. Social sustainability combines design of the t u o C physical realm with design of the social world – G Space to grow r & infrastructure to support social and cultural life, o l Flexible planning; housing, w ia c services & infrastructure o S that can adapt over time; meanshile use of buildings & public space. 1 Saffron Woodcract et al (2012) “Design for social sustainability: a framework for creating thriving new communities” Social Life 2 for more on Area Classications see https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/geography/geographicalproducts/areaclassifcations/2011areaclassifcatio LSOAThe data Hounslow 012C : Resilience and wellbeing profile The UK is rich in data from different surveys that The sample sizes of these surveys are not large Belonging explore how people feel about the neighbourhoods enough to disaggregate responses directly to small they live in. ONS (the Offce of National local areas. However, we can match this data to The ‘belonging’ data has been created by Statistics) have created “Area Classifcations” small areas using ONS’s Area Classifcations 2015. combining responses to the following questions which enable us to map survey data to output from the Understanding Society Survey: This enables us to see how residents of small areas (when it is appropriately coded).2 areas are likely to feel. This is predictive data, “[Do you agree or disagree that] I feel We have looked at national surveys held by not a robust portrait of the neighbourhood. like I belong to this neighbourhood?” government and research councils - including the “[Do you agree or disagree that] I plan to Local relationships Understanding Society Survey, the Community remain resident of this neighbourhood Life survey, the Crime Survey England and The “local relationships” data has been created by for a number of years?” Wales - and extracted questions that shed light combining responses to the following questions,: on the social sustainability of small areas. “[Do you agree or disagree that] People in this This predictive data can be useful in itself to neighbourhood pull together to improve the Data sources inform planning and design of schemes and neighbourhood?” (Community Life Survey) Understanding Society Survey: University of Essex. projects. It also potentially allows us to compare “[Do you agree or disagree that] The Institute for Social and Economic Research,NatCen actual data about residents’ perceptions to this friendships and associations I have with other Social Research. (2014). Understanding Society: prediction, giving us an assessment of how well people in my neighbourhood mean a lot to Waves 1-4, 2009-2013: Special Licence Access. the area is faring compared to similar places. me?” (Understanding Society Survey) [data collection]. 4th Edition. UK Data Service. SN: 6931, https://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/ Mapping Community Dynamics in “[Do you agree or disagree that] I borrow catalogue/?sn=6931&type=data%20catalogue Castle Vale things and exchange favours with my The predictive data mapped in this document neighbours?” (Understanding Society Survey) Community Life Survey: Cabinet Offce. (2015). focuses on two important areas within Social Community Life Survey, 2014-2015: Special Licence “[Do you agree or disagree that] I regularly stop Life’s Social Sustainability framework: residents Access. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: and talk with people in my neighbourhood?” sense of belonging and their local relationships 7837, https://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/ (Understanding Society Survey) with friends and neighbours. These are both catalogue/?sn=7837&type=data%20catalogue important elements of the “Social & Cultural “[Do you agree or disagree that] I would be willing to life” dimension of the framework. work together with others on something to improve my neighbourhood?” (Understanding Society Survey) The underlying data comes from two national surveys: the Understanding Society Survey and the “[Do you agree or disagree that] If I needed advice Community Life Survey. These all ask questions about about something I could go to someone in my residents’ perceptions of the places they live in. neighbourhood?” (Understanding Society Survey) LSOAWhat Hounslow the data tells 012C us : Resilience and wellbeing profile The Castle Vale Estate was built in the 1960s. Research into residents’ perceptions and Unusually for the time, 30 per cent of homes experiences is needed to cooroborate this data, were for sale. Although popular in its early to see whether predicted levels of belonging and days, by the 1980s and 1990s social problems local social relationships match the reality of had proflerated. In response, in 1993 a Housing local experiences. This could be carried out in a Action Trust (or HAT) was set up, beginning a number of ways, through a structured face to face programme of selective demolition and housing survey, or through less formal conversations. improvements. Linked to this, a number of of One of the strengths of this approach is that it projects and initiatives were set up to improve isolates the different aspects of what is often health, reduce crime and increase employment. called “a sense of community”. This can mean The HAT was wound up in 2003 and management very different things in different contexts and is passed to Castle Vale Community Housing a phrase that can often generate more confusion and a Neighbourhood Partnership Board. than clarity. By separating out “belonging” from “local relationships” we can look at different The Estate has received substantial investment aspects of residents’ perceptions of community. in phsyical and social infrastructure for the last 20 years. It is often held up as the poster child of Other Community Dynamics indicators about the HAT-era of housing-led regeneration policy. residents sense of infuence and willingness to act, their fear of crime, and their wellbeing The Castle Vale Estate 1983, from Birmingham Vale What does the predictive data say? could also be mapped and analysed. Levels of belonging on the Estate are likley to be both lower than the national and Birmingham averages. Residents living in the More information about Social Life’s use of east and west of the estate are likley to have national survey data to predit community a higher sense of belonging than the middle of dynamics is in the 2016 Social Life the estate, close to the national average. report Understanding Local Areas. Local social relationships are also lower than average, with residents living at the east and west ends of the estate being likley to have stronger local relationships. However local social relatoinships are not likely to be as low as in many parts