PLACE-MAKING

Creative space – a council's secret weapon

Integrating creative activities in place-making settings offers many benefits that align with council priorities, and helps address multiple challenges, says Tom Holley.

© SmLyubov/Shutterstock

There is great strength in sharing a place with someone. Modern life pushes strangers to inhabit the same spaces, which is a wonder and a challenge. Walking the same streets immediately gives people something in common with one another – but often that communal connection needs a helping hand.

Take Gerald, a North Kensington local for over 50 years. His adult children have been priced out of London, his wife has passed away, and the streets he knew have completely changed. Hoardings showing people that do not look like him hide developments that he and his neighbours could never afford. He feels disconnected from anyone or anything around him. He feels lonely.

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