Building for change: the architecture of neighbourhood transformation

Reflections on our summer Footworking event (24th June, 2025) , by Naomi Rubbra

"I have a very simple proposition for the audience and stakeholders in the room. How would it feel differently if [where you live] you and the people around you truly believed you owned the land that you stood on? How differently would they behave and belong in that space?" Paulette Singer, 'Our Yard' at Clitterhouse Farm

Stories. Provocations. Laughter. Joy. 90 minutes flew by, with more than 50 curious humans meeting unlikely allies across architecture, community organising, housing, engineering, and design.

Image by Natalie Sloan

We heard what it takes to build local change. We heard how community innovators and industry practitioners are creating a new architecture for neighbourhood transformation – done differently and ‘together’. We heard bold visions and provocations for what’s now needed, to shift our practices at scale.

We also heard how:

"it is really hard to do the imaginative work when we're cleaning toilets and chasing rats everyday." James Turner, The Beeches Collective

There were reminders:

• Trust is infrastructure. Without it, nothing happens.

• Relationships take time – that is the work.

• Doing ‘on behalf of’ is better than doing ‘to’. Doing ‘with’ is better still.

• Developers typically build units, not homes or communities. Community asset development shifts numbers to meaning, and output to long-term value that strengthens social capital.

We need to call time on ‘co-design’ as tokenistic engagement. There’s a collective case for slower processes, deeper listening, and relationships with local community innovators that can hold the weight of real change.

Huge thanks to everyone who came, contributed and lingered in conversation long after our contributors wrapped up. Especially grateful to Tim Oshodi (Public Health Parks Trust), James Turner (The Beeches Collective), Paulette Singer (Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm), Wongani Mwanza (Transition by Design), Sarah Castle (If_Do), Paul Clark (Stories) and James Binning (Common Treasures) for bringing so much to the evening, and to WSP for supporting the event.

Images by Natalie Sloan

---

This article was originally published on LinkedIn.