Cooperative Placemaking

The idea of Placemaking began with architecture and urban planners, geographers, and those studying physical spaces. Very quickly however Placemaking became about people, how they behave and act in a place and how community-based placemaking through collective action makes and shapes environments and personal lives. The shift was from the idea of experts deciding what made a great place for people, to a recognition that people themselves can and must help to identify and decide this because they help to make ‘places’ anyway – it is their lived experience. 

In 2017 the CCIN launched its report From Co-operative Councils to Co-operative Places.  The report explores how Co-operative Councils have helped create the conditions for deeper collaboration with our communities and considers how successfully this has translated into new ways of working and, most importantly, into outcomes.  It provides a full and frank overview of the challenges facing Co-operative Councils in the future, and impresses the importance of moving to the next level in our journey.  If the Co-operative Council approach is to shape and influence the important national debates around devolution, inclusive growth and health and social care reform, the overriding message from the report is clear: as Co-operative Councils we need to be bold.

Suggested actions include:

• Develop a cooperative development strategy
• Establish a cooperative development network
• Commit to community engagement in local decision making including participatory budgeting
• Invest in local community production, particularly those focusing on community energy to tackle the climate emergency
• Promote the circular economy
• Actively support local enterprises to convert into coops/worker coops
• Have an Asset Transfer policy to manage land and assets which support Community Land Trusts