Can the Big Society cut it in an age of austerity?
There is fairly widespread confirmation of the fear that the new austerity measures will make realising the best of the Big Society agenda practically unworkable.
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Putting the innovation into the high street
4th April 2012 By Chris Wade
There is still a chance to salvage much of the legacy of the Portas Review, by linking the distribution of the £10million High Street Innovations Fund; to exactly what it suggests: genuine and transferable High Street innovation.
Stripping away the spin about Big Society Capital
4th April 2012 By Toby Blume
Perhaps spending £400m on building the market for social investment is a good idea. But we don’t need to blithely accept that this is the only way this money could be used. It could have been used to support the thousands (hundreds of thousdands?) of charities and community groups that have seen their funding cut as a result of spending cuts.
Book review: Architecture of Regionalism in the Age of Globalization
3rd April 2012 By Simon Adderley
Where the book succeeds it does so brilliantly. As a thought experiment, as a way of understanding the debates around regionalism and globalisation, as a way of seeing how easily regionalism can slip into other current zeitgeists (nationalism in the 19th century and environmentalism today), as a framework for questioning the very nature of what is a region, in all of these ways the book works extremely well.
A community development approach to neighbourhood improvement
30th March 2012 By Kirby Swales
Much of the old architecture for helping disadvantaged neighbourhoods has disappeared and there has been a big debate in the sector about the government’s strategy for regeneration.
Loneliness and isolation: stark meaning in so little words
30th March 2012 By Diarmaid Lawlor
Efficiency without love creates the conditions for loneliness and isolation. This a form of robbery of the right to be a child. In the long term, it robs the person of the capacity to be, and to flourish. In the long term, this is a public cost.
How new is your Agora?
28th March 2012 By Kevin Lloyd
If one goes into glass half full mode for a moment, suspends disbelief and conjures up at least some cash to make a reality of it; there is something refreshing about a locally driven, collective, planned response which emphasises civic roles and people as citizens not just consumers.
European funding and a distinct lack of localism
27th March 2012 By Richard Caulfield
Money brought into the country due to deprivation in areas such as the north west can be spent anywhere within England. This means a staggering €756m (last programme figure) could be diverted from the NW and spent in affluent parts of the south east if the government believed that would generate the growth it desires.
What’s the problem with regional pay?
26th March 2012 By Nancy Kelley
The government is arguing that when the public sector pays women more than the private sector it’s not only a problem, but a problem requiring intervention. What if the public sector is just paying its women employees a fair wage?
Celeb-regeneration? Get me out of here
26th March 2012 By John Houghton
Any attempt to tackle deprivation and create better places should be focused on harnessing and strengthening the skills and capacity of local people. They’re the real stars of the show, and they’ll still be there when the cameras are off.
