Research: Community Consultation for Quality of Life
Project type: Multi-partner research project and code of practice
Project partners: University of Reading, Ulster University, Cardiff University, University of Edinburgh, Commonplace, Urban Symbiotics
Location: Reading, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh
Funder: UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council
Project outputs:
What was the project?
Community Consultation for Quality of Life (CCQOL) was a collaboration with the universities of Reading, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Ulster and Cambridge. It was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by Professor Flora Samuel. It aimed to develop a new, map-based model of community engagement that takes place both online and face-to-face across the UK.
The research was the largest study of its kind into consultation and engagement practices in the UK.
CCQOL used a map-based model of community consultation. It was built on the belief that creating maps of local assets is a good way to involve the local community in the co-development of local knowledge, which can help make arguments for future improvements and development.
It asked the local populations in Reading, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh to help create maps of their area, both in community spaces and online.
The project used the Quality of Life Framework as a way of identifying aspects of an area that are important to people’s quality of life.
National reports
The national reports from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales reflect on relevant policy and legislation in the four nations, assessing the state of play in community participation. They also draw out the findings from an urban room held in a city or town in each nation and make recommendations for improving community engagement across the built environment.
Key findings
- 69% of people (across the four cities) had never taken part in a planning consultation before.
- The main reason given for not taking part in planning consultations previously is that people had never been asked to (62%)
The research found that, across the UK, community consultation and engagement in the planning process is inconsistent and often inadequate.
Every nation in the UK is affected by poor consultation and engagement practices, making the planning process, at times, undemocratic.
But the research also highlighted that we are well-equipped with knowledge about how to do consultation and engagement well and that there is great enthusiasm for change.
We must now work collectively to bring about that change.