It's been a minute since we were celebrating the achievements of the My Place Pioneers in December, but in that time we've been working hard to take My Place to the next level. As part of this we are excited to officially share that a new chapter of My Place has begun in Woodberry Down...
Woodberry Down is one of Europe's largest single site regeneration projects - between 2009 and 2035 5,500 new homes will be built; the drastic changes taking place will have huge impacts on the lives of people living in Woodberry Down, in particular young people who will live with these changes for decades to come.
My Place have been commissioned by Notting Hill Genesis, Berkeley Homes and Hackney Council to train and employ local young people to find out what communities in Woodberry Down think about the regeneration, and to represent these voices with local decision makers to ensure that future development benefits everyone.
We have recruited 8 young people aged 13-17 to do this work - find out more about them on our Woodberry Down page. During August the new recruits took part in an intense training programme to prepare them to go out and speak to residents, including a zine making workshop with Social Life and an introduction to research methods with a PhD student from Kings College London. Check out some highlights below
Based on their personal experiences of living in Woodberry Down, the group have decided to conduct research into two topics: building maintenance and leisure. They are interested in understanding the different experiences of building maintenance among residents in Council, social and private housing, and how people feel about the provision of leisure activities in the local area, particularly teenagers and young adults.
Over the next few weeks the group will be using different methods including focus groups, interviews and surveys to gather data from residents about these issues. They will also be attending several local events, and building relationships with local stakeholders and decision makers so that their work can influence positive changes in Woodberry Down moving forward.
If you see us out and about in Woodberry Down, don’t be afraid to come and say hello and tell us about the changes you want to see. And stay tuned to our social media to see how the new recruits in Woodberry Down are getting on!