Shaping our cities and urban spaces

Arts and humanities research is addressing the complex challenges facing communities

Introduction

Our cities, towns and urban areas are changing rapidly. Climate change, technological innovation, conflict, migration and COVID-19 are just a few of the factors driving urban communities to adapt.

Sustainable infrastructure and reliable communication networks are, of course, essential for future resilience, but a city is more than its built environment. To thrive, it requires strong, cohesive communities.

It’s for this reason that arts and humanities research has a vital role to play in ensuring that cities and urban areas are safe, inclusive and equitable, and that they best serve those who live in, migrate to, seek refuge in, flee from, commute to, or simply pass through them.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) Cities and Urban Environments portfolio supports and funds research that shines a light on how we can live in close community with one another. Its interdisciplinary work embeds a human-focused approach to issues such as health, sustainability, development, economic growth, services, and infrastructure.

Creative design processes, for example, bring innovation to buildings and infrastructures to create spaces that are healthier, more sustainable, and more efficient. Research into cultures and traditions helps ensure that development does not come at the cost of social cohesion. Art, music, theatre, film, and podcasts can give voice to more marginalised communities. And an understanding of a city’s history can protect its heritage for the future, making better use of cultural assets for social and economic benefit.

Read on to discover how AHRC-funded research is helping cities and urban environments create communities that can adapt to the many and complex challenges they face.

Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair, Arts and Humanities Research Council

Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair, Arts and Humanities Research Council

Social cohesion

View of the City Walls and St Columb’s Cathedral from the redeveloped residential area of Derry known as ‘The Bogside’. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

View of the City Walls and St Columb’s Cathedral from the redeveloped residential area of Derry known as ‘The Bogside’. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

Participants in digital fabrication/urban design workshop considering ways to repurpose heavy 1970s road infrastructure to aid community cohesion. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

Participants in digital fabrication/urban design workshop considering ways to repurpose heavy 1970s road infrastructure to aid community cohesion. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

Historical Urbanism exhibition at the Tower Museum in Derry, 2021. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

Historical Urbanism exhibition at the Tower Museum in Derry, 2021. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

Historical Urbanism exhibition at the Tower Museum in Derry, 2021. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

Historical Urbanism exhibition at the Tower Museum in Derry, 2021. Credit: Dr Adrian Grant, Ulster University

Social cohesion

Should urban design be influenced by recollections of the past? A project in Northern Ireland shows how listening to the power of collective memory can help plan the cities of the future.

From the erection of city walls in the 17th century to the construction of the Peace Bridge linking the unionist east to the nationalist west of the city in 2011, urban design has been at the centre of attempts to both divide and integrate the city of Derry/Londonderry for hundreds of years.

Now Derry’s turbulent history, particularly during The Troubles, is playing a role in its future. Using Derry as the focus of its research, Divided Pasts – Design Futures aims to show how harnessing social memory, history, cultural and architectural heritage can help provide urban design solutions that are more reflective of local communities and, in turn, address issues such as segregation, as well as sustainability and public health.

“Good urban design and regeneration projects should consider the needs and emotional connections of people who live in, and use, a space,” says principal investigator Dr Adrian Grant from Ulster University. “So, memories of people who have lived in a neighbourhood for their entire lives are a powerful resource for architects, planners and designers who want to improve cities; to make them safer, more liveable, and more sustainable.”

The team combined oral history interviews from current and former residents with archival research, mapping and digital design fabrication to gain an understanding of how Derry’s residents interacted with the changes to its built environment over time.

The project’s findings continue to inform a major urban regeneration project as part of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Urban Villages scheme aimed at developing thriving places by fostering positive communities. Research was also showcased at an interactive exhibition in the city’s Tower Museum, and used to help develop a prototype video-game that provides an immersive virtual experience of the impacts of historic urban regeneration.

“Our ultimate aim is to create a methodology for collaborative planning in other cities emerging from violent conflict,” says Dr Grant.

Urban regeneration

Urban regeneration

Can culture help ‘level up’ UK towns in need of support? A scoping project aims to highlight the vital role creativity and heritage can play in driving regeneration – particularly post-pandemic – in struggling urban communities.

In 2019, the Government identified 100 towns that qualified for additional support in four key areas: transport, broadband connectivity, skills, and culture. The latter three, in particular, are closely aligned. Culture – and the skills and digital connections necessary to develop, promote, and sustain it – help build the civic infrastructure needed to tackle urgent social and economic issues. Equally, a vibrant and diverse cultural life fosters a creative economy, attracts and retains the young people who can revive depleted town centres, and helps bring together communities.

Towns and the Cultural Economies of Recovery is exploring how best to underpin and drive culture’s role in the economic and social renewal of towns across the UK. “The case for regeneration in our towns has been radically strengthened by the ongoing crisis of COVID-19,” says principal investigator Professor Nicky Marsh from the University of Southampton. “The severe difficulties faced by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises – specifically in the cultural, creative and heritage industries – need to be addressed with new kinds of support and resources.”

The project brings together researchers in the humanities with specialists in social sciences, heritage and the creative industries to identify future research priorities that will enhance understanding of the contributions culture can make to the recovery and resilience of towns.

The team are using interventions to help towns respond innovatively to cultural and creative industries, such as #Futuremap of Boscombe, where children created a map of their town as they hoped it would be in 2050. “The workshops engaged children in conversations around the Towns Fund, local development and the future of their place, and demonstrated the rich possibilities of creative approaches for opening up fresh conversations and insights into place,” says Professor Marsh.

Hoardings advertise Bournemouth Arts Depot, a hub venue for the Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe (BEAF) festival. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

Hoardings advertise Bournemouth Arts Depot, a hub venue for the Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe (BEAF) festival. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

QR codes decorate the steps of Darlington's renovated Market Square. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

QR codes decorate the steps of Darlington's renovated Market Square. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

A vacant lot in the Maylord Shopping Centre in Hereford repurposed by Powerhouse, a non-profit Herefordshire Community Interest Community. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

A vacant lot in the Maylord Shopping Centre in Hereford repurposed by Powerhouse, a non-profit Herefordshire Community Interest Community. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

Futuremap of Boscombe, children created a map of their town as they hoped it would be in 2050. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

Futuremap of Boscombe, children created a map of their town as they hoped it would be in 2050. Credit: TCER Team 2021, University of Southampton

Community health and wellbeing

Compound housing example (working class) in Greater Accra, Ghana, part of the research observation study. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Compound housing example (working class) in Greater Accra, Ghana, part of the research observation study. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Co-design activity in co-creating cleaning practices with research community participants in Ghana. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Co-design activity in co-creating cleaning practices with research community participants in Ghana. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Participants engaging with workshop tools to co-design cleaning interventions. Large carton boxes representing furniture and small boxes representing the bacteria found across different homes following the microbiological analysis. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Participants engaging with workshop tools to co-design cleaning interventions. Large carton boxes representing furniture and small boxes representing the bacteria found across different homes following the microbiological analysis. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Photo of household cleaning observation sessions in Accra, Ghana part of the design ethnography. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Photo of household cleaning observation sessions in Accra, Ghana part of the design ethnography. Credit: Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, Lancaster University

Community health and wellbeing

Antimicrobial resistance is a global health crisis, so understanding the source of bacterial infections in built environments has never been more urgent. By combining design research with microbiology, a project in Ghana is exploring the impact of cleaning practices in the home.

Bacteria are building up resistance to drugs – changing to protect themselves against antibiotics. This means that in the not-too-distant future something as simple as a minor cut could become life-threatening. It’s a global problem but one that is even more critical in some developing countries, which already face larger numbers of death from infectious diseases.

Most surfaces in our homes are covered with bacteria but, unlike furniture and work surfaces, the bacteria on dust can move around different parts of a building. Dust Bunny aimed to develop a greater understanding of how household dust could be a source of bacterial infection by exploring hygiene practices across homes in Ghana.

“Dust Bunny uniquely combined design research and microbiology to provide an informed assessment of the cleaning practices of different communities and how this information could be used to help reduce future infections in the home and, as a result, reduce antimicrobial resistance,” explains principal investigator Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves from Lancaster University.

Workshops with members of local communities provided an insight into cleaning routines and beliefs surrounding cleanliness, enabling researchers to better understand interactions with airborne bacteria.

The project team also engaged local people in the co-design and dissemination of cleaning interventions. It developed a range of design research tools for collecting data on home hygiene and co-designing interventions with communities to reduce the spread of infections in buildings.

Seeing how quickly communities in Ghana have adopted the new cleaning practices that were designed with them, has shown us that as researchers we have a duty to design with rather than for people,” says Dr Tsekleves.

Climate change

Climate change

With rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency and severity of storm surges, coastal and estuarine cities are acutely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. A project in Hull is drawing on records of past flooding to help prepare the community for living with increasing risks from water.

Climate change means coastal and estuarine cities need to adapt to changing water and coastal systems. This doesn’t just mean developing physical defences through sea walls, but the building of resilience in communities that live alongside water.

Yet, engaging diverse communities with water challenges poses a significant problem for agencies and governments, with the most vulnerable often the least well informed about resilience actions. Risky Cities: Living with Water in an Uncertain Future Climate aims to raise awareness and increase preparedness for flooding among the residents of Hull, a city with a long history of water risks.

“Water is everywhere in Hull and its residents have long had to live with both the benefits and the risks of living next to the estuary,” says principal investigator Professor Briony McDonagh from the University of Hull. “But despite serious flooding in recent years, research has found that local residents have a low engagement with flood risks and adaptation measures, such as flood alert systems.”

The project draws upon historical records and the fictions of flooding – recorded in poetry, prose, and drama – to understand how the city has experienced and responded to the challenges of living with water in the past. These stories are being used as the foundations for engagement with present-day communities, such as On the Edge, a collaboration between the University of Hull and the National Youth Theatre, performed at COP 26, and FloodLights, a series of projections and soundscapes produced with Absolutely Cultured, which explore the city’s relationship to water.

Findings from the project will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of arts-based interventions, says Professor McDonagh. “Risky Cities will develop recommendations for arts and culture interventions that best engage communities with climate change in other cities and settings.”

Visitors enjoying Sinuous City - Part of FloodLights by Absolutely Cultured, in partnership with the Risky Cities project, Yorkshire Water and the Living With Water Partnership. Credit: Briony McDonagh, 2021

Visitors enjoying Sinuous City - Part of FloodLights by Absolutely Cultured, in partnership with the Risky Cities project, Yorkshire Water and the Living With Water Partnership. Credit: Briony McDonagh, 2021

Light projections on the Trinity House Academy for Overflow – Part of FloodLights by Absolutely Cultured, in partnership with the Risky Cities project, Yorkshire Water and the Living With Water Partnership. Credit: Briony McDonagh, 2021

Light projections on the Trinity House Academy for Overflow – Part of FloodLights by Absolutely Cultured, in partnership with the Risky Cities project, Yorkshire Water and the Living With Water Partnership. Credit: Briony McDonagh, 2021

Cast of On the Edge – By the National Youth Theatre in collaboration with the University of Hull. Credit: Ali Wright, 2021

Cast of On the Edge – By the National Youth Theatre in collaboration with the University of Hull. Credit: Ali Wright, 2021

Flyer for FloodLights – By Absolutely Cultured, in partnership with the Risky Cities project, Yorkshire Water and the Living With Water Partnership. Credit: Tom Stevens, 2021

Flyer for FloodLights – By Absolutely Cultured, in partnership with the Risky Cities project, Yorkshire Water and the Living With Water Partnership. Credit: Tom Stevens, 2021

Sustainability

Sustainability

In a low-carbon future, cities must develop a circular approach to waste disposal. A project in India is empowering low-paid ‘rag-pickers’ with the latest in design technology to help innovate safe and sustainable approaches to plastic recycling.

Recycling waste, particularly plastic, is a challenge for cities across the globe. In Mumbai – a city that produces 700 tons of plastic waste daily – around 80% of domestic refuse is processed in one area in Dharavi, known as the 13th Compound. Here, up to 250,000 rag-pickers supply a further 40,000 people working in grassroots recycling micro-enterprises, often operating in hazardous conditions.

Although these self-organised recycling systems play a vital role in the city’s waste recovery, the extremely poor workers that sustain them are largely undervalued and invisible to Mumbai’s wider society. Rethinking waste and the logics of disposability: Compound 13 Lab project aims to create a space for exploring new, safer ways to recycle plastic, and increase recognition of the skills and specialist knowledge of waste workers.

“Compound 13 Lab offers disadvantaged young people an experimental learning and maker space and access to the latest technology, such as 3D design, digital fabrication and media tools,” explains principal investigator Dr Benjamin Parry from Bath Spa University. “Using resources from Mumbai’s recycling industry, members are able to test and innovate with how plastics can be recycled, remanufactured and remade safely, reliably and creatively.”

A programme of workshops and residencies by artists, scientists, engineers and designers enabled emerging circular-economy technologies to be shared with those who would not normally have access to them, and a set of learning materials were developed (translated into Hindi, Marathi, and Tamil).

A new publication, Waste Work: the art of survival in Dharavi, describes how the lab uses hands-on approaches from art, design and media to raise questions and provoke debate about waste, work and sustainability, says Dr Parry. “Compound 13 Lab challenges public perceptions, advocating for the work of informal recyclers as essential and valued labour, and an important part of the city’s society.”

Rooftops of the recycling district are used to store waste plastic, as well as plastic which has been sorted, shredded and washed. The wet plastic is then spread out on flat roofs for drying before being sold on for processing into new consumer objects. Credit: Benjamin Parry.

Rooftops of the recycling district are used to store waste plastic, as well as plastic which has been sorted, shredded and washed. The wet plastic is then spread out on flat roofs for drying before being sold on for processing into new consumer objects. Credit: Benjamin Parry.

This shows a typical layout of a plastic sorting business, one of hundreds throughout Dharavi’s informal recycling centre. Plastic waste in sorted, disassembled and disaggregated by hand separated along a row of trays into individual polymers. Credit: Graham Jeffery.

This shows a typical layout of a plastic sorting business, one of hundreds throughout Dharavi’s informal recycling centre. Plastic waste in sorted, disassembled and disaggregated by hand separated along a row of trays into individual polymers. Credit: Graham Jeffery.

During his artist residency at Compound 13 Lab, Ian Dawson worked with young members, introducing 3D Printing via lidar scanning and photogrammetry to produce 3D head portraits, then integrated into plastic waste sculptures. Credit: Benjamin Parry.

During his artist residency at Compound 13 Lab, Ian Dawson worked with young members, introducing 3D Printing via lidar scanning and photogrammetry to produce 3D head portraits, then integrated into plastic waste sculptures. Credit: Benjamin Parry.

The Plastic Mahal (Palace of Plastic) is a temporary public sculpture and performance in the mode of a processional ritual that appears in various sites across city of Mumbai, raising awareness about the vital role and invisiblisation of informal waste workers. Credit: Mesh Lab screenshot, SFM Scan courtesy Ian Dawson.

The Plastic Mahal (Palace of Plastic) is a temporary public sculpture and performance in the mode of a processional ritual that appears in various sites across city of Mumbai, raising awareness about the vital role and invisiblisation of informal waste workers. Credit: Mesh Lab screenshot, SFM Scan courtesy Ian Dawson.

Community empowerment

Prototyping creative spaces at Bow Church, East London, to engage local communities on exploring and experiencing possible futures. Credit: Empowering Design Practices project, Open University

Prototyping creative spaces at Bow Church, East London, to engage local communities on exploring and experiencing possible futures. Credit: Empowering Design Practices project, Open University

A community group from Manchester working on the re-imagination of their Place of Worship as part of a two-day design training school. Credit: Empowering Design Practices project, Open University

A community group from Manchester working on the re-imagination of their Place of Worship as part of a two-day design training school. Credit: Empowering Design Practices project, Open University

Community empowerment

Places of worship have formed the centre of communities for generations but their sustainable development today is a complex challenge. A project in England explores how community-led design can move restoration beyond bricks and mortar, and once more place these historic buildings at the heart of a neighbourhood.

There are 14,800 listed places of worship across England and 6% of them are listed in the Historic England’s register of buildings at risk. It’s now widely acknowledged by bodies such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund that protecting these historic buildings requires more than just repairs and restorations to crumbling stone: they need to be made relevant to the communities in which they stand.

Empowering Design Practices explored how community-led design can help empower those who look after historic places of worship to create more open, vibrant and sustainable places that respect and enhance the heritage of their buildings.

“Although there is growing emphasis on long-term use of these buildings and recognition of the need to engage local communities, the processes that support and empower design practices and communities to come together to achieve these goals are not well established,” says principal investigator Professor Theodore Zamenopoulos from The Open University.

Through a program of design-led activities, the project brought together researchers, architects, community development professionals and heritage support officers, as well as local people, to develop new methods of engaging communities in co-design.

The project provided support and training to more than 460 people in over 55 communities across England. It empowered local groups to develop their design projects and access funding to help materialise them, for instance Cemetery Road Baptist Church in Sheffield was able to secure over £134,000 for repairs and making the building energy efficient.

Findings shared though educational resources on enabling community-based leadership in design are helping build momentum behind this type of collaborative design practice. “By balancing community services, heritage and religious purpose, community-based design can give historic places of worship a sustainable future,” says Professor Zamenopoulos.

Digital technology

Digital technology

In ‘smart’ cities, traditional networks are made more efficient with the use of digital solutions – but are these benefits available to all citizens? This project mapped the access of marginalised groups to technology and explored how smart cities could be more inclusive.

The latest ‘smart’ Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offer cities an opportunity to provide public services more efficiently while at the same time supporting sustainable growth – potentially addressing many of the economic, social and environmental challenges modern cities face.

However, the smart city agenda – often championed by big tech corporations and global city leaders – can have a homogenised, top-down approach that fails to address the different needs and challenges of more marginalised communities.

Whose Right to the Smart City? aimed to explore and address the impact of excluding marginalised communities from such initiatives. “Smart City projects very often not only fail to include more marginalised groups but also create patterns of exclusion,” explains principal investigator Professor Katharine S. Willis from the University of Plymouth. “From street traders in India, favela residents in Brazil and children in London, this project aimed to empower a whole range of marginalised groups in engaging with and challenging the smart city on ways that would lead to more inclusive smart city approaches.”

Working with partners at University College London, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) and Civic Action and Consumer Group (India), the project organised a series of workshops with members of the marginalised groups and policy makers in three cities; Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Chennai (India) and London (UK). This enabled researchers to map examples of ICT knowledge and marginalised urban contexts, and gain insights into how communities might have more agency in the changes driven by technology. “The project provided the first opportunity for many to raise their concerns about Smart Cities and have their needs acknowledged,” says Professor Willis.

Researchers created a platform where communities can access information about the impact of Smart City initiatives in their city. Findings also informed the Smart London plan, a major Smart City initiative that will lead to a more inclusive and participatory approach in the UK’s capital.

Fieldwork in a Street in T Nagar District, Chennai. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

Fieldwork in a Street in T Nagar District, Chennai. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

Visitors to the Hack the City event at Digital Design Weekend, Victoria and Albert Museum. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

Visitors to the Hack the City event at Digital Design Weekend, Victoria and Albert Museum. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

Stakeholders at Mapping Fieldwork workshop in T Nagar District, Chennai. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

Stakeholders at Mapping Fieldwork workshop in T Nagar District, Chennai. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

'We want bread and butter not smart city’ protest by National Hawkers Federation April 2016. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

'We want bread and butter not smart city’ protest by National Hawkers Federation April 2016. Credit: Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth

Inclusivity and equality

Workshop with young women in Delhi’s urban peripheries. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Workshop with young women in Delhi’s urban peripheries. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Still taken during the filming of Khadar ki Ladkiyan music video. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Still taken during the filming of Khadar ki Ladkiyan music video. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Still taken during the filming of Khadar ki Ladkiyan music video. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Still taken during the filming of Khadar ki Ladkiyan music video. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Stills taken during the filming of Khadar ki Ladkiyan music video. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Stills taken during the filming of Khadar ki Ladkiyan music video. Credit: Professor Ayona Datta, University College London

Inclusivity and equality

A city’s development - whether structural, technological or economic – can often overlook the needs of its marginalised communities. A project in Dehli examined the impact of smart city agendas on women’s safety – and how best to make their voices heard.

Women face challenges to their safety in cities across the globe, but these are often heightened for those living in informal settlements and other marginalised communities, particularly where access to technology is limited.

Gendering the Smart City worked with women living in slum resettlement colonies in Delhi’s urban edge to better understand how women on the margins view, understand and navigate the city through technology, and the impact of ‘smart city’ agendas on their safety.

Women participating in the project recorded their daily experiences of travel from home through the city, posting messages, images and videos through a WhatsApp diary. “These diaries revealed everyday challenges and concerns for women in the city, for example, job precarity, safety on public transport and poor transport infrastructures,” says principal investigator Professor Ayona Datta from University College London.

“Using WhatsApp brought to the forefront perspectives of marginalised women who are often unable to contribute time towards other research initiatives, such as interviews. It also highlighted how the growing use of smart technology in urban life can exclude certain members of the community, including those without access to smartphones and internet data.”

The project provided creative outlets for women to give voice to their experiences, including a rap song, Khadar Girls, written and performed by women living in a slum resettlement colony, an exhibition in Delhi’s Mandi House Metro Station presenting different perspectives of a digital age by young women living in Delhi’s urban peripheries, a short-animated film, Gendering Covid19 technologies in India, and a series of community podcasts.

“These co-created productions revealed the capacity for language to move beyond existing gendered data on violence against women and highlight gendered and socio-economic patterns of inclusions and exclusions brought about by a digital urban age,” says Professor Datta.

Conflict

Conflict

Conflict affects a city and its people in myriad ways – and the ripples continue long after the fighting has ceased. A project in Lebanon explored the impact of war on the electricity infrastructure in Beirut, documenting the accounts of residents and former fighters in a film that provides insights into how communities experience life after conflict.

The after-effects of the Lebanese Civil War are still keenly felt in Beirut more than 30 years after the conflict ended. The city experiences regular electrical outages, forcing people to invent new strategies to bring energy to homes and businesses, and new ways of living to adapt to the unstable supply. The legacy of past violence also looms over communities, where former fighters have been left to disappear into society.

Using interviews and observation , Following the Wires tracked the power cables that crosscut the city’s skyline to show how conflict can shape cities. “By focusing on electricity supplies, the project aimed to show how the disruption of services is not only the result of technical vulnerability but also reveals social, political and sectarian fragmentation caused by conflicts,” explains principal investigator Dr Daniele Rugo from Brunel University. “However, the more we looked at how the infrastructure worked as a weapon of war, the more we became interested in the people behind this: the fighters.”

The project team created a film, About a War, which documents the motivations, trauma and regrets of three men who fought for different parties in the war. As well as being shown at numerous sold-out screenings in both Lebanon and the UK, the film is being used as an educational tool, providing school pupils the opportunity to discuss a subject not covered in textbooks. For peacebuilding initiatives, it offers role models to young people at risk of becoming engaged in armed violence.

“The project not only helps articulate the demands of residents for improvements to services, but provides national and international organisations a deeper understanding of the everyday problems people face in post-conflict situations,” says Dr Rugo.

Electricity wires in Hamra, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Electricity wires in Hamra, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Electricity wires in Shatila refugee camp, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Electricity wires in Shatila refugee camp, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Electricity wires in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Electricity wires in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Electricity wires in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Electricity wires in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut. Credit: Dr Daniele Rugo, Brunel University

Heritage and culture

How and why do people develop emotional attachments to historic urban places? Credit: Professor Rebecca Madgin, University of Glasgow

How and why do people develop emotional attachments to historic urban places? Credit: Professor Rebecca Madgin, University of Glasgow

How do these attachments influence decision making within the urban environment? Credit: Professor Rebecca Madgin, University of Glasgow

How do these attachments influence decision making within the urban environment? Credit: Professor Rebecca Madgin, University of Glasgow

Heritage and culture

Historic urban places matter economically, environmentally and socially – but more than that, they matter emotionally. A project in Scotland is exploring the emotional attachments people have to places and how these can be considered in heritage management.

At a time when towns and cities are recovering from the impacts of COVID 19 it is even more important to recognise what is special and valued about these places. Why Does the Past Matter? Emotional Attachments to the Historic Urban Environment explored how and why people develop emotional attachments to historic places.

“In recent years, the significance of heritage and its role in society – from improving wellbeing and quality of life to boosting economic outcomes – is widely recognised,” says principal investigator Professor Rebecca Madgin from University of Glasgow. “However, the heritage sector has not fully evidenced the reasons why the past matters so much to so many people.”

Emoji-based workshops with local residents and place-based oral histories with built environment professionals in Scotland and England enabled Professor Madgin to capture the thoughts and feelings of people involved with, or impacted by, urban change. These insights were combined with archival research and engagement with heritage and built environment organisations to analyse the reasons why the past matters emotionally and how this is considered within heritage management.

The project’s findings have helped inform heritage management strategies in a number of ways. For example, Professor Madgin worked with Historic Environment Scotland staff to co-design and deliver methodologies for capturing emotional attachments to heritage. In addition, understandings of how and where emotion is considered within heritage management are captured in a report, animation and infographic.

“Emotional attachments to historic urban places can be thought of as the glue that connects people and place,” says Professor Madgin. “A better understanding of these feelings can help inform developers, building owners and heritage managers, alike.”

Where next?

Where next?

Arts and humanities research is pioneering new ways for communities to adapt and thrive in our shared urban spaces. New perspectives and our cultural approaches are reimagining how we can live, learn and thrive together, offering the opportunity to level up our urban environments. 

As we look to the future, our Creative Communities and Place programmes will build on these foundations by inspiring knowledge exchange, and investing in public value. Our support for discovery research will be bold and collaborative in reflecting the ideas of our diverse research communities, opening up further possibilities to shape a more sustainable, just, prosperous and healthy future.