Reflections on an islington estate social engagement project

 

This study covers Bemerton Villages Management Organisation, a TMO on a Islington council estate in North Kings Cross. It covers the work done on resident engagement during their first mandatory 5 year continuation Ballot. The Ballot was to decide if the TMO would continue to manage estate services or if they would return to the council.

 

I will first describe the estate and its recent history, and analyse some of the reasons behind the social exclusion on the estate. I will discuss the political context of the TMO. It is strategically important to understand the reasons and context for any problems before seeking to contribute to the solution. I will then describe the objectives and goals of my intervention and outline my methods. Finally I have included some reflections on the TMO governance I was working to support before I summarise.

 

 

 

The Bemerton Estate was built over 30 years ago and is located about half a mile north of Kings Cross. It consists of 750 units in high and low rise blocks.

 

In recent history it developed a notorious reputation for crime, deprivation and anti-social activity. It became the playground for a large gang of 30 plus young people who were known as the Bemerton boys. The rabbit warren design of the estate was useful for evading capture whilst engaging in vandalism, intimidation and assault, robbery and moped theft. There were some unpleasant experiences involving police personnel and vehicles being seriously assaulted if they ventured onto the estate, this meant the estate had become a no go area for the police unless they came in force.

 

The estate was open access and it’s stairwells and corridors halls provided welcome shelter from the elements. Various gangs would congregate, drink, use cannabis and socialise, often noisily, outside residents’ front doors. Exacerbated by the efforts to ‘clean up’ the Kings Cross area its problems were displaced North. The fire escape stairwells and bin rooms had become a haven for the homeless or a quiet place to engage in prostitution or use the class A drugs acquired from one of the estate’s ‘crack houses’.

 

One community hall had been closed and another had become run down and there was no easy access to health services. The youth work budget across the borough had experienced dramatic cuts and the ‘Bemerton Boys’ were proud of their reputation as ‘the untouchables’, meaning no services were engaging with them.

 

Marilyn Taylor (95) examines the effect of a housing policy that concentrates low income into an area (adapted from ‘Unleashing the potential: Bringing residents to the centre of estate regeneration’).

 

 

 

 

In fact it may not be the lack of money that is the root of all these evils. As Perri 6 (97) argues it may not as straight forward as low income causing social exclusion but that social exclusion can cause low income. Thus the housing policy that effectively concentrates groups vulnerable to social exclusion, including those with low income, into one area, can produce a spiral of increasing exclusion and deprivation.

 

The effects of this type of housing policy were very much in evidence on the Bemerton and over the years had transformed the estate. Bemerton had become housing of last resort with 90% of new tenancies being ex-homeless. The elements of high crime, low self esteem, overstretched services, bad reputation and poor quality food and retail outlets were also apparent.

 

Hopper (2003) comments on the increasing tendency for individualism in contemporary society. He states the effects of post-industrialisation, de-traditionalisation and globalisation create conditions which encourage individualism -which is to the detriment of social capital and community life. This spirals as disengagement from community life generates the question ‘Am I a stake holder here?’. This tendency was particularly apparent on Bemerton, exacerbated by what Hopper calls ‘Stranger Danger’, the fear of crime or antisocial behaviour which tended to drive residents from public spaces into their homes and further disengagement from corporate life.

 

However, three years ago considerable regeneration work had commenced which was completed whilst I was on placement. Twelve million pounds had been spent on refurbishing the blocks inside and out, security doors installed and new kitchens and bathrooms fitted to tenants flats as part of the ‘Decent Homes’ strategy (for an outline of ‘Decent Homes’ policy see web address in bibliography). A health centre was also built on the estate.

 

Additionally the greens and outdoor communal spaces were improved by the ‘Soul in the City’ project. I ran the project two years ago where 200 volunteers from the church spent two weeks painting fences, laying paths, installing benches and planters and a brick BBQ at the TMO’s request. Gates were cut in the green’s fences and the residents invited back into them to eat with the volunteers at the end of each day.

 

Coinciding with these physical improvements was the apparent dispersal of the ‘Bemerton Boys’. Whether this was due to the security doors, accelerated police action against antisocial behaviour or the boys reaching an age where there interests changed to seeking female company or an age where access to pubs became possible, is uncertain. However with the intimidation of the ‘Bemerton Boys’ off the scene, there was potential for a reduction in fear of young people.

 

Burns et al (2001) note four areas of activities which promote social capital, the fourth being ‘improving peoples sense of pride, safety and belonging’, they list ‘Physical improvements, Use of public spaces, Coherence of design and physical identity, Efforts to attain intergenerational tolerance and trust’ (p86).

 

These recent developments did indeed have a dramatic effect on Bemerton’s appearance Appendix 2 contains before and after pictures to illustrate the radical transformation in living conditions that these factors effected. They also provided conditions that opened up tremendous possibilities to rebuild a sense of community and re-engagement.

 

Each of the elements of Burn’s list above had been addressed to some extent upon commencement of my placement, however the effect in residents’ attitude was lagging behind. After many years of disappointment residents were reluctant to make themselves vulnerable by daring to hope the estate had indeed changed. Whilst the ‘Soul in the City’ project enjoyed attendance of over 300 at its final BBQ, enabled residents to meet and get to know each other better and subsequently produced two new board members, little other work had been done to develop social capital. Despite the recent improvements pessimism, apathy, disengagement and exclusion persisted.

 

 

This study on the Bemerton Estate was from within the TMO. Five years ago, before these dramatic improvements, the residents voted to set up Bemerton Villages Management Organisation Ltd. The board was established with many members from the previous Tenants Association. The TMO has responsibility for a budget of £600,000 pa from the council for estate services such as caretaking and minor repairs to tenants flats and communal areas. They employ an estate manager, two office staff and nine caretaking/repair staff.

 

There is some debate about the motivation for the origins of tenants associations. Some represent them as radical corporate action by the mass working class campaigning for improved housing rights (Bradley (97)). Grayson (96) however believes the origins to be in artisan working class protecting themselves from the lower classes and argues these characteristics are "instantly recognisable to the present generation of tenant activist" (p28). I will return to this topic of the internal politics of the plurality of groups within the estate later.

 

Studies have also explored the relationship between local party politics and tenants groups. For example in the Leeds rent strikes in 1914 Tenants groups campaigning about rent increases were engaged by the Labour party to advance their policy for improving housing’s material conditions (Bradley (97)). A later rent strike in Leeds in 1934 saw the conservatives benefiting from the support of Tenant Associations over Labours’ rent rebate scheme (Finnigan (84)).

 

On Bemerton, the Tenants Association had become a formalised Tenant Management Organisation. They have a legal agreement with local government with obligations around their governance, finance, management and service delivery. They are monitored closely, usually have a government official at all their meetings and their budget is granted from local government. However they have decision making responsibility for the way estate services are provided and responsibility for the staff.

 

Putnam et al (93) assert that empowering communities in this way promotes social capital and makes democracy work. They suggest communities and not the state should be the primary institutions for decision making and service delivery, as this redresses political apathy and creates cohesion. On Bemerton this apathy certainly needed addressing and would benefit from attempts to promote cohesion.

 

However, Taylor (2002) expresses reservations about formalising mutual help groups (the TMO is registered in name as a Friendly Society), illustrating how the accompanying formal bureaucracy can hamper their activity. As described above, TMO’s indeed do have many detailed and close formal monitoring and contractual obligations imposed on them, due to their reliance on government funding. Diamond (2005) points out the risk to the community activist agenda when a group become government funded.

 

Popple (95) describes the Radical and Socialist critique of this type of work, which could be relevant here. They question community work as a method of social control, channelling energy into solving state defined problems and helping to maintain the socio-democratic market economy- rather than challenging the structural sources of inequality in wider society causing the local problems. It is something to placate rather than liberate. Chandler calls this ‘Therapeutic Politics’ to placate and make participants ‘feel’ involved.

 

So there are many pitfalls for Tenants groups and particularly TMO’s as they are so closely tied in to local government. However, Taylor (lecture 2005) pragmatically suggests that this shift from ‘Government to Governance’ does create ‘ambiguous spaces’ in which citizens can participate which will develop social capital which is an end in itself and that we should be grateful for even incremental gains. Ball (lecture 2005) notes that, even in cases were the ideology is flawed, there remain opportunities for real work and to form models to challenge the system.

 

It was in this spirit that I agreed to help the TMO with the ballot and promote TMO governance on the estate as opposed to a return to council controlled services. I hoped to build social capital on the estate generally and invest in the TMO grass roots democracy in particular.

 

 

 

 

Taylor and Presley define community work as follows:

 

‘It is a profession dedicated to increasing the expertise of the non-professional; to increasing the capacity of people in difficult and disadvantaged situations, getting more control over their collective circumstances. Community workers stimulate and support groups of people working to improve conditions and opportunities in their own neighbourhoods. The immediate aims are often concrete- better amenities, housing, job opportunities; the underlying aim is an increase in confidence, skill and community self-organising power which will enable the participants to continue to use and spread these abilities long after the community worker is gone.’ (p.2)

 

The TMO was one such group of ‘non-professionals’ and its’ main responsibilities are the concrete service delivery. The strength of this start point was that the realities of ‘How clean are my stairs’ is a topic with which all residents and not just the board members can easily relate to.

 

So my intervention focused on concern with concrete services as a start point to building social capital and promote residents to perceive they are part of a whole and not just a powerless fragment (Taylor 2002). The hope was that as individuals engaged with their community on the concrete issue of service delivery, the social capital generated would open up new possibilities for further involvement.

 

To achieve this objective I had three goals which I will unpack here. One was to educate residents, another to redress the estates poor image and a third to erode disengagement and apathy. These are closely related and overlap, many of my interventions targeted more than one of these goals.

 

 

It became apparent that informing and educating would be key. The lack of awareness of the TMO and its role was such as to make a vote about it incomprehensible to many. The campaign sought to educate residents about:

 

The power of their vote in the TMO system

The TMO system of representative democracy

The services that were delegated to the TMO and the way they were delivered.

 

The hope was that this process would encourage interest, engagement and a good turn out in the ballot.

 

 

A second goal was to address the low self esteem that was prevalent among many residents and staff and reinforced by outsiders and the style of local newspaper reporting etc. I aimed to present to estate as it was now and as it was becoming. For the reasons described above, it was challenging to shift the self image of the estate and residents tended to view it as it was in its past.

 

 

‘The most challenging context for community workers is one in which people have been silenced into apathy; apathy lacks energy.’ Ledwith (2005) p53.

 

I have already described the kind of oppression the residents had endured for many years, this was not without its consequences. Freire and Shor (86) discuss the passive aggressive reaction of the oppressed. After many years of oppression the residents had a tendency to have been silenced. Their expectations were low, to defend themselves from disappointment. They often suffered in silence as experience had taught them they had no reason to believe anyone would listen or that they had the power to change anything. There was a tendency to silent resignation to ‘the way things were around here’. Occasionally there were examples of this suppressed frustration erupting into aggression, whether in the TMO reception desk or conflict with fellow residents, staff or board members. Unfortunately these explosions rarely get the desired result and thus only reinforce the feeling of powerlessness. Being unable to affect any change apathy and disengagement sets in.

 

Marris (96) describes this as a form of resistance:

 

‘Resistance takes the form of a kind of irresponsibility, which the rest of society condemns, but which is closely related to self respect, because it is the only form of resistance available to them.’ p107

 

This widespread defence mechanism of apathy, or resistance mechanism of irresponsibility, made work on Bemerton very challenging -but a challenge worth rising to. The result was evident in the TA and TMO’s history. Despite nearly two thousand residents it was often a struggle to find enough board members to be quorum, never mind hold a competitive election. The effect was that anyone who wanted to join the board would, however well qualified or whatever their motives. There were rarely more than 25 residents at the public meetings and one estate wide postal consultation process boasted seven returned forms, to no one’s surprise.

 

This apathy was reinforced by the community’s low self image and bad reputation, my intervention needed to erode these and displace them with an alternative view.

 

So with the goals set I drew up a strategy to engage residents in the TMO continuation ballot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To erode the sense of apathy I needed to identify an approach which would capture the residents interest. Hope and Timmel (84) state:

 

‘People will act on the issues on which they have strong feelings. There is a close link between emotion and the motivation to act. All education and development projects should start by identifying the issues which the local people speak about with excitement, hope, fear, anxiety or anger.’ (p8)

 

Shor and Freire (86) also emphasise the importance of engaging at a point of peoples interest.

 

CCTV cameras were due to be installed on the estate. It was a topic of considerable controversy they had been delays of many years and broken promises, however work was due to start in April. This controversy had already broken the ‘apathy barrier’ for many residents and seemed an excellent jump off point.

 

The TMO has the right to assume control of any of the estate services. The board agreed they wished to run the CCTV control room and so, side stepping the thorny issue of whether we should have cameras or not (which the TMO could not choose), my campaign began with organising a public meeting to vote if the TMO would indeed run the control room or not.

 

This very concrete and practical decision helped educate the residents as to the kinds of powers and rights they had through the TMO system. Residents have little tolerance for grand abstract ideals but this concrete topic captured their interest.

 

Not content with this tactic to capture interest I also launched a shareholder discount scheme. To vote on the CCTV issue, residents were required to become members of the TMO (called Shareholders) and I needed to recruit residents for the vote. I visited all the shops on Caledonian Road (adjacent to the estate) and asked for a 10% discount for residents holding a shareholder card, in return the traders were publicised by the scheme and hoped to attract trade. As Taylor’s diagram above about the concentration of low income illustrates, anything to promote local traders is going to contribute positively to the area.

 

This scheme also fulfilled goal of eroding the low self image and bad reputation of the area. As I mentioned the estate had enjoyed dramatic refurbishment that had revolutionised its appearance. Fear had caused non-residents and residents alike to restrict their routes walking through the estate to a minimum, so many were unaware of the extent of the refurbishment. I was blessed with a beautiful clear sunny morning early in the placement and took a photograph of the estate from a tower block (see appendix 1). This visual image was a marvellous piece of communication to challenge previous images of the estate. It became the recognisable logo for the campaign for both the CCTV and the Ballot and was more powerful than words could be.

 

The shareholder discount cards were glossy credit cards of this image (see appendix 1) and my hope was it would encourage card-carrying residents to take pride in their estate. They became VIP customers with special privilege. Rumours about the cards spread in the run up to the meeting, we had many requests for them including some from non-residents! The cards were distributed at the meeting.

 

Thirty traders took part in the scheme and displayed posters of this image in their shops. I was able to engage the traders in positive conversations about how much the estate had changed and challenge any stereotypes.

 

The community hall was packed for the meeting. We ran out of chairs with over 80 residents present, and this on an important Arsenal match night! As Taylor (2002) observes the meeting was a good recruiting ground. Over 25 new members joined the TMO (a 20% increase), answering for themselves Hopper’s (2003) question ‘Am I a stake holder here?’, a board member and non-executive minute secretary were also recruited. After a healthy and lively debate, in which a breadth of conflicting views were aired, the TMO won the vote to manage the CCTV. Moments before the vote one resident almost derailed the meeting by expressing how good it was to see the largest public meeting in living memory, a sentiment celebrated by the meeting. Even the protesters left commenting on how good the meeting was. Buoyed up by this show of community interest and engagement I moved my attention to the Ballot itself.

 

 

The picture logo described above was headed by the words ‘This is your Estate…’. The CCTV campaign had not only attracted the residents’ attention but had illustrated to them the powers they had to take control of their own estate. I added the wording ‘…let’s keep it that way’ and had an excellent base on which to campaign for the continuation of the TMO to manage the estate.

 

Freire (72) asserts that education can catalyse ‘conscientizacao’ the self realisation of the structures contributing to oppression. This can motivate action for change, for freedom from oppression must come from the oppressed themselves. Whilst Freire emphasises the corporate nature of this empowerment Taylor (2002) observes that personal empowerment is a necessary pre-requisite for corporate empowerment. My intervention was addressed to develop both in the belief that empowering residents with control of their estate services would protect them from the neglect and consequent oppression they had suffered for many years.

 

Three newsletters and two letters were sent out as part of the two campaigns. Using pictures and residents’, staff members’ and my own stories, they highlighted the transformation on the estate. They questioned why those responsible for the estate had allowed it to become so degradated. They explored the benefits of residents’ responsibility for services over state control. They described the role and workings of the TMO, invited individuals to get involved alongside stories from residents who did (Appendix 2).

 

Ledwith (2005) promotes the power of ‘Little Stories’ in helping a community develop a new personal identity. The view through another’s eyes can help a community to know itself and gain confidence in its identity. Knowing yourself, she states, is the first step to critical consciousness and that little stories are full of policy implications.

 

Rappaport (98) states that ‘Narratives create memory, meaning and identity among individuals… all communities have narratives about themselves and these narratives have powerful effect on their members… narratives tell their members and others something about themselves, their history and their future’ (p230) and that ‘no matter how strong or competent one is, sustaining changes in ones life is difficult in the absence of other people who share one’s view’ (p237).

 

In this way private problems become public issues breaking down the sense of isolation, the newsletter became a space for this cohesive and empowering sharing.

 

As well as serving the Ballot and CCTV campaigns the publicity’s positive and optimistic tone worked to challenge the poor image of the estate, celebrating how much better things were now. Reporting the success of the CCTV meeting also reinforced the message that changes were more than material.

 

The publicity’s attempt to catalyse ‘conscientizacao’ seemed to be being effective judging by the feedback from the residents at the front desk and feedback from the board and staff. However some misunderstandings caused several adjustments to the approach to the publicity program. Shau and Freire (86) emphasise the importance of humility and a willingness to learn on the part of the educator, this insight was certainly relevant here. However, even negative feedback was good news as it meant people were taking notice of the newsletters and posters and engaging with them.

 

Additionally care was needed working within this adversarial voting system, the ‘opposition party’ in both CCTV and Ballot votes was the landlord, the council. Taylor (2005) notes the vulnerability of governance models to set people against local government. Shor and Freire (86) warn us to be mindful of the dangers of being interpreted as asking people to ‘Revolt against God’ or any similar step too far in their quest for greater empowerment. Taylor attempts to negotiate this danger by criticising the ‘zero-sum’ concept of power where one group’s gain in power is another groups loss, instead she proposes a transformative model where power is a social product and flows through concepts, discourse, language and ideas all of which can be changed making power fluid and changeable. Power is not zero some and my gain does not necessitate your loss.

 

The zero-sum competition for power was an easy trap to fall into in publicising this competitive vote and I found myself checking myself and being checked throughout the process. It was easier to depict the neglectful council as ‘The Oppressor’ from whose control the residents needed to be free. Ledwith (2005) was useful in this regard, she urges us to ‘get over’ the anti state model of protest and instead to recognise that contemporary government policy and community action justify themselves by the same ideals, that there is scope to influence government on their own terms and become a partner for change.

 

The zero-sum model is too simplistic. Although the vote could appear as a vote for or against the council, there was good reason for concern about the breakdown of the legitimacy of the democratic process within this ward. The electoral reform society had been commissioned to survey the estate ahead of the local government elections. There was concern about the wards turn out at the last election which was less than half the national average at 24%.

 

To maximise the accessibility of voting to the estates diverse population three methods of voting where used. There was a postal ballot, non voters were visited by Electoral Reform after two weeks with a ballot box and a final polling day open from 7am-9pm. The polling day was held on a bus which was more visible and accessible than a building and was moved around the large estate according to publicised times. Despite the extent of disengagement from government political processes the TMO continuation ballot enjoyed a turn out of over 27%, a huge rise in engagement relative to the estate’s history and was achieved in a short time, demonstrating the potential fruitfulness of continued engagement work.

 

Putnam et al (93) predict making communities the primary institution for decision making and service delivery will redress political apathy. So even a vote against the council contributes to turning the tide of disengagement from democratic processes and builds grass roots democracy. This re-inclusion may produce benefits for the next round of government elections! Ledwith’s point about partnership with the state could be well applied here even in an adversarial election.

 

The TMO won the ballot with an 80% majority vote. Riding in the wake of the considerable regeneration, the hope-inspiring campaign had succeeded in earthing these external environmental changes and interpreting them as an opportunity for a better community life. This catalysed hope and recaptured resident’s engagement with common concerns. The tide of apathy and disengagement seems to have turned on the Bemerton as unprecedented numbers of residents, in this formally fragmented and individualistic community, turned out to vote that the estate services should be run by them, as a community of residents.

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections

 

Whilst the TMO gained the support of residents through the campaign the job of community development on the estate is far from over. The TMO is not the holy grail of harmonious community on the estate, indeed its sustainability in terms of future recruitment and it’s legitimate representation is dependent on continued progress.

 

Berner and Phillips criticise a simplistic view of ‘communities’

 

‘To expect communities to be a haven of co-operation is utterly naïve: to treat them as homogeneous will further marginalise those most in need…sustainable solution will require either partnership or confrontation’ (p27).

 

Earlier we discussed the formation of Tenants groups and questioned the real motives behind their formation. Grayson (96) suggests they are divisive mechanisms to protect the artisan working class from the lower classes resident in the same area. Taylor (2002) calls this the ‘dark side’ of community work where cohesion can effectively mean one dominant discourse and exclusion of ‘the other’. Settled communities can resist change and promote social exclusion.

 

Bemerton is a diverse place. It has nearly a third leaseholder properties whose financial interests can become divergent to the tenants on many issues, additionally it is home to a range of working, middle and under class residents from many nationalities. Bemerton ‘community’ could be described as ‘communities’ with the CCTV issue providing an excellent example.

 

Leaseholders had to pay capital sums for the CCTV which was of obvious concern and caused many to object to its instalment. There was a large degree of support however from the Somali population as they had been the victims of racial violence. Some groups considered it welcome security and others an invasion of privacy.

 

Twelvetrees (2002) pluralist model with each group campaigning for its own interests would require consistent attention to the representative democracy of TMO governance. For example my targeted home visiting with a Somali board member to ensure the Somali population were fully aware of the CCTV meeting. However the sheer number of diverse groups, and indeed the lack of communication within these ‘groups’, or even awareness of others with a common interest, makes the time consuming daily practicalities of this pluralist ideal daunting.

 

Perhaps rather than relying on a system based on self interest we could promote consideration of each others interests. Maslow’s (43) ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ theorises that once an individuals personal needs have been met they are capable of ‘self actualisation’ which includes looking to meet the needs of others. Etzioai (98) goes further to state that once an individuals needs are met they have a responsibility to meet the needs of others and that in this way individual rights are to be balanced with collective responsibility. Tony Blair has promoted this sense of responsibility and duty balancing rights in New Labour. Hopper (2003) however is pessimistic of the likely success of public spirited duty/ responsibility in an age of increased individualism.

 

My pragmatic recommendation to the board to build on the work so far was to promote open interest groups around common concerns. The under 5’s play area would benefit from a groups of parents to lock and unlock it. This could become a group who voice wider concerns about estate life for the under 5’s. Groups could be formed to tend the flowers in the estate planters, these relationships may become opportunities for further engagement. The residents in one block exposed to a high level of antisocial behaviour could begin to meet to search for solutions. These groups’ interests need not be class or ethnically based and could be represented to the board and indeed future board members could be discovered from their midst.

 

By creating a fringe around the centre of governance the sustainability and representativeness of the board could be improved on the one hand and access to governance improved on the other. Along side this board training could emphasise the responsibility to represent the interests of all residents as individualism is challenged by the growing connection between residents. This connection could be promoted in all kinds of ways, for example an outdoor celebration is being planned for the Ballot result.

 

 

My intervention enjoyed gratifying results. There were relatively high levels of engagement from residents in both the CCTV meeting and the continuation ballot. Not only was the ballot won, and residents continue to take responsibility for Estate services, they have taken on new ones. There is a heightened awareness of the TMO system, and what it does, and the role of residents in governance. The campaign recruited new members and board members and encouraged a positive and optimist alternative image of the estate, to which the residents were attracted. The numbers of residents engaging in this grass roots democracy has never been higher, indicating apathy can be eroded which promises excellent prospects for further development. Particularly healthy was that more than one view was expressed in these democratic processes and that there was debate.

 

There is of course much more to do, particularly around a sustainable and legitimately representative board. And whilst progress was made in redressing the poor image and eroding disengagement and apathy this work needs to be ongoing and consistent until the scales tip in the reverse direction. I have handed the newsletter over to a board member to continue the good work but the TMO has asked me to stay and continue work. An offer I could not refuse.

 

In the wake of all the regeneration there is a sense in which the environmental changes needed internalising for them to be real. The external changes needed to be absorbed internally, a security door internalised as a sense of safety and peace, a clean landing internalised as ‘I live in a beautiful place’. This Ballot and all the activity around it presented an excellent space for working towards these soft targets and a launch of the ‘New Bemerton’ the shared consciousness of a new era.

 

 

 

---

 

 

Biblography:

 

Ball, Malcolm (2005) Competing Theories of Regeneration, Lecture at Goldsmiths College 25^th October

 

Berner Erhard and Phillips Benedict (2005) Left to their own devices? Community self-help between alternative development and neo-liberalism
Community Dev J 2005 40: 17-29

 

Bradley, Quintin (1997) The Leeds Rent Strike of 1914 A reappraisal of the radical history of the tenants movement , Housing Studies HNC Research Project

 

Burns, J.M., O’Brien, D. Peltason J.W., Magleby, D.B., Cronin T.E. (2001/2) Government by the People, Prentice Hall

 

Chandler, David (2001) Active Citizens and the Therapeutic State: The Role of Democratic Participation in Local Government, Policy and Politics vol 29 no1 1:3-14 The Policy Press

 

Diamond, John Reclaiming Our Room for Maneuver- If Not Now, When?

Lecture 7^th February 2006, Goldsmiths College

 

Etzioni. Amitai (1998)The New Golden Rule: Community and Morality in a Democratic Society. New York: Basic Books

 

Freire, Paulo (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Penguin Books

Grayson, John (1996) Opening the Window - revealing the hidden history of tenants organisations, TPAS and Northern College

 

Hope, A. and Timmel, S.(1984) Training for Transformation: a Handbook for community workers, Mambo Press

 

Hopper, Paul (2003) Rebuilding community in an age of individualism, Aldershot, Hampshire, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate

 

Ledwith, Margaret (2005) Community Development, a Critical Approach, Policy Press

 

Making homes decent- http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1152136

 

Marris, Peter (1996) The Politics of Uncertainty, Routledge

 

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396.

 

Perri 6. (1997). Escaping Poverty: From Safety Nets to Networks of Opportunity, Demos

 

Popple K. (1995) Analysing Community Work, Open University Press

 

Putnam, Robert D., Robert Leonardi and Rffaella Y. Nanetti Making Democracy Work . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.

 

Rappaport, J. (1998) The art of social change: community narratives as a resources for individual and collective identity ,in X.B. Arriaga and S. Oskamp (eds) Addressing Community Problems: Psychological Research and Interventions, Sage

 

Shor, Ira and Freire, Paulo(1986) A Pedagogy for Liberation: Dialogues on Transforming Education, Bergin & Garvey

 

Sivanandan, A. 1989. New circuits of imperialism. Race & Class 30: 1-19

 

Taylor M., Presley F. and Chanan G. (1987) Community Work in the UK 1982-6 , a Review and Digest of Abstracts, Library Association in association with Caboste Gulbenkian Foundation

 

Taylor, Marilyn (1995) Unleashing the Potential: Bringing Residents to the Centre of Estate Regeneration, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Taylor, Marilyn (1998) Combating the Social Exclusion of Housing Estates, Housing Studies, Volume 13, Number 6, 1 November 1998, pp. 819-832(14), Routledge

Taylor, Marilyn (2002) Public Policy in the Community,
Palgrave Macmillan

Taylor, Marilyn (2006) Power in Community Development Policy and Realities, Lecture at Goldsmiths 25^th October

Twelvetrees, A. (2002) Community Work, Palgrave