We need to shape a new idea of local - Diarmaid Lawlor

The children’s rhyme about the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker captures a romantic idea of local – a place where everyone knows their place. Today the rhythm, and needs, of our daily lives cut across geographies. Daily, we connect the local, the regional, the national, and the global.
Diarmaid Lawlor, Associate Director (Place) at the Scottish Futures TrustDiarmaid Lawlor, Associate Director (Place) at the Scottish Futures Trust
Diarmaid Lawlor, Associate Director (Place) at the Scottish Futures Trust

Local life contains cleaners, carers, carpenters, coders, mixes of white collar and other workers. And more women in the workforce, more ethnicities, more older people. Some can work from home. Some can’t. Some don’t have work. We live a modern reflection of progress, power and inequalities.

Covid has stress tested our collective wellbeing. The home environment isn’t the best workplace for everyone. Loneliness has increased dramatically. Many families struggle balancing work, income and changing care demands. The places we live can be anxious places. We need to re-imagine local.

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The idea of the 20-minute place tells the story of a local life where more choices are available more often for more people to meet their needs within a short walk from the home. A good place to start that story is with the people who live in communities, and to build around their needs. In some places, the story might be about enabling more choices for women in the workforce, or for young people who need mentoring advice and support. A 20-minute place isn’t a one size fits all.

Covid-19 shutdowns and quarantines have forced parents to work from home and take on homeschooling.Covid-19 shutdowns and quarantines have forced parents to work from home and take on homeschooling.
Covid-19 shutdowns and quarantines have forced parents to work from home and take on homeschooling.

And it isn’t about trying to reduce the whole of life to the small geography around your house. It is about building up relevant mixes of local care, local work, local services with more local homes and better local connections enabled by more walking, more cycling, more use of outdoors. Scottish policy is shaping a new local.

A key characteristic of the Covid response is community action. Programmes were repurposed. Spaces were re-purposed. Communities, businesses and public services re-organised around local hubs. The emergency response provides learning about how a new local can make more of what we already have. It is platform to build 20-minute places.

Data matters. Working with the Data Driven Innovation team in the University of Edinburgh, we asked communities what they need to make local places work better. They talked about the availability of locally focused services, strong relationships and prevention skills. People want accessible services in welcoming spaces and in easy to use digital settings. A variety of relevant communication channels is vital to ensure as many people as possible are aware of what exists, for who, where and when. Collaboration is essential so there are more joined up experiences. Crucially, the way things are done should build social capital. People want a sense of ownership, and belonging, opportunities to connect enabled by access to services where and when they need them.

The infrastructure to make all this happen is about simple ingredients. The first is a welcoming space, a kitchen space for tea and food. The second is multipurpose spaces that are adaptable, accessible and affordable. The third is digital connectivity and the support to ask the silly questions in a supportive environment. The fourth is a network of outside spaces, streets that support walking and cycling and outside spaces to enjoy. The combination of these spaces strengthens the way places work and strengthens the journey to net zero. They support essential small businesses that support everyday life.

A great story is one different storytellers can communicate the basic essence their way, in their language, with their style to their audience. The 20-minute neighbourhood idea inspires new thinking on the ingredients of a new local. Let’s use them to build new stories for stronger local places.

Written by Diarmaid Lawlor, Associate Director (Place) at the Scottish Futures Trust

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