Cultural Planning for Sustainable Communities

The research project aims to use cultural planning as a way to explain and value the relationship between the arts & culture and the environment in the UK. Ideas of behaviour towards the natural environment, the countryside and 'ecosystems' - whether urban or rural - tend to lack a cultural dimension, or include the cultural sector of arts organisations, centres, artists and other creatives. This includes community cultures and local cultural amenities, amateur groups and activities. By using cultural mapping, where cultural 'assets' of all kinds can be mapped using local knowledge and various data sources - social/demographic, land-use etc and their catchments/usage, with accompanying visual images and comments 'from below' - a rich landscape of an area's culture can be developed, visualised and appreciated. This inclusive cultural base, which will be developed by this project, will be used to express how community cultures relate to their environments, how they are used and contribute to development and growth decisions and processes e.g. land use development (e.g. new housing, industry), recreation/tourism, heritage, conservation and resource use (e.g. water).

The project will build on cultural mapping and planning techniques and data/maps developed for area-based 'Living Places' case studies in London, Portsmouth and North Northants, and consult with these local communities and cultural organisations using GIS mapping-Participation workshops in order to test out and articulate this culture-ecosystem relationship; how the two fields inter-act and opportunities for culture-based sustainable development might be taken forward.

It is hoped that by applying cultural planning and mapping to the planning and ecosystem assessments undertaken by local and national government and their various environmental agencies, that the value of local and regional culture, cultural facilities and activities can be included in decisions over the environment and how we express our relationship and aspirations towards 'nature'. The project seeks to develop detailed guidance on how to incorporate cultural planning within environmental decision-making and assessment using the results from case studies, consultation and practical data mapping tools.

Non-Academic impacts from this Follow-Up project will be targeted at policy-makers, delivery and other end-users in the environmental planning and ecosystem assessment systems in the UK (England). This includes national government departments: DEFRA, DLCG and DCMS, Environment Agency as well as cultural agencies and NDPBs such as Arts Council England, English Heritage and local authorities/county councils. Impacts will be manifested in terms of the adoption and validation of policy guidance, the uptake of cultural mapping and planning toolkits and meta-data systems (sources of, and standards of data classification, compatibility and coverage) and the incorporation of cultural planning models and principles in environmental and ecosystem assessment.

Mechanisms to achieve and deliver these impacts are firstly embedded in the research project through early and subsequent consultation and engagement with end-users in central and local government, professional bodies, and through focus groups and iterative presentation of findings and recommendations arising from the research. Exploitation of existing stakeholders in the cultural mapping and toolkits and area-based Living Places case studies will serve as the basis for the project development, transfer and exchange of knowledge, validation and in the design of impact paths and opportunities for take-up of the research findings and resources.

In order to maximise the take-up of research outputs in the form of guidance, policy and tools including case study material and datasets, these will be 'co-designed' and formulated in 'environmental' terms for easy inclusion in official policy and guidance, data protocols/metadata systems - including websites, blogs, advice notes, briefings etc. Full use will be made of online media and networks including KTNs (Environment), third sector and environmental advocacy groups, to raise the profile and interest in culture and sustainable development and the role of cultural planning in environmental awareness and land-use planning.