Placekeeping

Building new communities: From Placemaking to Placekeeping

A key focus for the Land Trust – now and in the future – is in building new communities. With an expanding population the need for new housing has never been more acute. However what often gets forgotten or neglected is how we turn these new properties into a community and turn houses into homes.

At the Land Trust we recognise that creating a new community doesn’t end when the houses are built. We see this as just the beginning in helping to build a new, healthy, thriving and inclusive community.

Similarly we see that the creation of the green spaces – the parks, play areas, green corridors and nature areas – is just the start of a much bigger challenge which is how to ensure they remain fit for purpose in the long term while also fulfilling all the other expectations placed upon them in relation to health and wellbeing, education and learning, jobs and prosperity and more.

These benefits don’t happen by accident – they are created by how the green spaces are used and managed. It requires the right vision, management, governance and funding structures.

We like to be involved from the planning stages, and work in partnership with strategic developers to help them deliver a place where people want to live, work and play.

This transition from ‘Placemaking’ to ‘Placekeeping’ is at the heart of all successful green spaces. Ensuring that management of the green space is sustainable, accountable and community based is at the heart of what we do.

You can find out more about our Placekeeping approach here:

LAND-TRUST-15-YEARS-DIGITAL.pdf (thelandtrust.org.uk)