Our latest theme at Village In The City is about the importance of meeting places. In many European places there are plazas, market squares, places where folk can bump into each other as well as meet in a pre-arranged way. If we are to get people talking to each other, then places to do it are (of course) vital. And these are actual physical places – it’s the proximity of others that makes a Village In The City different from other communities. Finding places where people can come freely to meet others, work together, create new options for the neighbourhood, is very important.
INDOOR SPACES
Some places already have ‘community centres’. If your neighbourhood does, have a look at it. Is it welcoming? Is it used? Is it valued. I have seen many so-called ‘community halls’ that are none of these things. How can you improve it? (This is usually more of a matter of some cleaning and Care than financial investment in the first instance.)
If you don’t have a public place, find a friendly cafe or pub that can offer space (usually in exchange for buying a coffee). There is something in it for the venue to be seen at the heart of community activities, so a good ally is very useful. Having your meetings in public is a good start – it helps your activities be visible, it saves any individual from having to open their home, and it allows everyone to participate on an equal footing. This blog by Richard Lucas has great ideas about how to find a suitable space.
OUTDOOR SPACES
It’s great if your village has an outdoor space you can use too. These are sometimes right there and obvious, in other settings a little more imagination is required. Even if land is privately owned and controlled, it is often possible to negotiate use for occasional special events.
Finding places where people can have chance encounters as well as planned events is also a good idea. Back in time people used to meet at street markets which were a key day in the week to get out and about. Many continental European cities have a continuing tradition of city squares with cafes where people can bump into each other. This is not always easy to engineer, but the opportunity to bump into others, say hello, have a chat and exchange news is key to a functioning Village In The City. Dog-walkers and people waiting at the school gates have more opportunities for this than many of the rest of us… how can you get people out and about where YOU are?
(This is a short extract from our Village Builders Handbook – free pdf download. Join the conversation in our online community at http://members.villageinthecity.net.)
