Dreams and Aspirations: YoCo Labs, a community space, York Central
YoCo Labs works with who and what is already here, growing from the grassroots within the community, to create a space that feels like home for everyone.
YoCo is made up of a mixture of local residents, faith groups, school families, business owners, charities, creatives, academics and professionals whose common aim is to see York Central work for everybody. YoCo seeks to work closely with partners in and around the site to co-design and deliver research projects and programmes with the needs and interests of the local community at the heart - furthering a sense of place and pride through participation.
York is living through a massive period of change. A city responding to needs for a seismic shift in the way we live, due multiple, complex crisis’ - Covid 19; the climate crisis; the housing crisis; mental health crisis - and all the social, economic and environmental issues cascading from each of these. The people of York need to find new and innovative solutions to often intangible problems.
And the people are.
Throughout the pandemic we’ve seen chefs and local businesses come together to provide healthy meals to people who need them, we’ve seen mutual aid become not only necessary, but common place. The city will soon see the largest home building project and large scale development in half a century, when the City of York Council begin works delivering 600+ passivhaus standard homes - 40% of which will be social or affordable.
We want to ensure that the energy of the community to make good change together is brought to York Central through an exciting, inviting and accessible public engagement programme.
Our community team have been working within the Leeman Road and Holgate areas, meeting resident groups and individuals.
Following a session that explored ‘Dreams and Aspirations for a community space on York Central’ we have identified 5 key strands for activity and programming, that could take place at this new community space, acting as areas of focus for action research and engagement. YoCo Labs actively draws the community into the site, with a long term strategy that looks at how we can build autonomy, stewardship and advocacy in perpetuity for the various spaces and places on the wider York Central footprint.
1.Intergenerational learning and skills development
A place where people can go to learn, but also to share their own skills and experiences, developing relationships across generations. Ideas around creating a makers space, with equipment and tools to be able to do ‘stuff I can’t do at home’.
YoCo are keen to partner with and work on longer term, creative co-produced projects - the first of which is outlined in the proposal from Matt + Fiona, where YoCo would invite school children from St Pauls and St Barnabas to take part in creating a brief, designing and building the community space.
There would be a particular focus on arts and culture – tapping into local creative talent. Potential cultural partners could include: York Design Week, Pilot Theatre, York Music Venues Network, Arts Barge, York Creatives, York MCN
2.Nature: ReWilding and stewarding
Our research has shown that citizens not only want to spend time in nature, but also want to create space for nature to thrive. There is a huge energy in the city around increasing biodiversity and creating spaces for respite. YoCo might look at ways of linking up with the University of York BioScience research, the Future Parks initiative and work with the ‘Wild York’ group, which encompasses multiple green organisations - we would aim to work with friends of Leeman Park and Holgate Community Garden to facilitate community led greening projects.
3.Ownership, economy and governance
My York Central unearthed an overwhelming desire to address York’s inequalities. How can we use this inequality, and the particular conditions of York to address issues around food poverty, social exclusion and housing? YoCo would use the space to carry out action research around governance, innovation in systems design, equity and inclusion. This area of focus would incorporate and build upon the desire to bring community led housing to the site. Potential partners include: YorSpace, Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, University of York.
Homes for living in!
“We need new solutions to the housing crisis. Throwing subsidies at existing models merely plasters over the cracks and only deals with the symptoms. If we’re serious about tackling the unregulated financialisation of housing we need a radical rethink of land value and home ownership. Community led housing allows local people to take control of land and by using co-operative structures to own our homes we embed greater fairness and equality in our city’s housing stock. YorSpace is pioneering with purpose; a community land trust set up to deliver forever affordable, low carbon, people centred communities – we’re keen to work with YoCo to deliver homes on York Central.”
James Newton, YorSpace CLT
4.Play, wellbeing and active living
The people want to play. Park runs, climbing walls, wild swimming lakes and co-designed play spaces –people want to see places for play and activity that enable fun times and provides ways to stay healthy. Play can also be attributed to improved civic skills – active living to carbon reduction and greater health and wellbeing to economic resilience.
5.Food! Grow, Make, Share…
Urban farms, walled community gardens, Edible York patches and wild, foraged ingredients - there is so much to be said for the power of food. YoCo would work with local organisations, food banks, chefs and educators to grow and eat together.
Learning how to grow and cook healthy food is a hearty way to create community resilience, starting at the roots.
