The heart and essence of
every city and community are its neighbourhoods!
London Strengthening Neighbourhoods Strategy
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Our London is a city of Neighbourhoods.
Our London neighbourhoods will be empowered,
sustainable, safe and active communities. We will care for and
celebrate each other while encouraging diversity and inclusiveness.
Our neighbourhoods will be environmentally and socially
responsible and will have available green space, vibrant local economies
and accessible amenities of daily life.
LSNS Resident Task Force - Vision Statement |
“We like living in this city. We are proud of it. We want London to
continue to be the kind of city we and others have chosen to live in. We also
want London to continue to grow and evolve in positive ways which match the
needs of all residents and neighbourhoods. In short, we want our city to be the
best it can be. Are we there yet? Not quite”.
LSNS Resident Task Force
The
London Strengthening Neighbourhoods 5 Year Strategy and Implementation Plan
is a road map that contains the collective ideas of a group of London’s
residents for creating the best city they can imagine. They have outlined an
on-going plan that will unroll, month by month and year by year, employing
strategies to achieve their desired outcomes in a targeted and timely manner.
This document is a vehicle for collective action. Neighbourhoods are important
to all of us. Strong neighbourhoods contribute to the quality of life for
everyone – clean streets, vibrant local businesses, walkable communities with
nearby amenities and parkland, an environment that shuns crime and violence and
a strong feeling of support and connectedness amongst neighbours.
Start with the Vision!
It sets forth our vision of London as it can be and should be. Then read through
the definition of each element in that vision. Notice that we are defining
neighbourhoods as composed of two dimensions: people and places, and in this
section we give the elements of each. Then go to the pages that expand on each
element and that pull together the data we have gathered. These give:
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The results from
neighbourhood
assessment, carried out by conversations with neighbours, resident
surveys, as well as hard data gathered by the City of London and U.W.O.;
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London Initiatives; and,
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Initiatives in Other Cities.
Using all of this data, we have constructed the Strategy
Workplan, a blueprint for how to proceed. For each element of people and places,
the workplan lists a number of actions to be taken, when they should be
implemented, and the people and resources who will
undertake and facilitate their completion. We are building on work that, in some
instances, is already under way. These initiatives are italicized
in the Workplan. Finally, there is a chart showing how strategies and elements
of both people and places in neighbourhoods are interconnected.
Our vision for a strong and vibrant London involves recognition of the important
distinction between people and places. Real community begins with the synergy of
people, in a continual process of regeneration towards a shared and focused
vision. As author Richard Florida says in Who’s Your City,
“Where you live is as important as whom you
live with”.*
*Richard Florida, Author Who's Your City?
Director, Martin Prosperity Institute. Rotman School of Management, University
of Toronto. Founder, Creative Class Group
