" The whole world changes after kids, I need a community, where I can rely on my neighbours, so I can have a sense of belonging."
Participant
About
CityWest
In April 2024, we tested the toolkit at Citywest Dublin, in Ireland. This area of Dublin is rapidly expanding and Citywest is the location of a new development by Ardstone and PATRIZIA, which will provide 290 new homes to families from low to middle income households. The project will also include green spaces, community space, a library and a day-care.
Impact and Insights
This group of parents came from a wide area around Citywest and hadn’t met each other before. They shared their experiences of moving to the area and the difficulties they had finding places to meet other parents and children. We heard about safety concerns after dark close to the shopping centre.
They talked about how difficult it is to get to know other parents before starting school. Getting together was an opportunity for them to share knowledge about what is available locally.
In planning sessions for Dublin, we learned that it can take up to 6 weeks to recruit for a group of participants and organise the sessions. Leave plenty of time in your programme to do this.
"The engagement tool provides us a unique opportunity to get the perspectives of children and their caregivers who live in the direct vicinity of our project, an important group to us as they make up 35% of our residents, but also a group that is often difficult to reach through standard engagement.”
Marleen Bikker-Bekkers, PATRIZIA
How we tested the toolkit
In Session 1 we ran The Local Neighbourhood session and heard from the parents about the different parts of Citywest where they live and how they get around the area, for example to childcare and schools.
In Session 2 the weather was good enough for Visiting the Neighbourhood. We avoided a busy main road and came upon a courtyard garden where it was safe enough to stop and chat about the space and what it might offer them. In this session we also asked the parents to tell us about their homes.
Preparation
We were helped by Ardstone, who provided the venue, led on recruitment and organised childcare. Ardstone did well to find four very local mums as recruiting over the Easter break was not easy.
Activities
The neighbourhood mapping exercise is a good way to start, especially if the weather is poor and a walking tour isn’t appropriate. It is a gentle way into conversation for a group who do not know each other, and a good springboard for discussions.
With the exercise about homes it is helpful to provide examples of plans that are similar to the participants’ own home, or what is found in the local area.
Everyone enjoyed the walk. Being in a courtyard garden got the parents thinking about what a playable child friendly garden might be like for them, how it might offer a place for their children to play and for neighbours to get to know each other and provide much needed support.