Residents renewing their city: the story of Community Forum

What lessons can be learnt from the engagement of local communities in the renewal of Birmingham’s housing in the 1970s?

Localise West Midlands has published a new report which tells the story of the pivotal role played by residents in shaping Birmingham’s ground-breaking housing renewal programme.

Residents Renewing their City recounts the story of the Community Forum, a network of inner city residents’ associations and community groups that ensured that local communities were effectively engaged in the implementation of Birmingham’s ground-breaking urban renewal programme in the 1970s through to the mid 1990s.

Community Forum was formed in 1973 and, for the following 25 years, it had a significant influence on the overall shape and direction of the programme, on how key elements of the programme were delivered and on subsequent developments.

‘Residents Renewing Their City: The Story of Community Forum’ derives from a 40^th anniversary event held to celebrate the achievements of Community Forum. Following the event, contributors extended their presentations and additional material was added in the form of an introductory chapter and a postscript, which describes the state of urban renewal today and highlights the need to once again engage local communities in the regeneration of Britain’s areas of older housing.

The 54-page report contains a foreword by Ted Taylor, former chair of the urban renewal sub committee 1974-77 and a preface by Jon Morris, chair of Localise West Midlands. The report has eight chapters, all written by people who were active in urban renewal and in community participation at that time.

In the postscript, the report contrasts this period of active and constructive intervention in older housing by the city council working in partnership with communities with the grim picture today.

At that time, the council was able to access substantial government funding and by working with local communities and by using considerable ingenuity, it was able to transform whole areas of Birmingham. Today, with the council hamstrung and starved of resources and without government support of any kind, these areas are in decline with the only ‘investment’ coming from private landlords, who are once again reclaiming the inner city: a sad reflection on our times.

This report has been edited by Jon Stevens, an associate of Localise West Midlands, and has been jointly produced with the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham with funding from the Barrow Cadbury Trust.

Professor Alan Murie, emeritus professor of urban and regional studies at the University of Birmingham said of the report:

‘This important book fills a gap. Recent accounts of housing policy are too focused on the role of central government and on pieces of legislation and there are too few accounts that highlight the importance of local action.’

Jon Morris, chair of Localise West Midlands and a former urban renewal officer says in the report’s preface:

‘It was inspirational to bring together the people from Community Forum and Urban Renewal to produce this report. Hundreds of thousands of people benefited from the work of Urban Renewal and from the work of residents’ groups and Community Forum and they continue to benefit to this day. The report’s final section on what has happened since, show that those times still inspire people to action today.’

• ‘Residents Renewing Their City: the Story of Community Forum is published in pdf and print formats. The print version costs £10 and can be purchased from the editor, Jon Stevens. Please contact Jon by email jon.stevens777@gmail.com to order a copy or make an enquiry.