Connecting King's Cross
So after weeks of going through the U.Lab course and meeting regularly to come up with a prototype project we finally settled on creating an initial event that would take place in October 2017.
The event would be designed to bring together a wide range of people from very diverse walks of life who either live or work in the Kings Cross area so as to create a microcosm of the local diversity which habitually is completely disconnected. Through sharing stories, food and facilitated activities the idea was to create new connections, understandings, cohesion and possibilities for local co-created activity.
In order to satisfy this aspiration to create a whole community microcosm we realised we would have to do some serious planning and outreach in the locality. So with the help of Impact Hub Kings Cross, the contacts we had made with the Mela Bridging Cultures roundtable and some local research we embarked on contacting and building relationships with communities, businesses and people in King's Cross.
By June the demands of meeting regularly and organising what was clearly becoming a substantial piece of voluntary work meant our group that had started with ten in January was now down to a core group of five. This was the group that carried the project through until October.
Getting diversity into a room together isn't easy. Community events tend to attract people of similar values, interests or identities. So this was a challenge that required much more than putting up posters and creating publicity on social media. We saw the only way to do this was reaching out directly to various groups and organisations. In order to build trust we requested to meet and conduct stakeholder interviews.
Stakeholder interviews
The meetings we arranged were an opportunity for us to introduce the project, our intentions for the October event and most importantly to find out how the event might be of service to that person and their section of the community.
Here are a few examples of the interviews we did and the insights that emerged as a result:
A member of staff from a local homelessness hostel
We asked her a number of questions about the locality and she mentioned how there had been a marked increase in the number of homeless on the streets over the past 5 years. The moment that was most interesting was when we talked about human connection and she genuinely paused for a moment and asked herself “what is connection?” Then she started to speak about her village in Africa where everyone knows each other and people cooperate with the agricultural labour. She spoke fondly of that and said that the city for her is a place where you work and shop, go to church but don’t get a sense of connection. For her King's Cross was simply a place to work.
A local property developer
This local developer is making efforts to reach out and consult with the community. We had a very honest and sincere conversation. They suggested that most meetings tend to have an institutional agenda (of the organisation running it) rather than an open one. There was a discussion around a disconnect and that communicating is a real issue but not for a lack of goodwill or funding. Also of a difficulty in getting back after consulting and asking if needs are being met, what they got right and what they got wrong. In terms of connection to a sense of place they said a Tenants and Residents Association had established itself in the new postcode in the new development, “they have come to us as a collective.” This new group had even “spoken about taking over control of the public space,” their own idea and how they had given space to the local community and how a skip garden had resulted.
A long term immigrant resident of the local Peabody Estate
She spoke about the estate and said the locality has a number of immigrants of different origins e.g Kurdish, Bengali, Pakistani, Latin American. She said there is little to no connection between these different communities. They only meet in the schools however when the parents meet at the school gates to pick up kids they don’t mingle, they remain with their cultural groups. She even said that it’s rare that the kids get invited round to a house of a different culture. Of all groups she said it’s hardest to meet English people. She didn’t think English are racist but maybe scared of meeting other communities. Her daughter said the same thing, that it’s hard to meet with English kids. She didn’t feel this was a good thing. She wanted more connection particularly with her neighbours but didnt see how.
In terms of what she thought would be a good event she said first people must come together then after you can find out what are their concerns and worries. She said if you don’t do this work nobody else will!
It was interesting how talking about the local fragmentation created an atmosphere of enlivened interest and curiosity in the household. It felt like it was surfacing truths that are rarely talked about.
A landlord of a local gay pub
He sees the development of the area with Eurostar, the CSM uni, granary square being positive. There’s been a loss of clubs but the area feels safer and he feels the developers have done a good job in preserving the historical buildings and retaining the history of the area. The area has gentrified and there have been casualties e.g local barbers on Caledonian Rd had to leave and return to Cyprus as the rents got too high. Also small shopkeepers but he said in general Cally Rd hasn’t been gentrified too much but its likely to change. He said the pub’s own landlords are now trying to ask for a 100% increase in the rent.
He talked of a sense of community connected with the pub. In the early days it was a real refuge for gay people disowned by family and friends. When the pub first opened it was attacked by skinheads. Due to a changes in attitudes and gay culture becoming more mainstream there has become less of a need for LGBT pubs, there is a sense of integration. He says gay people feel comfortable in regular bars and pubs now and conversely local straight community are happy to come to the pub.
A project manager of a local consortium of partners sharing and disseminating knowledge
On the one hand, the consortium's existence underlines the importance of both community based in place (as opposed to interests/identity, which can divide) and in person conversation (as opposed to online, more superficial, less emotional/whole-person 'chatting'). In line with our project it aims to connect disparate people ("choreographers can meet surgeons, activists can meet archivists") and you can only join if you agree to share knowledge from your organisation.
One of the major insights that we gleaned from these stakeholder interviews as a whole was the degree to which Kings Cross is a place of transience containing pockets of community but lacking in a sense of interwoven community.
So after weeks of going through the U.Lab course and meeting regularly to come up with a prototype project we finally settled on creating an initial event that would take place in October 2017.
The event would be designed to bring together a wide range of people from very diverse walks of life who either live or work in the Kings Cross area so as to create a microcosm of the local diversity which habitually is completely disconnected. Through sharing stories, food and facilitated activities the idea was to create new connections, understandings, cohesion and possibilities for local co-created activity.
In order to satisfy this aspiration to create a whole community microcosm we realised we would have to do some serious planning and outreach in the locality. So with the help of Impact Hub Kings Cross, the contacts we had made with the Mela Bridging Cultures roundtable and some local research we embarked on contacting and building relationships with communities, businesses and people in King's Cross.
By June the demands of meeting regularly and organising what was clearly becoming a substantial piece of voluntary work meant our group that had started with ten in January was now down to a core group of five. This was the group that carried the project through until October.
Getting diversity into a room together isn't easy. Community events tend to attract people of similar values, interests or identities. So this was a challenge that required much more than putting up posters and creating publicity on social media. We saw the only way to do this was reaching out directly to various groups and organisations. In order to build trust we requested to meet and conduct stakeholder interviews.
Stakeholder interviews
The meetings we arranged were an opportunity for us to introduce the project, our intentions for the October event and most importantly to find out how the event might be of service to that person and their section of the community.
Here are a few examples of the interviews we did and the insights that emerged as a result:
A member of staff from a local homelessness hostel
We asked her a number of questions about the locality and she mentioned how there had been a marked increase in the number of homeless on the streets over the past 5 years. The moment that was most interesting was when we talked about human connection and she genuinely paused for a moment and asked herself “what is connection?” Then she started to speak about her village in Africa where everyone knows each other and people cooperate with the agricultural labour. She spoke fondly of that and said that the city for her is a place where you work and shop, go to church but don’t get a sense of connection. For her King's Cross was simply a place to work.
A local property developer
This local developer is making efforts to reach out and consult with the community. We had a very honest and sincere conversation. They suggested that most meetings tend to have an institutional agenda (of the organisation running it) rather than an open one. There was a discussion around a disconnect and that communicating is a real issue but not for a lack of goodwill or funding. Also of a difficulty in getting back after consulting and asking if needs are being met, what they got right and what they got wrong. In terms of connection to a sense of place they said a Tenants and Residents Association had established itself in the new postcode in the new development, “they have come to us as a collective.” This new group had even “spoken about taking over control of the public space,” their own idea and how they had given space to the local community and how a skip garden had resulted.
A long term immigrant resident of the local Peabody Estate
She spoke about the estate and said the locality has a number of immigrants of different origins e.g Kurdish, Bengali, Pakistani, Latin American. She said there is little to no connection between these different communities. They only meet in the schools however when the parents meet at the school gates to pick up kids they don’t mingle, they remain with their cultural groups. She even said that it’s rare that the kids get invited round to a house of a different culture. Of all groups she said it’s hardest to meet English people. She didn’t think English are racist but maybe scared of meeting other communities. Her daughter said the same thing, that it’s hard to meet with English kids. She didn’t feel this was a good thing. She wanted more connection particularly with her neighbours but didnt see how.
In terms of what she thought would be a good event she said first people must come together then after you can find out what are their concerns and worries. She said if you don’t do this work nobody else will!
It was interesting how talking about the local fragmentation created an atmosphere of enlivened interest and curiosity in the household. It felt like it was surfacing truths that are rarely talked about.
A landlord of a local gay pub
He sees the development of the area with Eurostar, the CSM uni, granary square being positive. There’s been a loss of clubs but the area feels safer and he feels the developers have done a good job in preserving the historical buildings and retaining the history of the area. The area has gentrified and there have been casualties e.g local barbers on Caledonian Rd had to leave and return to Cyprus as the rents got too high. Also small shopkeepers but he said in general Cally Rd hasn’t been gentrified too much but its likely to change. He said the pub’s own landlords are now trying to ask for a 100% increase in the rent.
He talked of a sense of community connected with the pub. In the early days it was a real refuge for gay people disowned by family and friends. When the pub first opened it was attacked by skinheads. Due to a changes in attitudes and gay culture becoming more mainstream there has become less of a need for LGBT pubs, there is a sense of integration. He says gay people feel comfortable in regular bars and pubs now and conversely local straight community are happy to come to the pub.
A project manager of a local consortium of partners sharing and disseminating knowledge
On the one hand, the consortium's existence underlines the importance of both community based in place (as opposed to interests/identity, which can divide) and in person conversation (as opposed to online, more superficial, less emotional/whole-person 'chatting'). In line with our project it aims to connect disparate people ("choreographers can meet surgeons, activists can meet archivists") and you can only join if you agree to share knowledge from your organisation.
One of the major insights that we gleaned from these stakeholder interviews as a whole was the degree to which Kings Cross is a place of transience containing pockets of community but lacking in a sense of interwoven community.
Seeing King's Cross through the eyes of another
In order to continue our research and to see what's going on in the area, better understand its issues and create an opportunity for greater local connection and cohesion, we organised our first event on September 11th 2017. We wanted to hear from a variety of differing perspectives and so we convened a conversation using a method known as Deep Democracy facilitation. This is an entertaining and deeply revealing method to help people understand the different ways in which others see the world and get a snapshot of some of the dynamics in the local system as a whole.
In a deep democracy conversation a group can discuss a particular issue from multiple viewpoints. The process was developed by the American psychologist Arnold Mindell. Whereas in a normal conversation one puts forward one’s own personal point of view, a Deep Democracy conversation enables each participant to step into the shoes of another and speak from a whole spectrum of voices.
So a diverse group of participants attended this event including representatives from Central Saint Martins school, a local urban planner, residents from the nearby estate, social entrepreneurs, the co-worker space manager, the landlord from the local gay pub, practitioners from a school of psychotherapy and a sixth form student. The diversity was far from representative of the entirety of Kings Cross, however the ability to step into different local roles in this moving conversation meant that we explored the perspectives of council officers, angry local residents needing more information, local sex workers, the police, business owners.
What emerged was a touching and very real display of the emotion and confusion of the issues embedded in the area. At one point the whole group had constellated in a circle around a person holding the role of the homeless and in another moment the role of the sex worker backed away from everyone as she received punitive dialogue. The facilitator remarked afterwards that these were roles which were central in the locality and yet at the same time disowned and marginalised.
One participant remarked at the end that it's a very rare occasion when we make space to listen to each other and simply be together without wanting to fix or change the other, and that it was nice to have that opportunity in this event.
A major take away for us all was the recognition by everyone of the degree of disconnection in the area. It was interesting that both the oldest and youngest participant remarked that they had spent most of their life in the area and didn't really know what was going for other sections of the community and that to some degree they were impoverished by this. This recognition created a bitter sweet atmosphere in the event. Bitter in the sense that it highlighted how isolated our lives become in a hyper-individualised society such us London. But there was also a sense of sweetness from the connection and solidarity in learning that together
In order to continue our research and to see what's going on in the area, better understand its issues and create an opportunity for greater local connection and cohesion, we organised our first event on September 11th 2017. We wanted to hear from a variety of differing perspectives and so we convened a conversation using a method known as Deep Democracy facilitation. This is an entertaining and deeply revealing method to help people understand the different ways in which others see the world and get a snapshot of some of the dynamics in the local system as a whole.
In a deep democracy conversation a group can discuss a particular issue from multiple viewpoints. The process was developed by the American psychologist Arnold Mindell. Whereas in a normal conversation one puts forward one’s own personal point of view, a Deep Democracy conversation enables each participant to step into the shoes of another and speak from a whole spectrum of voices.
So a diverse group of participants attended this event including representatives from Central Saint Martins school, a local urban planner, residents from the nearby estate, social entrepreneurs, the co-worker space manager, the landlord from the local gay pub, practitioners from a school of psychotherapy and a sixth form student. The diversity was far from representative of the entirety of Kings Cross, however the ability to step into different local roles in this moving conversation meant that we explored the perspectives of council officers, angry local residents needing more information, local sex workers, the police, business owners.
What emerged was a touching and very real display of the emotion and confusion of the issues embedded in the area. At one point the whole group had constellated in a circle around a person holding the role of the homeless and in another moment the role of the sex worker backed away from everyone as she received punitive dialogue. The facilitator remarked afterwards that these were roles which were central in the locality and yet at the same time disowned and marginalised.
One participant remarked at the end that it's a very rare occasion when we make space to listen to each other and simply be together without wanting to fix or change the other, and that it was nice to have that opportunity in this event.
A major take away for us all was the recognition by everyone of the degree of disconnection in the area. It was interesting that both the oldest and youngest participant remarked that they had spent most of their life in the area and didn't really know what was going for other sections of the community and that to some degree they were impoverished by this. This recognition created a bitter sweet atmosphere in the event. Bitter in the sense that it highlighted how isolated our lives become in a hyper-individualised society such us London. But there was also a sense of sweetness from the connection and solidarity in learning that together
Free Listening - Kings Cross Station
After the Deep Democracy event we continued with a few more stakeholder interviews. We also wanted to engage directly with the people who lived and worked in the area and invite them to our main event in October. So we decided to do a free listening exercise in the very public space in front of King's Cross station. Free listening is like free hugs except instead of giving hugs to any passer by that wants one, you're simply there ready to listen to anyone who approaches you. It takes courage at first, but our repeated experience is that people do eventually come up and talk and speak about their concerns, feelings and observations. People could share anything they wanted.
One woman who worked locally in an estate agent approached us to share how she was particularly concerned about the level of homelessness in the area. A previous interview with a local support worker for a homelessness charity had told us that Kings Cross is a place where homeless people come who wish to be anonymous.
Andie in particular had some interesting conversations with a young eastern european man who told him of his fears related to his job.
October 21st Event - what we had planned and what actually transpired.
The event in October had been intended to be the central piece in beginning a project that would continue. However things didn't work out that way.
As an entirely voluntary project our group experienced logistical difficulties in finding enough time to do sufficient outreach for the event. However in spite of these difficulties we pushed ahead with the invitations to a very diverse selection of people and communities locally. Many assured us of their intention to attend.
The plan for the event was to create a convivial space in which people could meet share stories and food and engage in facilitated activities that would demonstrate unity in our diversity.
See the video below for an example of one of these activities:
The event in October had been intended to be the central piece in beginning a project that would continue. However things didn't work out that way.
As an entirely voluntary project our group experienced logistical difficulties in finding enough time to do sufficient outreach for the event. However in spite of these difficulties we pushed ahead with the invitations to a very diverse selection of people and communities locally. Many assured us of their intention to attend.
The plan for the event was to create a convivial space in which people could meet share stories and food and engage in facilitated activities that would demonstrate unity in our diversity.
See the video below for an example of one of these activities:
What transpired...
As the date of 21st October approached it became clear that numbers for the event at Impact Hub Kings Cross were very low and we almost cancelled. As the day approached we thought we would have at least 10 in attendance and decided to go ahead.
In the end 3 people came! Considering the ambitions of our project this felt like something of a failure. And...
We had a small but very authentic and inspiring event with food and conversation. The topic of homelessness in Kings Cross which had been a consistent theme in our whole learning journey was very much central to the gathering as a an ex homeless man who used to be on the streets locally came along with his mentor who was now supporting him in a transition to stability now that he had a home. We also had the presence of the local resident and urban planner who enriched the discussion with his anecdotes of working on a homeless project in the area. The ex-homeless man opened up and told his life story which was a gut wrenching account of abduction, addiction and now recovery. The friendship and support of his mentor also an ex-addict was very touching.
The aim of beginning the work for Connecting Kings Cross hadn't materialised but in a small and significant way simply listening to and engaging with the story of this man who had previously walked those same streets in desparation opened a space of empathy that will certainly inform future work.
After this event it became clear to us for a number of reasons that we could not sustain this particular Connecting Kings Cross and Reinventing Democracy project. However we'd like to share with you a number of learnings and takeaways that the whole project has enabled ← click here!
As the date of 21st October approached it became clear that numbers for the event at Impact Hub Kings Cross were very low and we almost cancelled. As the day approached we thought we would have at least 10 in attendance and decided to go ahead.
In the end 3 people came! Considering the ambitions of our project this felt like something of a failure. And...
We had a small but very authentic and inspiring event with food and conversation. The topic of homelessness in Kings Cross which had been a consistent theme in our whole learning journey was very much central to the gathering as a an ex homeless man who used to be on the streets locally came along with his mentor who was now supporting him in a transition to stability now that he had a home. We also had the presence of the local resident and urban planner who enriched the discussion with his anecdotes of working on a homeless project in the area. The ex-homeless man opened up and told his life story which was a gut wrenching account of abduction, addiction and now recovery. The friendship and support of his mentor also an ex-addict was very touching.
The aim of beginning the work for Connecting Kings Cross hadn't materialised but in a small and significant way simply listening to and engaging with the story of this man who had previously walked those same streets in desparation opened a space of empathy that will certainly inform future work.
After this event it became clear to us for a number of reasons that we could not sustain this particular Connecting Kings Cross and Reinventing Democracy project. However we'd like to share with you a number of learnings and takeaways that the whole project has enabled ← click here!
A final immersion into the past and present of King's Cross
To conclude our epic project that had seen us involved us meeting regularly since September 2016 we organised a walk around Kings Cross with Greg the local urban planner who we met through the project and had become a friend and inspiration with his knowledge of the area.
Here is Maria's account of that walk we did in January 2018:
"For one year, some of us have gathered in Kings Cross, as part of a pilot project, entitled Reinventing Democracy, where we experimented with bringing together and connecting with diverse types of people living in the area. Our walk was part of that project, so, there we were, at 6 PM all gathered, ready to hear, despite the freezing cold, the stories of a wonderful storyteller, Gregory Cowan (a long time local resident), who generously led us on this walking adventure. As for myself, the journey brought emotions and affects to the streets we walked through, by tapping into the lives and spaces of other humans, inhabiting the same space, in other times. Gregory weaved for us a tapestry of stories spanning various centuries. In Caledonian road, we heard about lascivious pubs, radical left wing bookshops, community gardens, erotic cinemas from the seventies and eighties. In Regents canal, we learned how the canal used to have boats filled with ice coming from Norway, before refrigeration was invented. We closed our evening in a pub overseeing the trains leaving Kings Cross, speaking about cities, music and many other things!
Suddenly, Kings Cross was more alive."
To conclude our epic project that had seen us involved us meeting regularly since September 2016 we organised a walk around Kings Cross with Greg the local urban planner who we met through the project and had become a friend and inspiration with his knowledge of the area.
Here is Maria's account of that walk we did in January 2018:
"For one year, some of us have gathered in Kings Cross, as part of a pilot project, entitled Reinventing Democracy, where we experimented with bringing together and connecting with diverse types of people living in the area. Our walk was part of that project, so, there we were, at 6 PM all gathered, ready to hear, despite the freezing cold, the stories of a wonderful storyteller, Gregory Cowan (a long time local resident), who generously led us on this walking adventure. As for myself, the journey brought emotions and affects to the streets we walked through, by tapping into the lives and spaces of other humans, inhabiting the same space, in other times. Gregory weaved for us a tapestry of stories spanning various centuries. In Caledonian road, we heard about lascivious pubs, radical left wing bookshops, community gardens, erotic cinemas from the seventies and eighties. In Regents canal, we learned how the canal used to have boats filled with ice coming from Norway, before refrigeration was invented. We closed our evening in a pub overseeing the trains leaving Kings Cross, speaking about cities, music and many other things!
Suddenly, Kings Cross was more alive."