The Elizabeth Line will soon ensure EC1 is the best connected place in London, with new developments along Culture Mile making it even more attractive for arts, entertainment and creative industries.
To take advantage of those opportunities we need to enable two explorations - into how best to join up existing sources of information to benefit residents, visitors and businesses, and also how to do that in ways that will support sustainability of the Echo. Let’s make this a model for other London neighbourhoods, which all have their own strengths.
The big picture
Over the next year EC1 businesses and residents will be looking for ways to recover and rebuild after the pandemic - even if we face another wave. There’s lessons to be learned, relationships to be developed.
The Elizabeth Line, opening in 2022, will make EC1 the easiest place in London to visit, via Farringdon Crossrail and Thameslink stations. In a few more years we will have a new Museum for London, and further activities and developments along the Culture Mile. Clerkenwell Design Week is set to return next year, drawing in a lot of visitors and spending power.
The Echo now has a strong reputation locally, and more widely, through its print edition. Content is available online … but funding is only assured until mid-2022.
How can we make the most of the emerging opportunities - for the benefit of residents, visitors, businesses - and for sustainability of the Echo?
Clerkenwell also has guides and trails - some featured in the Echo - but they are not listed or organised in one place. The Peel community organisers are developing new relationships, and helping projects, and will wish to share that. There is a lot of scope to promote Clerkenwell shops and entertainment - but no initiative that I know of to do that.
EC1 needs an information and activities system that works for residents, visitors and businesses. It can be build largely from the resources already available, and existing hubs like the Echo, The Peel, Culture Mile, libraries and others prepared to collaborate.
There won’t be just one centre, online or on the ground: we need a network of hubs … people, groups, organisations and places.
The purpose will be to enable anyone living, visiting or working in EC1 to make the most of opportunities in the area - and help build the place and community we need for the future.
Making a start
To achieve that we need two linked explorations
One to demonstrate what can be achieved by researching, mapping, connecting and promoting the resources that we already have in EC1, building and strengthening collaborations along the way.
Another to explore sustainability of the Echo: first, conventionally, by using the exploration to source more stories and features, build subscriptions, advertising and listings; second, more innovatively, by securing funding and support to help develop collaboratively a platform for the sort of information and activities system we need for Clerkenwell and City … and elsewhere in London.
Over the past three years I’ve been developing these ideas, with others, through work with The Peel in 2018/19, and the Networked City project. I have started to build some local maps and information systems: Clerkenwell Commons, favourite places, and a more ambitious storymap under development.
I have an extensive database of places and resources that I am transferring to maps, and also linked information sheets about places and story themes, with references to Echo stories and Clerkenwell 101. I’m adding photos and videos.
However, this isn’t just about“maps”. They are just one way to show places(geographic maps), connections(network maps), and narratives about people, places and activities(storymaps). We need ways to organise listings into calendars and directories, curate and link social media, archive and access print … and provide people with routes into this content that work for them.
In doing that we need to connect the connectors, join up the hubs, and help people create their own maps, pathways and creative content.
Too big a task?
This looks like a big exercise. How about we treat it as a big story which we can both promote and report … and help make happen through social reporting and solutions journalism. Wherever possible acting as curators, catalysts and connectors.
Develop this vision so that it can be shared with some initial collaborators - Social Spider, The Peel, Culture Mile, members of the editorial group. Who would like to help?
Research and develop some demonstration listings and maps - some public facing to show what we can achieve, some to inform the organising group about who is doing what.
Start a blog and website, with social media, to showcase Echo content, report on the explorations and build collaborations. I can do that on Commons.London and/or a site more closely associated with the Echo. I suggest both.
Document learning and build a guide on how our approach can be applied more widely. I’m already doing this, based my past three years work, and some other pilots in London and the Midlands.
The big picture
Making a start
Too big a task?