Getting a clear voice to shape your neighbourhood

This project is to find out what you think will make your voice more effective to engage and steer development in your Edinburgh neighbourhood. We know that current community engagement for planning and development has not kept pace with change in recent times. We’re exploring how both digital and online platforms can reach more people; especially those who’ve been excluded in the past. We also want to know how best to use rooms and venues as a home for community engagement. Our Edinburgh Neighbourhood is a Four Nations Project called Community Consultation and Quality of Life and is also based in Reading, Cardiff and Belfast. In Scotland our project is proudly hosted by The University of Edinburgh.

Tell us what makes for a strong, social, sustainable neighbourhood

We want to know about the places you value both in your neighbourhood and Edinburgh’s city centre. These can be community facilities, public transport stops, shops, schools, greenspace; to understand not only what you value but where it is. Future planning and development in Edinburgh will use the idea of 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, that looks to create neighbourhoods where daily services can be accessible by a 20-minute walk, cycle or public transit transport, to describe and develop the facilities you want and need close by and be easily accessible.

Get Engaged

We'll ask you to use an accessible online application to say what’s important to you in Edinburgh using an immersive mapping tool. Not only will you see the places you value, but everyone else’s valued places too. You’ll visualise how people share what they value about your neighbourhood. We also want you to tell us how well you think our platform works and this will help us to make better and more responsive resources for you to use. We’ll be experimenting with rooms and spaces to see what you think works best empowering you to engage in the planning process.

Where to get involved? ​

We are wanting to know what’s important about our City Centre and your local neighbourhood. In Central Edinburgh we’re opening an Urban Room. It is part meeting place, part exhibition, a resource to gather and share information. We will also go out to you in some Edinburgh neighbourhoods to understand how our themes can work with your local priorities. We will also come to you with a programme of activities in your neighbourhood based around our themes and your priorities. You can also get involved in any place, online using our engagement site to tell us about the places important to you.

Why do this?

Edinburgh is famous for its history and beauty; but we want to go beyond this to find out about the places your community really values. The information we gather will help the City of Edinburgh Council understand what a successful 20-minute neighbourhood means for you. New legislation coming on stream enables communities to craft your own planning agendas using Local Place Plans. Our project will help you understand your neighbourhood through mapping and provide a good resource to create your own Local Place Plans. Beyond Edinburgh, we’ll share good practice with our Four Nation partners. Our findings will be available to neighbourhoods everywhere who are planning for a sustainable future.

Our Partners