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Imagine your struggling town centre has the highest business vacancy rate in the country, new businesses are actively avoiding the place and the town has been listed as the 12th worst place to live. Now, that's a tough situation!

This is a 15-minute crash course to explore pride in place and why it is so important to addressing social, economic and governance issues that many cities, towns and neighbourhoods face. Whilst the United Kingdom will be the focus, the ideas could be applicable in many countries around the world.

And we'll learn what leaders did in the place that faced this extraordinary set of challenges listed above.

‘Pride in place’ and other similar phrases like ‘civic’ or ‘local pride', can be used as a measure of how people like where they live, what they are or are not proud of and what matters to them.

Politicians and city leaders like the concept because they feel such sentiments will reflect well on them and the interventions that they support. 

Consecutive governments in the United Kingdom (U.K.) have adopted increasing pride in place as a central objective of their place-based programmes. It can also be a counter-balance to negative narratives often portrayed on social media about how places such as neighbourhoods and town centres are changing, a 'negative nostalgia'.

Wherever you go across the country, communities are brimming with ideas. They know what the issues are and what change is needed to fix them. They just need the backing of the Government to make it happen.

The United Kingdom Government's Pride in Place Strategy

What governments need to realise though, is that a boost in pride is more likely to come from engaging people in the process of making a place better, rather than misplaced material outputs or doing it to or for them.

Members of a place partnership of Council, community and commercial stakeholders, discussing issues and solutions, in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, U.K.

There are tried and tested techniques on how to do this

Fortunately, there are tried and tested ways through placemaking and place management that give local people a central role in helping our public spaces, neighbourhoods and towns to bloom. 

Placemaking Education is linking with the U.K.-based People & Places Partnership to explore this topic and share ideas about what makes us feel better about changes to the places that are important to us. 

The next section explains more.