Presentation from the first of two workshops run by Social Life and Cisco about using digital technology to build community resilience in Chicago's South Side.

1. Using digital technology to create
resilient neighborhoods in Chicago’s
South Side
Nicola Bacon & Saffron Woodcraft
Workshop 1: July 18, 2012

2. Social Life is a new venture set up in 2012, with a strong
heritage.

3. We continue to build neighborhoods that fail to thrive as
flourishing communities and struggle finding ways to revive
failing areas.

4. This is a global issue.

5. We believe we can learn from both the mistakes, and the
hopes, of the past.

6. Where are the people?

7. Our approach: putting people at the
heart of placemaking

8. How can digital technology boost
community resilience?

9. Resilience

10. Our first question: what is a
community?
A UK mainstream
version: defining
a sustainable
community
Source: Egan review 2004

11. A US version:
what makes a
successful
place?
Source: Project for Public
Spaces

12. But what about…
• A sense of identity: a place people feel they
belong
• Local history, myths & stories
• Strong social relationships, networks & bonds
• Trusting the neighbors
• Rituals and rhythms
• Physical boundaries to promote geographical
identity
• Visible leadership

13. Stuck vs dynamic?

14. What is resilience?
• The ordinary superpower…
• Resilience is the ability of a
person, group or community to
bounce back in the face of
adversity
• Adaptability matters for
individuals, families, communities
and cities
• Good and bad happens
everywhere
• Resilience is not static: it can be
changed.

15. Survival resilience vs adaptive resilience

16. What interventions build resilience?
Full of life: tested in Brixton and Kingston in London, peer to peer
learning, using volunteers trained by experts

18. Wellbeing and resilience in Poplar, East London

19. From UK national statistics, what
influences our resilience
1. Friends/family around for drink or meal +
2. Ability to face problems +
3. Regular savings +
4. Regularly stop and talk with people in my neighbourhood +
5. Felt you could not overcome difficulties -
6. Felt downhearted and depressed -
7. Subjective financial situation – current -
8. Level of education +
9. Enjoy day-to-day activities +
10. Unemployed or long term sick or disabled -
11. Subjective financial situation – future -
12. Employed +
From Young Foundation analysis of UK Understanding Society survey (unpublished)

20. From UK national statistics, what
influences our resilience
1. Friends/family around for drink or meal +
2. Ability to face problems +
3. Regular savings +
4. Regularly stop and talk with people in my neighbourhood +
5. Felt you could not overcome difficulties -
6. Felt downhearted and depressed -
7. Subjective financial situation – current -
8. Level of education +
9. Enjoy day-to-day activities +
10. Unemployed or long term sick or disabled -
11. Subjective financial situation – future -
12. Employed +
From Young Foundation analysis of UK Understanding Society survey (unpublished)

21. Structural
* Level of education
* Unemployed or long term sick or disabled
* Employed
Social
* Friends/family around for drink or meal
* Regularly stop and talk with people in my
neighborhood
Emotional
* Enjoy day-to-day
activities
* Ability to face problems
* Regular savings
* Felt you could not
overcome difficulties
* Felt downhearted &
depressed
* Subjective financial
situation

22. How do we build community resilience?

24. Structural
What can
we change?
Social
Emotional

25. Structural
Open up opportunities,
increase confidence
Social
Emotional
Increase wellbeing,
hope, optimism, reduce
isolation, depression

26. Structural
Open up opportunities,
increase confidence
We increase resilience
through:
• Increasing access to
Social
opportunity
• Boosting local
leadership
• Building identity and Emotional
belonging
• Creating and Increase wellbeing,
isolation, hope, optimism
strengthening local
social networks and
neighborliness

27. Digital Technology & Resilience

28. Structural
Open up opportunities,
increase confidence
Social
Emotional
How can
technology Increase wellbeing,
help build hope, optimism, reduce
isolation, depression
community
resilience?

29. We know technology can
• Increase access to opportunity
• Boost local leadership
• Build identity and belonging
• Create and strengthen local social
networks and neighborliness
• And that these can all boost
community resilience

30. But it is a tool, not an
end in itself
• It can support community
development – but
• It relies on people to connect other
people (time, resources, support) to
the opportunities technology can
create
• It needs to be integrated into place-
based strategies for improving
opportunities and quality of life in
communities

31. What works?
• Many community technology projects fail
because they lack people to make them
accessible & relevant
• They need to be part of a wider strategy
about addressing community development
• But also respond to a specific local need
• Some of the most effective examples involve
community, intermediary and city
stakeholders

36. How is digital technology being used
to boost resilience?

37. Expanding access to technology centers,
broadband, training and digital literacy.

38. Everyday digital skills training, family net centers,
business resource networks, community portals,
youth engagement & youth.

39. Online/mobile access to information about
opportunities (jobs, training, welfare services).

40. Local news and information and discussion
forums.

41. Spaces to discuss local needs and generate
new ideas.

42. Tools for placemaking and community
engagement.

43. Citizen reporting and accountability.

45. Tools for mapping issues and local problems.

46. Voting on issues
1. Violence
2. Reviving the Main Street
3. Social isolation
4. Empty spaces
5. Leadership and unity

47. Next steps
1. Second workshop: July 19
2. Presentation shared with workshop teams: July
20
3. Summary of feedback from workshops 1 & 2
shared with workshop teams: early August
4. Progress on how ideas are to be developed
shared with workshop teams: on-going

48. social-life.co
nicola.bacon@social-life.co
saffron.woodcraft@social-life.co