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Placemaking in 2026: Why Community Co-Design Is No Longer Optional
As 2026 begins, there is a growing sense that placemaking in the UK is at a crossroads. The pressures are obvious. Public services are stretched thin. Inequality is deeply entrenched. Too many strategies look impressive on paper yet fail to change how places actually feel or function for the people living there. What’s less often acknowledged is why this keeps
Going to Where the Work Is Needed: Rethinking How We Deliver Prevention
Across the country, there is growing investment in wellbeing hubs — centralised spaces designed to bring services together and offer a visible access point for health, wellbeing and prevention. This direction of travel aligns with wider NHS and Integrated Care System (ICS) ambitions to simplify access, reduce fragmentation, and support earlier intervention. In many contexts, these hubs have clear benefits.
The Role of Small-Medium Enterprises in Asset-Based Community Development in the UK
In recent years, Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) has gained increasing attention across the UK as an alternative to deficit-led models of community support. Rather than starting with what communities lack, ABCD focuses on recognising, connecting and strengthening the assets that already exist — people, relationships, skills, organisations and local enterprise. Within this context, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a
Population Health, Place, and Partnership: Why NHS Reform Aligns with Placemaking
Early signals emerging from the evolving structure of NHS Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) suggest a renewed and sharpened focus on population health management and addressing entrenched health inequalities. For those of us working in community-led development and placemaking, this is not only encouraging—it’s a call to action. At All About The Place, our mission has always been to help communities
The Community Development Dilemma: Where are the Innovation Funds Going to Come From?
Community-led innovation has the potential to transform local economies, empower residents, and create long-term social value. Yet, as I have experienced firsthand, securing funding for these initiatives remains a significant challenge. The current funding landscape is riddled with gaps, making it incredibly difficult for entrepreneurial community projects to get off the ground. The Public Sector’s Limited Approach Despite acknowledging the
Time the UK had a New Economic Strategy
As we approach the Labour Chancellor’s first UK budget, it is concerning that little recognition is being given to the persistent shortcomings of growth-focused policies that rely on ‘trickle-down’ economics. The worsening cost-of-living crisis, rising food insecurity, and unaffordability of essentials highlight the inadequacy of these approaches for the majority. Meanwhile, sectors like supermarkets continue to report profits fuelling steady
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