While we are keen to address local needs and individual communities, we also aim to avoid taking a parochial approach in our work. The Clyde is a physically connected river and we live in an ever more connected and interdependent world.
We look at community as something existing at all levels in a broad spectrum and not confined to a single local area or special interest group. We operate in local, national and international communities, in social enterprise communities, artistic communities, maritime communities and more.
Projects like the regeneration of Govan Graving Docks cannot be properly considered in a silo of purely local or neighbourhood needs and concerns or short-sighted commercial interest. The needs of all the communities that line the Clyde needs to be addressed in a connected way.
We believe in working on the basis of open collaboration on a project basis and aim to avoid outmoded models of hierarchical management. This approach is common in software, technology and creative industries and we believe it can be successfully applied to most sectors. With there no longer being any such thing as a "job for life" it is all the more important that people are able to take full control of their work and careers in this way.
We believe that projects such as the regeneration of Govan Graving Docks would operate best as a cooperative of individual but interdependent social enterprises, franchises and other small operations that compliment each other. This would be in stark contrast to a single, inflexible, centrally governed operation as might exist were the project to be delivered through the public sector.
Through our work we aim to create opportunities for young and unemployed people, in doing so empowering them to take control of their lives.
Youth unemployment has become a political football with a punitive approach in which young people are given little say in how it is tackled. This needs to change if we as a society are to create a fair and sustainable future.
We believe that taking a cultural planning approach to the regeneration of dockland areas is a useful methodology that can benefit both local communities and the wider socio-economic agenda.
Every place has its own unique DNA, history and geophysical make up. Every place has memories, people who lived/worked and played there. These attributes are rich and priceless. They are also potentially the building blocks for future developments. We have looked to examples like the New York High Line and Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord in the Ruhr Valley, Germany for inspiration about the future of the Graving Docks in Govan. These major tourist attractions are delivering economically for their respective countries and regions: much more than standard housing or retail developments. Also, they are accessible to everyone so are delivering on health, social and cultural objectives at the same time. They can also offer inspiration for much wider socioeconomic regeneration of the Clyde waterfront.
