Carl,
Thank you for your friendly and encouraging mail. I will send you a
copy of the original report by Dr. Cameron, who gave a presentation
today also to the Positive Psychology Section of the British
Psychological Society, and forward your mail to him. He may be able
to send more.
I intend to contact the Holborn Housing Office to try to find out
what is really motivating them to upgrade our estate which so badly
needed it. One contributory reason may be that the journalists for
the Olympics will be accommodated in hotels around here, and would be
shocked at the previous shabbiness of the estate - a point I made to
them several times while I was Secretary - resigning eventually
because the unreasonable timing of the Housing Office led me into
making a very discourteous mistake over a new member of the
committee, not consulting when that block was seriously affected by
cabins and lorries for Decent Homes work - but we were put under
absurd time pressure.
It all came OK in the end, as I had a good excuse to resign and the
new member took over many of the duties - I am still in the loop and
have a lot of input to the Holborn office. As I say it may take a
little while to find anything that can clearly be said other than
that they are rather shamefaced and new staff are motivated to make
good the very poor relations with residents who moaned like hell at
every AGM
Are you involved in any similar projects, or do you want teaching
material basically?
Best wishes, Erica
On 20 Apr 2010, at 19:00, Carl Walker wrote:
> Hi Erica
>
> That sounds really promising, well done. Do you have any literature/
> weblinks where I could find out more about this project in Central
> London?
>
> Thanks
> Carl
>
> Carl Walker
> School of Applied Social Science
> University Of Brighton
> Brighton
> BN1 9PH
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List on behalf of
> Erica Brostoff
> Sent: Tue 20/04/2010 00:19
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Activity on the Tybalds Estate
>
>
>
> Dear Network Members
> I have posted information about our Estate in Central London on two
> previous occasions and I am writing to report enormous progress, at
> least in the physical appearance of the estate and the satisfaction
> of the committee and facilities for residents. The Holborn Housing
> Office, is apparently making real efforts to make good the neglect of
> the estate in previous years, and from various pots of money
> available either through competitive bids that this estate can make,
> or from government initiatives or Decent Homes finance, the following
> improvements have been made.
> 1. Changing a dog toilet to an orchard
> 2. Significant raised beds for plants which match in design and
> materials a new recycling area
> and also matched wooden bollards to a design chosen by the committee,
> which is very harmonious to look at.
> 3. New lifts in two blocks
> 4. Plans in train for a survey of underground services (gas,
> electricity, water etc.) in a central area, prior to a design to
> rehabilate this for better recreation
> 5. A Pathfinder semi-natural playground updated from the former
> playground (Government funds)
> 6. Closure of one of the exits to make the estate less vulnerable.
> There are still five or six exits, so a complaint from one resident
> that it is becoming like a ghetto is somewhat surprising.
> 7/ Plans for thorough cleaning of stairs and landings, with
> consultation with tenants
> 8. Vastly improved relations with Housing staff, for which there is
> credit on both sides, but particularly that the Housing staff are
> less defensive.
>
> I think credit is due to Dr. Sean Cameron, who conducted a research
> into residents' needs two to three years ago, and to myself in
> sticking it out as Secretary when the situation was almost
> intolerable, and when the rest of the committee would have resigned
> if I had done so. At the time the committee as a whole judged that
> this would have not have made any real impact, but what did make
> impact was the Council ignoring their own planning rules and causing
> disruption which could be challenged by Councillors, thus putting the
> Housing office at a disadvantage. Also, as mentioned previously,
> the input of psychologists into the selection procedure for new staff.
>
> I am prompted to write now, as Craig seems to have a view that
> psychologists have nothing to offer society, even if they happen to
> be, among other things, qualified in Social Psychology with
> backgrounds also in Sociology and Anthropology. Although he has
> indicated strong feelings
> it is not quite clear what his view is of how improvements in
> people's well-being is to be achieved and it would be helpful if this
> could be made explicit, as he is such a frequent contributor to the
> network, and not necessarily known personally to all.
>
> With thanks,
> Erica Brostoff.
>
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The Community Psychology List has a new website/blog at:
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There is a threaded discussion forum:
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To post on the website blog, forum or twitter feed, contact Grant or David at the email addresses below.
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To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website:
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