Rethinking prosperity and social value with and for communities: What can citizen-led metrics tell us about the ‘prosperity gains’ from urban regeneration?

About this event

In this seminar, Saffron Woodcraft will discuss the development of the Citizen Prosperity Index – an alternative framework for measuring the impact of London’s Olympic legacy that has been co-produced with citizen social scientists and residents in east London. The framework is based on qualitative research exploring lived experiences of regeneration and situated meanings of prosperity. Saffron will present findings from the first wave of Prosperity in east London 2021-2031, a longitudinal study using the Citizen Prosperity Index to explore the hyper-local ‘prosperity gains’ from regeneration investments. In the seminar, Saffron will explore the role of hyper-local metrics in foregrounding intricate patterns of spatial and socio-economic inequality that conventional measures of regeneration impact overlook; and the potential for trans-disciplinary approaches to urban knowledge production, policy design, and planning, that foreground local knowledge, community agency, and shared prosperity. Saffron is Professorial Research Fellow and Director of Social Policy at the Institute for Global Prosperity. Her research focuses on understanding lived experiences of community, shared prosperity, and inequality in urban neighbourhoods experiencing rapid change. She works collaboratively with citizen scientists, community organisations, government policymakers and business decision-makers to bring local understandings of prosperity and inequality into regeneration planning and decision-making processes. She leads trans-disciplinary research and innovation partnerships in the UK and Tanzania, including the Prosperity in east London 2021-2031 10-year study, London Prosperity Board, and UCL Citizen Science Academy, which focus on collaborations with citizen scientists, local community organisations, government policymakers, and business, to develop evidence and action on local pathways to prosperity. Saffron is currently a Research Policy Fellow at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.