Mapping stories of community struggles and resilience in London in the face of COVID-19

As political conversations at all scales shifted towards the need to ‘build back’ from the pandemic, this collaborative project mobilised and amplified largely unheard community voices in discussions of post-pandemic planning.  

The audio map project asked people about the impacts of COVID-19 and what would need to change for London to build back fairer post pandemic?  

The project was underpinned by coproduced research between  The Bartlett Development Planning Unit and Just Space, a London-wide network of community campaigns and organisations seeking to promote more just planning in the capital.

The map was conceived as an initial step towards the production of a community-led post-COVID recovery plan for London, published in April 2022.

Read collectively, the stories in the map underscore the critical importance of placing the knowledge and experience of London’s diverse communities at the heart of post-pandemic recovery planning, giving a clear and timely steer for local government and decision makers.

Interviews with BAME organisations, neighbourhood groups and local economy groups were conducted by UCL MSc students. The map is designed to be a ‘living resource’, with the potential for the ideas and reflections of further London-based groups to be added over time.

The project builds on a longstanding partnership between Just Space and The Bartlett.

The Bartlett Development Planning Unit conducts world-leading research and postgraduate teaching that helps build the capacity of national governments, local authorities, NGOs, aid agencies and businesses working towards socially just and sustainable development.

The Just Space network was formed to bring together a diverse range of groups to participate in London planning, which is usually dominated by town planners and developers. 
 
Just Space have now produced and published their community-led recovery plan with inputs from more than 60 community groups from across London, several of whom also took part in the audio map project. A copy of the recovery plan can be found here.

The plan calls for a radical change of course in London’s planning – less a developers’ city, more a city for its people – with the aim of reversing the inequalities brutally exposed by the pandemic.

Further resources

• Explore the audio map
• Just Space
• The Bartlett Development Planning Unit
• A recovery plan for London

Back to all case studies >