Camden Council, Lendlease, Camden Giving and the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) are working together to understand the experiences of local communities most affected by major regeneration projects in the Euston area, and identify opportunities for local people to prosper while regeneration is underway.
Good Life Euston is an 18-month collaborative research project, which will develop a set of indicators to measure wellbeing in Euston and across the whole of Camden. The Euston prosperity and wellbeing index will measure the impacts of regeneration on local communities over the long-term to support decision making and investment based on priorities for local residents
Major changes are planned for Euston over many years including new offices, homes, cafés, shops, public and green space, community, leisure and entertainment facilities on a 60-acre site above, between, and around the High Speed 2 and Network Rail Stations. With an emerging masterplan under development by Lendlease, it’s crucial that local people have a voice in how their area is shaped.
A total of 24 citizen social scientists will be trained and employed to carry out the research in their communities over the next 18 months to measure the impact of these major regeneration works over the long term.
Research to develop the index began with Euston Young Voices, a citizen social science project led by young people from Euston. The project trains young residents to work as social scientists in their neighbourhoods – carrying out research to explore what prosperity means and how opportunities and aspirations are shaped by urban regeneration.
Camden Council is the lead partner for this project, providing funding towards the costs of recruiting and employing the young citizen social scientists as well as linking them with other work in the area and across the borough.
Councillor Beales said “Good Life Euston is an innovative example of how we can work together with our partners to ensure that local voices are at the heart of any regeneration proposals for our communities. By judging our plans and performance using the lived experience of local residents, we can better shape investment and local services in ways that are more likely to help support the creation of sustainable and inclusive local economies, and assist in delivering a good life for all our citizens.
Lendlease was appointed ‘Master Development Partner’ for the Euston development by the Government and is providing funding to train and support young people and adults to become citizen social scientists with the IGP.
Lendlease’s Project Director for Euston, Phil Gould, said “This research provides an excellent opportunity to record the experiences and aspirations of local residents. But most importantly to be able to find out what they believe is most important for this project, which will help us plan a transformation of Euston that delivers for everyone.
The project is based on the Institute for Global Prosperity’s pioneering citizen-led Prosperity Index. The IGP trains and supports the citizen social scientists and carries out the data analysis.
Professor Henrietta L. Moore, Founder and Director of the IGP said "At the IGP we fundamentally believe that citizens and communities should be at the centre of efforts to reimagine prosperity and to define what matters to them for a good quality of life. We never assume what matters and we always begin by asking people to tell us what matters to them"
Camden Giving have employed and paid the Euston Young Voices and are working with them on their development opportunities beyond the project.
Danielle Green, Assistant Director said “By giving our young people opportunities to be more connected, active members of their community and tools to influence change is why participatory projects like Good Life Euston are so necessary. We now have a collective responsibility to act on what is truly important to our Young Euston Voices by embracing and valuing their meaningful contributions to deliver on the priorities of their neighbourhood.
The project is part of a shared commitment by the partners to a strong and inclusive borough where everyone can make their contribution and lead a healthy independent life.
Main image: Camden Lock by Siobhan Bradshaw, Citizen Social Scientist
Group image: Adult cohort of citizen social scientists at a face-to-face training session in December 2020. Credit: Ranya Lamani, Participatory Champion, Camden Giving
PhD studentship opportunity: Calculation of the Monetary ESGAP (M-ESGAP) indicator
PhD studentship opportunity available at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, exploring the ‘Calculation of the Monetary ESGAP (M-ESGAP) Indicator’.
15 Apr 2025
New Research Finds ‘Substantial’ Global Disparities in Covid-19 Vaccine Accessibility
The research, published in the British Medical Journal, showed major disparities between access to vaccines across 54 surveyed countries, with vaccine deserts in both high- and low-income regions.
15 Apr 2025
TERRITORIES OF CO-COGNITION Symposium
TERRITORIES OF CO-COGNITION is a half-day symposium curated by Bartlett academics, critically examining the intersections of artificial intelligence, ethics and the built environment.
14 Apr 2025