Dimension 01 of 05
Shift the story
Changing the story a place tells about itself - and the story others tell about it.
Some of the most inspiring examples of community-led change have helped to shift a local area's narrative. They have managed to change, slowly and over a number of years, the image a place has of itself, to help local people see a positive future for their area.
This question of narrative comes up often in conversations with local Pride in Place areas. Sometimes people find themselves battling cynicism - a sense that ‘we’ve heard it all before’. At other times, people experience a lack of imagination; there is a sense that the town's best years are behind it, and local people might struggle to see how they could help turn this around.
Narrative change is about working in a determined way, over a number of years, to foster a more hopeful and creative sense of the future.
Case studies
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Grimsby Together (opens in a new tab)
More than 1,100 people took part in conversations about the town's future in 2024, casting over 56,000 votes on things they wanted to change. The work was run by Our Future (opens in a new tab), and fed directly into Grimsby's Pride in Place submission.
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Medellín (opens in a new tab)
In 2004, a cable-car network began to connect isolated hillside neighbourhoods to the city centre, and there was increased investment in libraries, schools and public space. A study found significant drops in violent crime in neighbourhoods that received investment.
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Hull, UK City of Culture 2017 (opens in a new tab)
Hull used a year-long national designation as UK City of Culture to shift how the city was seen from outside and how residents spoke about it from within. The University of Hull's evaluation attributes roughly £676m of new public and private investment to the city following 2017.
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Bilbao (opens in a new tab)
The Guggenheim in Bilbao is often referenced as an example of culture-led transformation. Really the story is more complicated, reflecting a many-year, multi-agency led effort. The case also reveals the risks of uneven development - critics have pointed out that regeneration in Bilbao concentrated in the downtown area, while peripheral neighbourhoods were overlooked.
Most relevant practical materials
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A framing toolkit: talking about poverty (opens in a new tab)
Free
A toolkit of tested framing recommendations, drawn from research with 20,000 UK participants, on effective ways to talk about poverty.
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The nine steps of place branding (opens in a new tab)
Free
Guidance on place branding in nine steps, from purpose to ownership, geography, brand building, and evaluation. Written for councils.
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Building a community reporter network (opens in a new tab)
Free
A guide to setting up and sustaining a network of resident reporters, covering recruitment, training, mentoring, avoiding tokenism and feedback loops.
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Tool
The Thing From The Future (opens in a new tab)
Creative Commons
A printable card game that moves a group from familiar answers towards a more genuinely imaginative picture of the future.
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Course
Community leadership training (opens in a new tab)
A six-day residential course on relational meetings, storytelling, power analysis and negotiation, accredited by Birmingham Newman University.
Other creative ways to explore this dimension
5 items-
Tool
A framing toolkit (opens in a new tab)
Free
Tested framing recommendations from research with 20,000 UK participants, on ways to shift public perceptions of a complex topic like poverty.
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Book
Estates - An Intimate History (opens in a new tab)
A book by Lynsey Hanley on growing up on a Birmingham estate, and the effect a place has on the people who live there.
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Film
A Northern Soul (opens in a new tab)
Subscription
A documentary following a Hull warehouse worker who runs a hip-hop bus for local children, filmed across the City of Culture year.
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Film
Estate, a Reverie (opens in a new tab)
A film made over seven years on a Hackney estate before its demolition, by a filmmaker who lived there, in which residents offer their own portraits.
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Film
Seaside Special (opens in a new tab)
Paywalled
A documentary about Cromer's end-of-pier show, and the role a local institution can play in shaping a place’s identity.