Sustainable Communities

Sustainable communities, and the related area of regeneration, are an emerging policy theme for MLA.

The government's sustainable communities agenda was launched with the paper Sustainable Communities: Building for the future , which addressed the contrasting problems of housing shortage in the south-east (developing ?Growth Areas?) and housing abandonment in the north and midlands (the 'Northern Way').

Both aspects are united by a shared vision of sustainable communities as ?communities that stand the test of time and in which people want to live?.

The relevance of museums, libraries and archives to sustainable communities becomes clear when the following characteristics of sustainable communities are noted:

• Active, inclusive and safe - fair, tolerant and cohesive with a strong local culture and other shared community activities
• Well run - with effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership
• Environmentally sensitive - providing places for people to live that are considerate of the environment
• Well designed and built - featuring a quality built and natural environment
• Well connected - with good transport services and communication linking people to jobs, schools, health and other services
• Thriving - with a flourishing and diverse local economy
• Well served - with public, private, community and voluntary services that are appropriate to people's needs and accessible to all
• Fair for everyone - including those in other communities, now and in the future

The relevance of museums, libraries and archives to sustainable communities is examined in the document Communities need museums, libraries and archive (PDF 804KB)

Cultural Regeneration

There is increasing evidence that culture is a key force in the regeneration process and can help create sustainable communities. This is built upon in the DCMS consultation document Culture at the Heart of Regeneratio (PDF) . MLA contributed to this document, which refers to the contribution of a number of museums and libraries to successful regeneration.

Further information about the MLA?s sector?s contribution to regeneration is found in our response to Culture at the Heart of Regeneration .