A new report from The National Lottery Community Fund gives a clearer understanding of what pride in place is, how to harness and gauge it, and what factors, activities and amenities increase it.
…42% of our grant holders….tell us that people have more local pride and belonging because of the services or activities…
The National Lottery Community Fund writes:
From the trees and flowers in the park, to a village hall or a buzzing high street, all communities have features their residents take pride in. These things tie us to where we live, forming our sense of place identity and belonging. However, in recent years, ONS figures confirm that people’s sense of belonging to their neighbourhoods has fallen.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a sense that we have an opportunity to change this. Indeed, the UK Government has set the goal of raising pride in place in every area of the country by 2030 as part of its wider levelling up objectives. In order to achieve this, we need a clearer understanding of what pride in place is, how to harness and gauge it, and what factors, activities and amenities increase it.
At The National Lottery Community Fund, 42% of our grant holders in a typical year tell us that people have more local pride and belonging because of the services or activities we support them to deliver, giving us valuable insight that can help to provide this information.
In this report, we share practical examples and some of the key learning from this work, setting out different ways that anyone – from community groups and individuals to local authorities and government decision makers – can boost pride in place.
