The March2 Value Unit responds annually to questions emerging through a long-term – now in its tenth year - partnership between Grangetown, Cardiff; Cardiff University’s Community Gateway; and WSA. This year’s Value Unit collaborated with Community Voices Cardiff as part of the AHRC funded Community Consultation for Quality of Life (CCQoL) research project led by Prof. Flora Samuel. From a starting point of exploring ‘quality of life’ through representations of places valued by each unit member, the Unit referenced Community Voices Cardiff’s online ‘Commonplace’ mapping database to get to know Grangetown by visiting the places most valued by residents.
The unit designed, delivered and evaluated an annual ‘Love Grangetown’ survey and a week of in-person and online networking workshops on themes of Health and Wellbeing, Housing, Green Places and Young Voices, bringing together public, private and third sector organisations and Grangetown residents to identify priorities and opportunities for the area. Individual theses developed briefs from these workshops, exploring themes of equitable civic access to green and blue spaces, micro-development of underused sites, spaces for youth and the elderly, and live briefs for community-led housing and civic facilities. Collectively, the Unit questions and tests the ethical positioning and agency of the Architect.