This Manifesto was sent to Royal Borough of Greenwich in an Open Letter, in February 2024.
A Care Manifesto for Public Space[1]
We are a small but mighty group of residents who, collectively, recognise that Woolwich is a wonderfully complex and contradictory urban place.
Woolwich is “diverse”[2], “vibrant”, full of “character”, “soul” and “personality”.
Woolwich is also “divided”, “troubled”, “scarred”, “neglected”, “gentrified”, “menacing”, “embarrassing”, “needing some help”, “dirty”, and has a “bad reputation.”
Woolwich is our neighbourhood.
We care about Woolwich, deeply.
We want future generations to feel part of this community and be proud of where they live.
Here is our care manifesto.
We care about green and water spaces. They are vital for our wellbeing, pleasure, and sense of connectedness to our community and nature. But our time, pleasure, and comfort in spaces such as Woolwich Common, St Mary’s Gardens, Maribor Park for example, is dampened because there are no public toilets and drinking water fountains. Better facilities please.
We care about borders NOT barriers. The public realm feels fragmented and disconnected. It is characterised by physical and sensory boundaries such as the smell, noise, and speed of traffic on roads, insufficient safe road crossings, badly lit, vandalised, smelly, and unsafe underpasses across the A205, high walls, fences, and locked gates. These boundaries negatively impact community connection, walkability, and our sense of place.
We care about places and worry about place-lessness. We recognise that regeneration is needed. But question whether developments are sympathetic to the diversity and vibrancy of our neighbourhood. Some of us recognise we are “middle class incomers”, contributing to and benefitting from gentrification of the area. We are not resting on our laurels. It is not ok for Woolwich’s long-standing communities to be displaced, or for them not to feel welcome in ‘new’ developments. Please support local, independent businesses and bring the high street back to life. And, when old buildings are demolished to make way for new developments, make sure those businesses that serve our global community are rehomed locally, with care.
We care about slowing down. Prioritise rest in public space. Moving and dwelling are off kilter. Moving dominates. Expand pedestrianised areas and 20mph zones, de-prioritise cars, build more safe road crossings. Accessible public spaces should have more invitations to pause and rest in safety and comfort throughout the seasons, without the need to spend money. More seating and tree shade would be a start.
We care about cleaning up Woolwich. Litter and fly tipping is a blight on our public realm and makes us feel embarrassed to bring our friends and family here. Royal Arsenal Riverside is pristine…what about the other side of the road?
We care about beautiful buildings. We have had enough of boring!We want to project heritage and see aesthetic variety. Build affordable, but NOT boring housing. No more “identikit” and “vanilla” buildings that are wounding Woolwich’s much celebrated character, and are bad for communities, our health, and the environment[3].
We care about spending our money in our neighbourhood. Support local independent businesses, not just well-known chains, to improve the retail, hospitality, and leisure facilities.
We care about feeling safe. We want to acknowledge and learn from tragic events of the past, such as 2011 London Riots, the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013, and more recent fatalities such as Cameron Murfitt (2020), Tamim Ian Habimana (2021) and Damilola Oloruntola (2022). Women should not have to walk home in the dark, clutching their keys in self-defence.
To close, we want to protect the global community of Woolwich, its character and variety of green and water spaces and heritage buildings, its entrepreneurial spirit, and independent businesses. We want to see it develop as a place that nurtures health, wellbeing, play, pleasure, prosperity, and togetherness. We envision a place where our diverse community can thrive.
In solidarity,
Lizzie Fort (lead artist-resident-researcher) in collaboration with,
Alexis Bailey, Anne-Sophie Konan, Bianca Rus, Carol Flint, Debbie Williams, Duncan Platt, Ian Russell, Karin Tearle, Kate Topham, Lam Truong, Laura Love-Petschl, Lesley Turner, Liz McGine, Lucy George, Lyan Truong, Melloney Richards Tarka, Molly Rose, Patreace Parkes, Patricia Roud, Prince O Adele, Seiriol Davies, Sofia Alexandrache, Tyron Woolfe, Anonymous1, Anonymous2, Anonymous3.
[1] The concept of a care manifesto is borrowed and adapted from People United’s Futures of Care Manifesto. https://peopleunited.org.uk/stories/futures-of-care/futures-of-care-manifesto/
[2] “quoted” vocabulary from Woolwich Wandering research companions.
[3] See Building Soul with Thomas Heatherwick, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001r1b2
woolwich wandering 