Searching for the bigger picture

As a student on the Foundation Degree in Sustainable Communities, you might expect me to already work in regeneration – or have ambitions to. However, that’s not really the case; well, not exactly. I currently have my own jewellery-making and gallery business and changing careers is not really my motivation for undertaking this degree.

The course, which I recently started at Sheffield Hallam University, might lead me to a job in a relevant sector, or it might just give me a better understanding of how to get more involved with making my own community – Bridlington – more sustainable and integrated within the East Riding of Yorkshire. Only time will tell but not knowing where I am going to finish up is what makes it so exciting. Whatever I do I hope it will be motivated by trying to make a difference to people’s lives.

My first encounters with terms like ‘regeneration’ and ‘sustainable communities’ came five years ago when I moved to Bridlington with my family from the Midlands. As a resident keen to take an interest in my local area, I became involved with the Old Town Revival Association and then Yorkshire Forward’s Urban Renaissance Programme. At first I just went along to have a clearer grasp of what was happening in my new home town; I just wanted more information. But from there it took off and I am now vice-chair of the Core Steering Group, Bridlington Regeneration Partnership.

Being a craftsman, I’ve also become involved in trying to promote and stimulate the hitherto hidden arts and crafts industries in the area. This includes setting up a not-for-profit company called Big Skies that organises the East Riding Open Studios annual event, which is the only event covering the whole of the East Riding. Big Skies is also working on a demand study for an arts business centre in the northern part of the East Riding.

People are now beginning to talk about the high street in Bridlington as the town’s cultural quarter. That’s regeneration. There’s also an emerging sense of civic pride in the Old Town, something that is often forgotten in regeneration. That’s certainly an idea I am keen to explore through the foundation degree. In fact, I’ve already got my eye on a year-two module – civic pride – which I hope will look at the psychological side of things.

In Bridlington, the biggest asset we’ve got is its 34,000-strong population. For me, regeneration has got to include some attempt to create a place full of happy, confident, involved people who talk about where they live in a more positive way. That’s how you create momentum. All too often the focus is just on highways and buildings – but it has to be about more than just bricks and mortar.

Going back to university has been a bit of a culture shock as I haven’t been in full-time education for nearly two decades. As we went through the first few days of induction you begin to realise that you’re going to have to get used to writing papers in an academic fashion. But you soon get into the protocol and the language of bibliographies and citations. By the third day of the induction I felt a lot more comfortable and was looking forward to going back.

It’s been harder to adapt than I thought it would be and there’s a whole new computer system to get used to! I’m not sure what to make of the content and the syllabus yet but I suspect all will be revealed. I’m not sure what’s going to happen over the next two years – other than travelling twice a month to Sheffield Hallam to learn how to make the world a better place! But on first impressions I think I’m going to enjoy it.

This is the first blog from Carlo Verda in a series about ASC’s foundation degree