the discussion explored the challenges placemakers face in managing and effecting change. We focused on trust and engagement and how these elements apply to practical and strategic placemaking problems.
It boils down to a major obstacle: what happens when people say no to change?
18 April 2024
Fixed behaviour patterns
Humans like routines. They help us cope with decision-making. Each day, we've got a lot of decisions to make.
Scientific research shows that routine provides a natural solution to our natural inconsistency. When we're faced with numerous daily decisions, we don't automatically do what we did previously, unless we create a routine.
When it comes to daily activities, our routines become like fixed behaviour patterns.
You can see it every day when commuters sit in the same train carriage or get their takeaway coffee from the same place.
So, what happens when changing these behaviours is a policy lynchpin? For example, how do you persuade habitual car users to switch to public transport? What are the policy implications when people no longer want to come into the office to work five days a week?
The good news for local government and the civil service is respectively, 42% and 55% of the population trust them. The bad news is the other 68% and 45%.
This lack of trust has clear consequences for implementing policies aimed at changing people’s behaviour. In today's hyper-connected age, a lack of trust can lead to other things. Take the 15-minute city, for example.
Carlos Moreno’s original concept was to rethink urban planning so that no one in a city would live more than a short walk from essential services, amenities or work.
But this has fuelled conspiracy theories about local councils wanting to monitor and control populations, rationing road use and policing movement.
It’s even been amplified by politicians, including the Transport Secretary at the 2023 Conservative Party Conference.
