The Site:

Cables Wynd House is a 20th-century listed building (LB52403, Category A: outstanding) located in Leith, part of the City of Edinburgh. It is Council owned and consists of over 200 private residences (tenanted flats).

Leith is a culturally diverse part of the city that includes some of Scotland’s most deprived areas. There was some controversy over the recent listing (2017), a process that included consultations with local residents and tenants.

The Approach:

This was an extended study, trialling a combination of participatory and co-creative activities.

The timeframe and duration were both extended during the assessment due to difficulties in identifying and engaging participants. The research took approximately 3 weeks full time equivalent over a period of 6 months and included 13 site visits.

To inform tenants and visitors to the House about the research, posters were placed in the main entrance vestibule and the concierge’s office.

The study began with behaviour mapping, drawing a rough plan of the location and recording who was observed, the behaviours that were displayed at different places, and how people moved around the site. Observation notes were also taken during subsequent visits to the House.

A short, structured interview format was developed (a folded A4 leaflet containing basic project information and the six questions) and distributed to all households via a letterbox drop. The same questions were also used for in-person approaches in the public areas of the House and on the street to the front of the building. Respondents in face-to-face contacts were a mixture of tenants and local residents or visitors to the House.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted early on in the research period with heritage professionals and Council officials and representatives of local organisations. A small number of semi-structured interviews were also completed with tenants. All semi-structured interviews were conducted one-to-one and in-person, either in offices or public places, and one incorporated a walk through the area surrounding the House.

As a site and wider location embedded in day-to-day life, it was proposed to trial a co-creative method using photo or written diaries. Approaches were made to several community organisations who were convening community gatherings at the House or providing local community spaces and resources, but ultimately it was not possible to partner with them to trial the method proposed.

Following enquiries at a local community centre, a group of older people were identified who were meeting regularly to take and share photos. Through collaboration with this group, it was possible to trial a photo-elicitation activity. A selection of the photos created by the group were printed as A3 or A4 colour images and displayed on two of the wall-mounted notice boards in the main entrance vestibule of Cables Wynd House, to see how people engaged with the images.

The on-site activities were supported by monitoring of public participatory media (Instagram and Facebook) for posts related to the site and a review of the documentation and publicity surrounding the listing process in January 2017.

The process of analysis and writing teased out issues of reflexivity and how unconscious bias can influence presentation through for example language choice. There was also a significant body of relevant scholarship to review, i.e. on social order, social capital, and reciprocity.

The draft site report was shared with participants via email. Once finalised, a poster was developed summarising the key points in the report, to feedback to tenants and visitors who may have observed or participated in research activities but not provided contact details.

The research identified a number of communities of interest, identity and geography for whom the House is of significance:

  • Tenants, including specifically:
    • Long-term tenants
    • o Multi-generational families of tenants
    • o Newly-homed tenants
  • Relations and friends of tenants
  • People interested in architecture/design
  • People ‘born and bred’ in Leith and/or identifying as ‘Leithers’
  • Council employees based at or responsible for the House
  • Young people, e.g. those making use of the park and basketball courts
  • People interested in literature/film

There were also communities of residents that I was unable to engage in the activities due to language barriers.

Cables Wynd House is a place of residence, employment and a social hub. The research suggests it is a place of significance for multiple communities, with respondents expressing a range of values and perspectives (positive and negative). Key findings:

  • First and foremost, the House is valued as a place of home and safety.
  • Community connections and the sense of ‘community spirit’ is also important. This depends largely on personal experience, with tenants tending to characterise the House according to their landing or specific network of relationships.
  • Another relational aspect is family connections, with multiple generations having lived in or grown-up knowing the House.
  • These social connections support values of belonging, to community and place.
  • Many respondents also expressed a strong connection to, and knowledge of, the wider area and were positive about the House’s location.
  • There was a high-level of awareness of the House’s listed status and some appreciation for the building’s design and architectural significance, as well as concern regarding its maintenance.
  • There was an emphasis on aspects of care and attention. Comments were principally concerned with the physical appearance and cleanliness of the House but revealed feelings that were informed by lived experiences and social relations (past and present). This suggests perceptions of the building are influenced by how people are positioned with regard to the social structures and behaviours they associate with the House.

The report provides an initial indication of the values and communities for whom the House is of significance and suggests potential areas for further research, such as the aspect of multi-generational connections to the House. However, there are some recognised limitations in participation and scope, particularly with regard to non-English-speaking residents. The lack of functioning residents’ association illustrates a degree of fragmentation within the wider tenant community and low levels of participation (also seen during the Listing consultation) risks masking the full range of perspectives and values.