Hyper Local

We have been living in global villages for a while now. 2020 has made this more apparent than ever before: circumstances have forced us into -- or perhaps accelerated a trend towards -- drastically local thinking and living.

But what does this new hyperlocalism mean for communities? How do we build -- or should that be: go back to building -- communities around local places? And, indeed, in a world that is as much virtual as it is physical, what does hyperlocal even mean?

Guests:

Nicola Read is the founder of Host of Leyton, a retail, event and coworking space which actively seeks to contribute to the creation of a local community in East London, where she also built her own home. Nicola has years of experience practicing and teaching architecture, and she was Deputy Director of the London School of Architecture from 2016 to 2019.

Dr Kate Baker is a research fellow at the university of Exeter, where she focuses on water management. But she also has a particular interest in community engagement. Kate is the co-founder of Agile Rabbit, an organization that helps academics engage their research with the public using quirky events and community radio.

Shriya Malhotra, an artist and placemaker whose work looks at policy. Now back in India, she has lived and practiced in Moscow, New York, Buenos Aires and other cities. This experience of cultural, environmental and economic processes in different places around the world feeds into Shriya’s thoughts about the link between place and quality of life, and about what makes a place a home.