A new community project launched this week is calling on residents to use their “collective imagination” to create what it describes as “a vision of Bitterne Park’s future".
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‘Imagine Bitterne Park’ is asking Bitterne Parkers what it says is a simple question: “What do you see when you imagine a better Bitterne Park?”
Organised by Transition Southampton – the same group supporting Bitterne Park Growing Places – the new project aims to provide a variety of “imagination spaces” and events over the summer to “harvest and share back the community’s collective imagination”.
“We would love to involve a mix of people from across the community – including those who’ve lived here a long time and those who have arrived more recently – and from people who want to participate in whatever way suits them best – words, pictures, photos, or songs – and anyone interested in helping set-up the spaces and events”, said one of the project’s founders and Bitterne Park resident Simon James.
“The idea is to have a bit of fun - a chance to give our imagination space to run free and imagine what Bitterne Park could be like in 2030. Most Bitterne Parkers love where they live, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that they would like to be different, whether it’s on their street or elsewhere.”
“So this is everyone’s chance to share what they see is their community’s future.”
Some of the ideas being considered include a travelling post box where people can post their ideas, a shared map for collecting any location-specific ideas, a walk-in open weekend, photo hacks, and a “tree of imagination”.
The project is inspired by a book by Rob Hopkins, “From What Is to What If – Unleashing the power of imagination to create the future we want”, which describes how communities can thrive by finding the time and space to “let our imaginations get a bit carried away to create a positive vision of where we want our communities to be in 5 to 10 years”.
Anyone interested in getting involved can get in touch via the Imagine Bitterne Park website at www.imaginebitternepark.org or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 