Inspiration case: London Clean up

Inspiration Case: Community Hands-on event

In the span of just a few days a local community can be both viciously violent and amazingly supportive with a decent hands-on event. Such is the case in our inspiration example, the London CleanUps after the riots in the summer of 2011.

Remarkably, people unite in times of crisis and are ready to overcome their differences, roll up the sleeves and do some work to help other community members who are in desperate need.

Inspiration & Parametres for change: consciousness for social cohesion and simplicity and flexibility of community organisations

During the last decades, more and more communities have engaged in the co-ordinated volunteer work formerly left to councils or states. These people are motivated, competent and have the consciousness to cope with social problems on their own and get their hands on them.

When help is needed the state is often slow and less flexible, and a lot of time is lost in communication between different departments and fulfilling formal requirements.

However, little is needed to organise people from local communities nowadays to get actively engaged. All that’s needed is social media and a commonly shared goal.

Our inspiring example: Riot CleanUps, London U.K., 2011

Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson. At least 100 homes and even more small local shops were destroyed, and many innocent people lost everything they had.

London’s communities were shocked on one hand, but on the other they were determined to do everything within their power to revitalize, help and support those who suffered most.

Hundreds and thousands of people, common people as well as celebrities, took time off and went out on the street to not only clean but also to give those who lost all their belongings or their homes hope for the future.

How did the London CleanUps work in detail?

Social media like Twitter and Facebook were used to organize the clean-up after the London riots.
The Twitter account @riotcleanup, created by artist Dan Thompson, was set up to organise volunteers starting with just 10 people. Within just a short time, more than 68,000 people had followed the campaign. Soon communities created websites, Facebook pages and their own small groups. In different boroughs and districts around London, people gathered with brooms, bins, dustpans, brushes and rubber gloves to help clean and show their support after the devastating riots. Local businesses organized free snacks and tea for the helpers, and it seemed that everyone gave cheers to the police and fireman.

This hands-on community event was an amazing success. People became more and more excited and proud by the initiative, and the community’s spirit soared again after the riots. So many people joined, that some of them had to be sent away because the clean-ups were finished so quickly.

What does this mean for local communities?

The impressive clean-up after the London riots showed that a local community can address a vivid social problem with its own co-ordinated, hands-on approach. The fact that thousands of people went out on the streets was a firm sign that community is powerful; its voice will be heard and its actions matter.

While the local councils surely would have represented their communities and had the streets cleaned, the spontaneous, community action accomplished the same and more. The self co-ordination and hands-on approach of the people accomplished the task at hand, created common bonds and elevated spirits, and left community members empowered and looking forward to other opportunities where they could improve their shared quality of life.

A download version of this inspiration case can be found here.