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Barncroft, Battins & Bondfields
Posted on December 17th, 2009 2 comments
What have Barncroft, Battins & Bondfields all got in common?Turns out they are all local authority wards near where I used to live in Havant Borough. But I never knew that.
One of the main ways to get information out of the Plings API is via Ward (we’ve got a list of all the wards here), and organising data by ward turns out to be pretty useful when you want to show councillors what activities there are for young people in their patch.
But, talk to most young people about the ward they live in, or where the ward boundaries are, and you’re pretty likely to get a blank look. In fact, talk to most adults and you are met with the same blank look. (If you’re amongst those wondering which Ward they are in, entering your postcode at WriteToThem.com is one way to find out).
So, Wards are useful, but we’re discovering they may not be the best tool to offer young people to help them browse for local positive activities.
With the promise of more open data from central government, including the National Transport Access Node database (read: where the bus stops all are), the EduBase list of schools now available as linked open data, and with more easily accessible information from Ordinance Survey on the borders, sub-units and overlapping geographical areas of any point, 2010 looks set to bring new possibilities for how we could allow young people to navigate local activity information.
What categories do you use to help young people find activities near them?
2 responses to “Barncroft, Battins & Bondfields”
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This is a really interesting and important debate to have.
From my experience, young people (and older people are no different) have widely varying definitions of where their local community begins and ends and what it’s called. Rarely do these definitions correspond with the boundaries or names of local council wards, that are drawn up and named after much negotiation and consideration. It’s worth checking out http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/boundary-reviews to get a feel of how council wards are decided.There’s a balance to be had between making local activity information more meaningful and easier to navigate for young people while also increasing their understanding of council wards so that they can be more engaged in local poitics and council services at a later date.
Well done Substance for recognising this is an issue that needs addressing. It will be very interesting to see how things develop.
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Thanks Martin!
I posted a post in relation to this a little while back at http://blogs.plings.net/index.php/2009/03/13/dividing-it-up/ – as you can tell, *I* like wards!
But, as you reflect, it is an important issue to look at.
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Martin January 4th, 2010 at 14:28