Local Investigators: North Paddington
Discover people’s personal landmarks in North Paddington.
We have collected over 200 stories of special places across five wards in Westminster - Maida Vale, Queen’s Park, Little Venice, Westbourne and Harrow Road.
In this exhibition, we reveal the findings of our project - what we learned about people’s connection to the spaces around them.
Personal landmarks are different to established or historical landmark as they represent shared moments or individual experiences, and they evoke emotions that make us feel connected to and a sense of belonging to an area. It might be a bench where you rest with your granny on the way back from school, the tree under which you had your first kiss or the building you lived in when you first arrived in London.
These type of landmarks ground us in the local area, filling the space with memories.
© Chris Simmons
© Chris Simmons
© Chris Simmons
© Chris Simmons
© Chris Simmons
North Paddington has a rich and diverse culture!
During the North Paddington Investigates project we spoke to a broad mix of people, some who had lived in the area for just 2 months and some who had lived there for 92 years! But, no matter the length of time, everyone had all made connections and found local places that meant something to them. Interestingly, of all the people we interviewed, 34 different languages were represented, including Zulu, Punjabi, Greek, Arabic and Tigrinya!
Whilst many personal landmarks are unique to that one individual, we did see some trends in the reasons for why people choose places.
Popular reasons included places where they;
- feel close to nature
- socialise
- can be active
Places with special childhood memories that were relaxing or beautiful also featured frequently.
You can explore our five maps in person at Maida Vale Public Library, each map shows a selection of the personal landmarks we collected.
If you know the area in North Paddington and would like to contribute your own personal landmark, you can still do so here. We will always be interested in hearing about your personal landmark.
Thanks
This project wouldn't have been possible without the support of the fantastic community venues in North Paddington. We would like to thank: Westminster Connects, The Happy Hub, Grand Junction, PDF Community Champions, Westbourne Forum, Westminster library services and Maida Vale Children's Centre. Credit goes to Chris Simmons for creation of the maps.
What is the Built Environment?
The built environment is all around us, we use it every day. It’s the roads we use, the buildings we inhabit, the parks we visit and the infrastructure that makes modern life possible.
The Built Environment Trust is a charity looking at how the built environment impacts our lives and how it enables or hinders us to live happily and healthily. Architecture for Kids CIC’s mission is to inspire creativity and build self-confidence by engaging people of all ages in discussions about architecture, design and sustainability.
