Page 35 - Studio International - January 1973

The West London Social Resource Project

The West London Social Resource Project set social environment, and construct models of it was the West London Re-Modelling Book. In
up a framework or structure that enabled as it existed. The West London Manual was many ways this was similar to the Manual, being
participants from selected social groups to designed to make this possible, using techniques made up of duplicate sheets with carbon paper,
remodel their environment in a way they felt similar to those used in social surveys such as and using in part a questionnaire-type format.
that they determined themselves, which also questionnaires, though its object was quite But its aim was fundamentally different in that it
related to their individual and group needs, this different. Instead of using a social survey format set up the conditions for the development of
being the goal of the project. to give the organizers of the project data to feed alternative social models.
Participants in the West London Social a hunch, as with most social scientists, it was The Re-Modelling Book had a number of
Resource Project came from four typical social aimed at the participants gaining component parts which were roughly as follows :
groups in West London, the outcome of the information/insight about themselves. The the first part was concerned with the
project being entirely determined by them. The Manual had at the back of it a series of pages of construction of social models, the next part with
selection of participant areas was done by visual cues selected from the project areas, these feeding the participants with actual problems
finding four geographical locations whose being preceded by Information Sheets. The about their social environment, which they
inhabitants typified the four social groupings Information Sheets were in duplicate with a attempted to solve through model construction.
integral to the project. The four participant sheet of carbon paper to put between the pages The next part of the Re-Modelling Book
groups were geographically, economically, supplied in the Manual, and were made up of involved developing new models in order
socially separate from each other, and saw questions relating to the Visual Cue Sheets. to relate their fantasy projections to the actual
themselves as such, the models they had of each All the visual cues used in the Manual were state of the participants' social environment.
other being tied down to their own social drawn from the project areas in order to make The last section, which was perhaps the most
environment rule structure. The four areas them more meaningful to the participants and important, involved the production of social
selected after reconnaissance trips in West thus to motivate response. Though they were models which they considered related to their
London were as follows : Area one, Greenford important they were really only a lead-in to the own and other project areas, actual needs, etc.
(Working Class Group); Area two, Osterley Day Sheets. There were seven of these, one for Taking the various models they had developed
Park (Middle Class Group); Area three, each day of the week, the participant being given for the project areas, the participants finalized
Hanwell (Lower Middle Class Group); Area two tasks per day, these requiring more response them into one model that related to the four
four, Harrow (Upper Middle Class Group); the than the visual cue sheets; the reproduced social groups in the project. The duplicate
project taking a few compact streets in each area. copies of the Information and Day Sheets were sheets were then collected from the
In all eighty-five households took part in the collected after they had the manual for three Re-Modelling Book and displayed on the Public
project. weeks. Register Boards in the same way as the results
In order for the fabrication of the project to be The participants retained their Manual, from the Manual except that next to each board
meaningful to the participant groups, and its which showed how they, as individuals, had was a ballot box.
language and coding to be orientated, responded; the collected sheets were displayed The introduction of the ballot box was to
understood and accepted with the minimum on Public Register Boards. There were four allow participants to decide on what they
of conflict, there seemed two courses of Public Register Boards, one for each project considered the best displayed models to be, at
action to adopt. These were either that they area, and located in those areas. The collected this point again having had their response
learnt/acquired our language/coding and its Information and Day Sheets from each project registered in the retained Re-Modelling Book;
frame of reference, or we adopted theirs, making area were divided into four, and displayed on the their response and that of the other groups
use of their existing routines of behaviour, the four Public Register Boards. The participants at displayed on the boards. The Public Decision
latter course being adopted as the course with this point could see how they had responded Slips were used to provide the final models
the least inherent noise. to the questions in the Manual by their retained which were collectively developed by
A group of people were gathered together to copy, how their project area group had participants. They did this by filling in its two
form the structure of the project, being responded by the returns put on the Public parts, the first of which was simply concerned
specialists in disciplines necessary for its Register Board under their area section, and with their choice of model. The second
operation, such as a photographer, sociologist, how the other groups had responded by their provided an opportunity to alter or comment on
cybernetician, etc., and a team of girls called the displayed returns. it. The final models were determined as far as
West London Super Girls. The participant— A group of specialists who were working on possible by a straight count of the Public
gathering procedure used a door-to-door the project analysed and synthesized all the Decision Slip returns. These were published
interview strategy, the interviewers (The West returns displayed on the Public Register Boards. together with comments from the panel of
London Super Girls) cutting back on door-step The results of this then went into the Rule Book, experts, and sent to all the participants so that
inhibition as far as possible by adopting the which was made up of statistical returns from all they could enter them into their Re-Modelling
speech and body packaging of the different the project areas, plus the results of the Books. This reinforced the collectively
social groups from the project areas. specialists' synthesis on the significance of the developed models.
If the interviewees agreed to participate, they results. It is speculation to say at this stage whether
were given a leaflet explaining the project and a Though individual participants had formed relationships established between participants
window poster. An especially important their own synthesis from the Public Register during the running of the project will endure
function for the window poster was its use in Board displays, the Rule Book provided them when it has finished, but what can be predicted
creating project identification, retaining with additional criteria for the operation of the is that it will alter considerably the social
interest while other participants were being next stages of the project, these being concerned cognition of themselves and the other
gathered. with the re-modelling of their own and other participant groups, perhaps causing actual
In the initial stages the project was concerned project areas' social environments in order to restructuring of aspects of their social
with setting up conditions for participants to relate them to their actual needs, both social and environment. q
articulate their existing perceptions of their physical. Central to the participants' remodelling STEPHEN WILLATS

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