Fanchea Kelly
Fanchea Kelly, Chief Executive of Blackwood Housing and Care, hopes to create a blueprint for welcoming communities.

Independent living specialist Blackwood is set to launch its pioneering concept, the Blackwood Peoplehood Project, to transform future homes and communities in Scotland.

Detailed research was carried out to identify the three distinct Scottish neighbourhoods. The Glasgow suburb of Cardonald was selected, as it was felt that this neighbourhood was best suited to explore the development of an integrated community.

Fanchea Kelly, Chief Executive of Blackwood Housing and Care, said: “Peoplehood hopes to create a blueprint for welcoming communities.

“We look forward to bringing together the people in the neighbourhood at the summer fair event to give them a chance to learn about the project and what aspects can be beneficial – and hopefully from this we’ll see many sign up to support the programme.

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“There are already 200 members across the three communities, Glasgow, Buckie and Dundee, with ambitions to attract a further 800 people.

“Some of the initiatives being rolled out in Glasgow include free tablets and wifi for participants to help them get digitally connected, while also delivering e-bikes, electric cars and a host of equipment and activities, all according to local demand.”

The project will include an element of co-design in a bid to deliver results that will benefit people in Cardonald focusing on creating age-friendly homes, supported by cutting-edge technologies, making independent living achievable and sustainable, as people grow older, with safe outdoor spaces to sustain physical activities.

The nine partner organisations working with Blackwood on Peoplehood are: University of Edinburgh; Canon Medical Research Europe; Carebuilder UK; CENSIS; Cisco International Ltd; Enterprise Rent-a-Car UK; Lewis & Hickey Architects; Mydex CIC and The DataLab.

To mark the official launch, Blackwood is hosting a summer fair on 6 August between 11am-5pm at the Halfway Community Park. There will be a selection of activities, live music, entertainment, and food stalls.

There will also be stalls explaining what Peoplehood is and how it will shape the future of independent living in the area. Blackwood hopes that the day will encourage people to sign up to be members to shape the vision of the £12.5 million project.

Blackwood pioneers technology innovation in the social housing sector, operating more than 1,500 properties across 29 local authorities.

The charity has already built two developments of tech-smart Blackwood homes in Glasgow and Dundee, which use a “CleverCogs” digital system to make life easier for older people and people with disabilities.

Recently, Blackwood’s design competition uncovering independent living inventions of the future has secured a partnership with Scotland’s design museum, V&A Dundee.

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