The Causey

ARCADE’s aim was to use design to transform The Causey, the space at West Crosscauseway on Edinburgh’s Southside from a space for vehicles into a space for people. The proposal to SIX CITIES included working with the local community and artists to embed the design project as a cultural event in the community. The principal aim of The Causey project was to change people’s perception of places and open their eyes to the quality and potential for urban spaces to be reclaimed as places for people.

The Causey is a historic space dating from at least 1599 when it first appeared on maps and was recorded as being a ‘causeyed’ (paved) cross street linking Causeyside (now Buccleuch Street) and the Pleasance, at that time the two principal roads on the south side of Edinburgh. The Gusedub (goose pond) originally lay immediately to the south of The Causey and, later, a trough for watering horses was positioned in the space. The distinctive triangular shape of the space has persisted for 400 years. In recent times, its fate has been to be a traffic island with its surfaces designed for vehicles. Cars have taken over and people are no longer able to experience and enjoy the space.

ARCADE posed the question - could design transform The Causey into a place full of life and people?

In early February 2007, ARCADE invited existing local community groups to attend a public meeting. Following this the West Crosscauseway Association was formed from existing community groups and activists, workers and residents as a vehicle to involve local people, progress the event and make funding applications.
The design for the transformation of the space was initiated through a Community Ideas Workshop led by ARCADE and held at the Southside Community Centre in March 2007. Participants explored the past, present and future of the West Crosscauseway space through themes, ideas and aspirations. The idea of transforming the traffic island into a tropical island emerged from the workshop and was then developed into the design for the installation of The Causey by ARCADE, working in collaboration with artists Shaeron Averbuch of Art in Architecture, and Carnival Chaos.

The physical transformation of the space was carried out on Friday 25th May by 25 volunteers including Architecture and Geography students from Edinburgh University, and staff from Scottish Business in the Community, with the assistance of a local set-builder for Edinburgh Grand Opera and a local landscape contractor who advised on and demonstrated how to lay grass turf. Volunteers gained new skills in managing and carrying out joinery and heavy gardening work. The oral history of the people and places of the South Side was represented by recorded sound and written recollections of the Southside Heritage Group . Archive images of the area, in collaboration with The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, were exhibited on a sign board designed by a graphic designer who is also a local resident.

On Saturday 26 May, Shaeron Averbuch led a community painting exercise where children painted garlands of tropical flowers on the tarmac island and surrounding areas. As well as a celebratory party, impromptu street theatre performers and musicians took advantage of the re-claimed space to entertain visitors.
The project was filmed, photographed and recorded in overview from The Appleton Tower using time-lapse photography , made into a short movie.f [Both movies are now showing on youtube. The event can be seen on www.thecausey.org]

The Causey was dismantled by a small team of volunteers on 29 May, entirely recycled and small items donated to community groups. The construction cost incurred in implementing The Causey was £16,000.

Summary
For four days in May 2007, as part of the SIX CITIES’ Design Festival, ARCADE Architects, with the involvement of local community groups, residents and volunteers, transformed a historic public space from a place for vehicles into a vibrant place for people. Cars were excluded from West Crosscauseway, grass was laid on the carriage ways, road signs were converted into palm trees. The central lamp post became an “Ideas Tree” and a pink carpet was laid right across the space. Colourful tents and seats on the new grass invited people to stop, enjoy the space and listen to the recorded memories of local people and read about local history and place names.

The Causey worked successfully on lots of levels: it looked beautiful; it encouraged visitors to look at and listen to the history of the West Crosscauseway and surrounding buildings; it acknowledged the spirit of the Southside of Edinburgh; it became a social space for residents to meet; children played safely; it inspired all to consider how they could transform the space permanently. The Causey was hugely enjoyed from 26 - 28 May by over 500 people per day. Residents and visitors were invited to write their wishes for future of the place on labels which they attached to the “Ideas Tree”. The following exemplify written responses gathered on the Ideas Tree.

“The sooner this becomes permanent the better! It’s been a fabulous experiment – more please!”
“To the Council, KEEP THIS!"
“What a great transformation. Can we have it for the other 363 days? “
“An oasis of peace in an ocean of mayhem.”
“A wonderful inspiration. Present connecting so imaginatively to the past. Thank you."
“The Causey, a vision for the future. A place where people can meet and relax. Enjoy music, food, drink and good company.”
“Safe place where people can meet and children play”
“Let’s roll back the car culture that dominates our cities! This space shows how wonderful it is when we do.”
“Congratulations! Tremendous concept, has to be permanent.”
“A blessed sight of openness in the city – no railings, no benches- just the space to delight in. Great example of functioning community involvement.”
“Why doesn’t it happen everywhere?”
“Don’t stop here....make a green link from the Meadows to Holyrood Park”.

The public’s response, and surveys carried out for SIX CITIES, were almost 100% positive about the transformation and about a future permanent “people” space on this site. In the process, many participants and local people gained skills such as organisation and project management, design awareness, graphic design, fundraising, communication, website development, making presentations and developing hands-on practical skills such as turf-laying, joinery, interviewing and using recording equipment, using power tools and painting.

One of the most positive aspects of The Causey was the strong sense of “community” that developed out of local people working together on a common project. It makes a refreshing change to have it generated on aspiration. In particular, The Causey as a temporary project provided the local community with convincing physical evidence of the potential for transforming the space permanently.

The success of The Causey and the positive feedback from the community convinced and inspired the West Crosscauseway Association to work towards this aim in an initiative called Causey 2, with financial support from The City of Edinburgh Council, The South Side Community Council, The Scottish Community Foundation, The Heritage Lottery Fund, Awards for All, and The Big Lottery. WCCA has subsequently successfully engaged with the community in a series of Ideas Workshops, involving over 80 participants (aged from 13 to 93!), to reveal the community’s ideas for how the space could be used and designed in the future. Arising from the temporary 2007 event WCCA now has draft design proposals for a permanent transformation ready for public consultation.

In addition, as a result of The Causey, the West Crosscauseway Association seeks to be active and transparent , through its involvement in other local community groups, in demonstrating how worthwhile it is to give local people a sense of ownership of design, rather than imposing it from outside. This sort of aspirational project is able to open people’s ideas to the possibilities of what can be done, in a pro-active way rather than being generated by opposition to change.

We have recorded our process and displayed it on the project website and, as well as inspiring for other grassroots groups who may be interested in similar work, we hope that our working method can be used as a model to help them get started.