Places: building sustainable and resilient communities

Places are where meaning and memory are rooted - sites of identity, belonging and cultural continuity. They are also vulnerable to fiscal, social, cultural and environmental pressures. Through this mission, our researchers work alongside partners to strengthen cohesion, preserve culture and build resilience in the face of change. Communities are not only beneficiaries of change but active participants in shaping it - through heritage and storytelling, through digital platforms that transform participation and through cultural practices that are continually created, traded, contested and experienced.

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Our Places research explores:

Economic resilience: Supporting local and regional development that balances fiscal realities with long-term prosperity, while sustaining community wellbeing and adaptability.
Social and cultural cohesion: Strengthening bonds across society, preserving language, heritage and narrative, and recognising culture as both a shared resource and a space of debate.
Governance and participation: Encouraging active roles in education, healthcare and decision-making, while recognising how the internet reshapes civic life and political engagement.
Policy influence: Partnering with leaders and decision-makers to shape policies that empower communities, safeguard cultural identities and foster resilience.
Local to global impact: Ensuring that lived experiences of place and community resilience inform strategies from the neighbourhood to the international stage.

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Supporting sustainable development

Our mission-orientated Places research is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, reflecting the critical contribution that Stirling is making to tackling complex global challenges.