22 Sep Welcome to our Neighbourhoods Pt. 2

As promised, we’d love to show you around a few more of the Si Team’s neighbourhoods. Everyone lives in a neighbourhood – those small local places where much of daily life unfolds and where people can feel most connected. At Si, neighbourhoods sit right at the heart of our work. These seemingly small places have a significant influence on people’s lives, shaping outcomes in health, employment, education and more. Our work with 3ni, Local Trust and OCSI has shown that neighbourhoods with strong community‑led activity see real, measurable improvements in social capital.

But neighbourhoods don’t serve just as data points for researchers; everyone has a personal relationship with their neighbourhood. Earlier this year, we shared a few of our team’s neighbourhoods with you. So, we thought it would be nice to share some more of the team’s neighbourhoods – the more, the merrier!

Ben (Director)

My neighbourhood in New Malden SW London (LSOA E01002985) is at the centre of the known universe. In terms of demographics it sits almost exactly middle of the Index of Multiple Deprivation. But as with all composite measures, there is texture below that; on children’s education it ranks among the best in the country no doubt helped by the local Infants and Nursery School being rated Outstanding, while on indoor housing quality it ranks among the worst – probably driven by the large number of unimproved private rentals.  Our street has families from all corners of the globe and walks of life; doctors, plumbers, teachers, delivery-riders, therapists, designers, taxi drivers, and me. But everyone says “hi” and the street WhatsApp group pings day-long with free offers of books and toys, gripes about fly-tipping and foxes, and sadly not a lot of love for local politicians.

We have the largest South Korean population in Europe, a significant Tamil and Sri Lankan community, lots of Eastern European families, and since 2020 a huge influx of Hong Kongers. On sunny days the local park and playground hums with twenty languages maybe more.

During WW2 my neighbourhood was home to military factories which led to it being heavily bombed. After the war LPs were shipped worldwide from the Decca Records factory that used to be at the end of my road, today it’s a B&Q. Every weekend visitors from all over London arrive to try out the dozens of local Korean restaurants that line surrounding streets. It’s a neighbourhood in constant evolution; I heard one local resident tutt “more foreign food!” when a sleek new Loon Foong supermarket opened recently in the old Wilcos. You can tell which stores and restaurants are popular on Instagram by the queues, although it’s not always the ones with the best food!

Daniel (Consultant)

I live in Shepherd’s Bush, West London. Originally a rural resting point for Shepherds on their way to trade at Smithfield Market (hence the name), now a bustling, multicultural metropolitan centre known for accommodating Europe’s largest shopping centre and the UK’s most middling football club.

The specific area of Shepherd’s Bush I live in is called White City, named as such because of the dazzling white exhibitions erected there during the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition and the Summer Olympics that same year. The “Great White City” included palaces, halls, and canals painted or covered in white decorative plaster, taking influence from the 1883 World’s Fair in Chicago, which was similarly known as the “White City”. And just as the area saw rapid evolution in the early 20^th century, White City is once again undergoing transformation as it becomes a key hub for life sciences, AI technology, and digital media; where white-clad palaces once sprung from the ground, we now see new residential high-rises and an expansive innovation district.

My favourite thing to do in Shepherd’s Bush is to go to Shepherd’s Bush Market, a thriving street market that runs along the clattering Hammersmith and City tube line, creating a delightfully noisy atmosphere. There are endless independent food options, spanning a range of cuisines that reflects Shepherd’s Bush’s diverse cultural make-up. My personal favourite are the Trinidadian doubles (chickpea curry served between two fried flatbreads) served at Archie’s stall. Archie is an icon of Shepherd’s Bush Market and he will delight in explaining to you the various different homemade condiments he generously lets you add to the double at no extra cost. After eating, I tend to visit stall 64, home of Special Rider Books and Records, who consistently have a small, but wonderfully curated, selection of rare records, much to my wallet’s chagrin. The future of this wonderful market appears to be in flux, with the local council rejecting an application to list the market as an asset of community value and recent approval of a private investor’s major redevelopment plans. Nevertheless, the local community is resilient and will continue to advocate for the market’s protection and continued existence as the beating heart of Shepherd’s Bush community life: diverse, independent, and genuinely accessible to everyone.

For all its change, Shepherd’s Bush remains a place defined by it’s openness, a neighbourhood where different cultures, histories, businesses, and people not only coexist, but continually shape one another.

Kika (Consultant)

I have lived in Southampton for majority of my life, and I have come to realise that Southampton is a city of witty names. Southampton is often associated with the university, where the streets fill with engineering students every autumn. Many of the international students from China have quietly shaped the food culture. In my opinion, Southampton is one of the most unexpectedly brilliant places for Chinese cuisine!

Southampton’s history sits just as prominently and the interesting names begin. This is a port city where world‑defining journeys began: the Mayflower set sail from here, and centuries later the Titanic departed on its ill‑fated voyage. Southampton decided to commemorate the successful voyage; hence the beloved Mayflower Theatre was born, a cheerful nod to the ship that actually made it to its destination.

One of my favourite stories is a small pocket of the city called the “Flower Gardens.” The flower Gardens are a cluster of streets near the university named after flowers –Carnation Road, Bluebell Road, Honeysuckle Road etc. In total around 15 flower-named streets make up the roads of this estate, originally built in the 1930s as a municipal housing development to provide homes for working families. To this day, the community enjoy the Flower Gardens’ real garden called “The Daisy Dip” and, each year, they never fail to display the most eccentric Christmas lights.

But why are we sharing our neighbourhoods with you? Beyond offering a glimpse into the places we each call home, we’ve noticed consistent themes and similarities across them. When we think about how social capital and community infrastructure shape our lives, it becomes clear how wider trends show up in our day‑to‑day experiences – and how our work resonates with stories we all recognise.

And at the end of the working day, once the neighbourhood reports are written, we return to our own streets, parks and familiar places that anchor daily life. We wanted to share the pride we feel for our local areas, and the small details that bring a neighbourhood to life.