MELA

28/09/2021

Over the summer months we have been engaging with the residents of The Mill neighbourhood in Cardiff managed by Cadwyn Housing Association.

The neighbourhood is waiting for a Community Hub to bring people together. We prototyped different ideas to bring people together and asked people what kind of community space do they want.

Local residents collaged their ideal community space and created a vision.

The 4 Meet At The Mill pop up events culminated in a We Are The Mill Festival where residents ran their own stalls and workshops.

Fun was had by all. Looking forward to developing the ideas further in a few co-design workshops!

13/10/2020

‪ is it democratic and inclusive? Here’s Noha’s response at the event last week arguing for over for developers to build risk-free more faster. https://youtu.be/qn3B30fmKM4‬

The Academy of Urbanism and RTPI West Midlands Urban Design Forum Panel discussion, based around the Planning for the Future White Paper. The panellists: Nic...

21/09/2020

‪Pleased to be invited to attend the conference in - an international initiative by local governments dedicated to urban issues; developing spatial and social policy for cities in Poland, Norway and Iceland. https://divercity4.pl/en/‬

Agenda of the Conference summarizing the Birateal Initiative DiverCITY4 We encourage you to read the agenda of the DiverCity4 Conference. AGENDA of Conference This entry was posted in News on 7 September 2020 by convention-admin.

14/09/2020

‪Pleased to announce that Noha is running a workshop for conference ‘Culture or Policy?’ on opened by Mr Minister of Culture and Sport. Key aim is to start with ‬ as a means of strengthening intercultural connections

12/08/2020

MELA Social Enterprise ‪Cymru is very pleased to be working with and to develop policies amplifying the voices of BAME women in Wales.



We have a great team with Tamsin Ramasut, Aisha Ali and myself.‬

Look forward to sharing our findings.

12/08/2020

Check out MELA’s policy document on managing gentrification - the urban practice of displacing lower income people and businesses with higher income newcomers leading to segregation and social exclusion.

🏗️ : The urban strategy by which working-class residential neighbourhoods are rehabilitated by middle-class homebuyers, landlords and developers.

w/ MELA latest policy brief and study, here: https://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/-/gentrification-in-the-intercultural-city-how-to-manage-and-prevent

30/07/2020

Here’s MELA’s short presentation on for Urban Design London If of interest:

https://www.loom.com/share/8c4bc3ae59f745edb241bcdc3a9513ab

28/07/2020

Pleased that MELA has just completed a Policy Brief for the Intercultural Cities Network, Council of Europe on ‘Managing Gentrification’. This is part of MELA’s commitment to social and spatial justice.

You can read here:

https://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/gentrification

Gentrification is a process through which lower income residents are displaced from the neighbourhood due to an influx of new residents, resulting in a change of character of the neighbourhood. Therefore, gentrification has two key features: displacement, both physical and symbolic and change in soc...

03/06/2020

Noha is pleased to have been part of Barton Willmore’s UnCut Podcast Series with Luke Hillson, Head of Barton Willmore Masterplanning, Adam Tranter, Mayor of Cycling in Coventry and Martin Prince-Parrot, Design Manager of Black Swan Property discussing how ‘Working From Home’ has and will change how we design our homes, streets and neighbourhoods. Please listen in if you are interested.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1050268/4014128

COVID-19 has been a fast and effective stick for change, and the locus and radius of our lives has rapidly changed and this has had a huge impact on the regard we have for our homes. In this session, we were joined by designers, a social motivator...

28/03/2020

The end of a legend campaigning for social justice in the city. Farewell Michael Sorkin. Taken too soon by COVID19.

https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14526-obituary-michael-sorkin-1948-2020

An architect, author, teacher, and one of the most distinctive voices for social justice and sustainability in design, Sorkin has died at the age of 71 in New York after contracting coronavirus.

04/01/2020

Thanks to the for inviting me to host a series of talks on . Here is the 10 minute video of my introduction focusing on .

https://youtu.be/OkBn1WEAcIM

Dr Noha Nasser is an architect, urban designer and academic with an interest in the influence of culture on urban form and design. She is the Founding Direct...

28/11/2019

Noha shared a platform with these inspiring women at the 8th Biennal Hamid Bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. A fascinating place in its own right! She presented her research on 3 mosques in the UK and their visual expressions in response to changing multicultural discourse from assimilation, pluralism to integration. Her argument is that throughout this changing discourse, Islamic architectural identity remains a contested space by the emergence of far right thinking. The 3 mosques were Brick Lane Mosque, London Central Mosque and the recent Cambridge Mosque.

06/11/2019

Delighted to announce Sarah Martin has joined the MELA Executive Team!

Sarah has a passion for social justice and has worked for over 20 years on a wide range of land use planning, community development and charity projects with the aim of promoting inclusion, diversity, understanding and belonging. Sarah is a Chartered Town Planner (Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute) and has worked across public, private and third sector organisations to build partnerships, engage diverse communities and promote equality. Outside of her day-job, Sarah can be found in the countryside leading women’s running groups, promoting wider participation in sport and creating safe space for women to learn and grow.

To learn more about MELA visit our website at www.melasocialenterprise.com

06/11/2019

Pleased to announce Goodman has joined the MELA Executive Team!

Mark enjoys solving complex real-world problems, and his growth mindset is at the heart of his approach to the projects he undertakes. He is skilled at assimilating and engaging with both detailed, granular issues as well as the wider strategic matters necessary to progress many of the challenging issues faced in the work he has undertaken. Over a 25 year career in project management and community regeneration, Mark is committed to working to broker solutions through partnerships with public bodies, community groups, businesses and other agencies, ensuring that all voices are heard in the process. As an FA qualified football coach, Mark works hard to develop values such as respect, inclusion, sportsmanship, understanding and effective team work amongst his mixed ability young people, reflecting his commitment to these ethics in wider life.

To learn more about MELA visit our website www.melasocialenterprise.com

31/10/2019

It finally arrived in hard copy - the book that has been in the making for exactly 2 years. I want to thank all the writers for making the time to write, edit, review, double-check, and finally publish their work. It was challenging at times to co-ordinate so many people, but definitely worthwhile. Our motivation is our belief that every person should have the freedom and right to live anywhere they want. It’s our shared globe under the illusion of nation states and territories.

We are proud to dedicate 50% royalties from our book to the charities that have helped refugees. Please support us and buy your copy here 😀😍

Black and White:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1699974128/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gO4QDb75JNWMV

Colour:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1699031118/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lK4QDbTECQAPX

22/10/2019

Khaled Wakkaa is an extraordinary individual. Noha met him at a writing retreat at Doug Dunn place near Exeter about a year ago. Khaled is Syrian. He spent the day with them describing in great detail - sometimes with tears rolling down his cheeks - his ordeal as a refugee. Khaled and his family are now safe in Exeter. He is a shining example of how refugees can contribute to our society. He volunteers, he distributes free meals, he has organised intercultural events in his neighbourhood and he has ambitions to be the Mayor of Exeter one day! Khaled has written his autobiography in our new book, Human Crossings.

We are proud to dedicate 50% royalties from our book to the charities that have helped Khaled. Please buy your copy here 😀😍

Black and White:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1699974128/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gO4QDb75JNWMV

Colour:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1699031118/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lK4QDbTECQAPX

21/10/2019

To be able to write confidently about refugees, a number of us embarked on ‘immersive’ research. We travelled to the Auberge des Migrants on the outskirts of the demolished Calais Jungle in December 2017 to interview the many volunteers still supporting refugees. We learnt about the intolerant attitude of the French police, the school bus that travels to where the refugees were camped, and the 1000s of meals that were being distributed daily. What an incredible operation!

We are proud to dedicate 50% royalties from our book, Human Crossings, to those amazing charities doing so much for refugees. Please buy your copy here 😀😍

Black and White:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1699974128/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gO4QDb75JNWMV

Colour:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1699031118/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lK4QDbTECQAPX