Manchester is a city. A city needs to have people if it needs to be anything. And, for those people to make Manchester the best city it could possibly be, those people need to make communities. These communities, whether physical, cultural, or social, play a big part in what makes Manchester what it is, and here are some of the ways they do that.
Cultural Links
Back in the 1990s and 2000s, if you were to ask someone what Manchester was famous for, you would have got two answers. Either they would have said that it was the era’s dominant Manchester United football team, or the music and commercial success of Oasis. While those cases were clearly operating at an elite level, they reflect a crucial part of Manchester life, which is the participatory nature of the city’s community. There are plenty of local sports clubs, with more than 600 football clubs, 11 rugby clubs, and dozens of cricket clubs across the whole Greater Manchester area, and every one of them will be its own mini-community.
At the same time, the city’s arts and live music scene has a strong reputation, with venues ranging from the 175-capacity Soup Kitchen to the 20,000-plus Co-op Live arena. Again, the proliferation of arts and culture means that there are going to be a whole range of communities there. And communities don’t have to be geographically fixed, either. A big event can bring a community of people from across the country, or even the world, to the city. For example, British poker players will have the city in their itinerary in the coming weeks, with this year’s PokerStars Open tournament set to take place at the Deansgate Hotel from 20 October to 26 October. All in all, Manchester has a lot of things going on, and those things necessitate different kinds of communities coming together to make them happen.
Local Communities
Like most British cities, Manchester is made up of mostly defined districts and suburbs. Whether it’s the central Northern Quarter or the more remote Baguley, people identify with their neighbourhoods as much as they do with their city itself. And each district has its own identity. Think, for example, of Chorlton’s middle-class, bohemian, vibes, Rusholme’s renowned curry mile, or the internationally iconic Gay Village around Canal Street. Every area in the city will have its own special places. Think, for example, of Fallowfield’s Platt Fields Park, Longsight Market (one of the biggest markets in the UK), or any one of the city’s 24 public libraries. It’s these features that make the different districts of Manchester individual and give their residents, both past and present, a reference point.
Of course, suburbs and districts are nothing without the people who live in them. Every area of the city of Manchester will have its own story to tell, whether it’s immigrant tales in Crumpsall, Moss Side’s rough and ready reputation, or how Hulme was, ultimately, forged during the Industrial Revolution. Those stories end up coalescing into something that makes a community real. And when a community is real, it can become something that can be welcoming to newcomers, too. When people move to an area, they can become a part of the community, even if they originated in a completely different place. As one of Manchester’s most-loved sons once said: “It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.”
Activism In Manchester
One thing that makes Manchester’s communities as strong as they are is their reputation for social activism. In truth, people in Manchester have been taking a stand for centuries now. You only have to think of how the notorious Peterloo Massacre of 1819, where 19 people died and up to 700 were wounded, was triggered by protests against the restricted electoral franchise. Or it could be how Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union, which played a crucial role in the Suffragette movement, in the city in the early 1900s. Manchester is a place where the political is entwined with the personal, and that often shows up in unexpected ways in communities.
The thing is that, when it comes to communities, what is political might not necessarily be the obviously political. That doesn’t mean, though, that the campaigns that people might take part in in their local areas are going to be obscure ones. Whether it’s the Social Homes for Manchester campaign group calling for 30 per cent of new builds in the city to be affordable for local residents, friends groups for the city’s 144 parks, environmental charities, or social justice affairs, people in Manchester are ready to take a stand. It’s also worth pointing out that, because activism can also make civic life better, even if it’s just by creating something that lets residents take part in the democratic process.
Cross-generational Ties
Communities don’t just come into being overnight. It takes years, decades, and sometimes even centuries for something to truly come together. Having people who have been around for a long time can be incredibly useful. When it comes to a physical community, like a district or neighbourhood, having older residents who can tell you what things used to be like can give you a sense of an area’s history. This can connect younger and newer residents to the area and give them some context for what needs to be done in the locale. In the world of business, a shop that passes through generations can become a much-loved community feature. Meanwhile,
Similarly, a cultural community, whether it’s a sports team, a music scene, or an activism group, can benefit from veteran members. These are the people who can make newcomers feel at home and let them know how things work. Basically, they can provide a mentoring service for people who are new to a group but want to learn more about it and how to make a better contribution. The ties between generations are what stop Manchester from either becoming detached from its history or from being entirely about its history.
