📢 We have some exciting news to share! Zencity, a global leader in community engagement, has acquired Commonplace. This partnership marks a key milestone in our joint mission to help local governments better understand their communities, act decisively, and deliver effectively. For our customers, the platform you trust is only getting stronger, with added access to Zencity tools like advanced sentiment analysis and resident surveys. For Zencity customers, this enhances their expertise in project-specific engagement, from major infrastructure initiatives to neighbourhood planning. With this acquisition, we’re dedicated to fostering stronger, more inclusive communities. Read the full story here: https://hubs.ly/Q033sNLH0 #Pressrelease #digitalengagement #engagement #communityengagement #zencity #commonplace
Commonplace
Technology, Information and Internet
Southwark, England 3,903 followers
Unlocking community data to transform everyday spaces into thriving places
About us
Create thriving spaces with AI-driven insights and community input. Commonplace is a leading platform for digital community engagement, designed to empower organisations with data-driven tools for meaningful public participation. Through interactive surveys, map-based feedback, and visually rich project information, Commonplace facilitates collaborative codesign and transparent communication. Trusted by hundreds of organisations across both public and private sectors, Commonplace has successfully supported over 3,600 projects worldwide, engaging 9 million visitors and capturing more than 3 million individual contributions.With versatile digital solutions, Commonplace seamlessly supports wide-ranging, hybrid engagement initiatives on any place-based theme.
- Website
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https://www.commonplace.is/
External link for Commonplace
- Industry
- Technology, Information and Internet
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- Southwark, England
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2013
- Specialties
- Citizen engagement and insight software, Neighbourhood collaboration software, Planning consultation software, Public collaboration in urban design, and Public needs mapping
Locations
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Primary
109 Borough High Street
Southwark, England, GB
Employees at Commonplace
Updates
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Get in touch with us for some free advice on how to engage communities digitally on the topic of Active Travel...
With over 400 Active Travel projects AND 1 million+ contributions, we help communities, councils, and decision-makers create more walkable, bike-friendly, wheelable and sustainable places. 🔹 Waltham Forest’s Mini-Holland – One of the earliest large-scale Active Travel projects, helped to establish us as leaders in this space. 🚲 🌱 https://lnkd.in/e6qF-SDJ. The impact highlights: - Residents cycled 24% more and walked/cycled 41 extra minutes weekly. - Car traffic dropped by 58% in key areas, making streets safer. - Life expectancy increased by 6 weeks due to cleaner air and more activity. - 22 km of cycle lanes, 700 trees, 300 bike hangars, and 15 pocket parks added. - Shops thrived, with full occupancy for the first time in 15 years. A few more examples: ✔️ Mapped Routes & Interventions 📍 Interactive maps overlay proposed routes. https://lnkd.in/e8gGmBdp Sheffield City Council | South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority | Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom ✔️ Effective Feedback Loops 🔄 Structured consultation with embedded real-time data insights. https://lnkd.in/eYKfGNJ2 West Yorkshire Combined Authority | Leeds City Council ✔️ Video-Led Engagement 🎥 Using video to boost community engagement. https://lnkd.in/eidRe68S Surrey County Council ✔️ Resident & Visitor Engagement 🏞️ Connecting both residents and visitors in shaping transport. https://lnkd.in/eT6yHteA Hope Valley Climate Action (HVCA) ✔️ Council-Wide Transport Strategy 🏛️ A borough-wide approach to sustainable transport planning. https://lnkd.in/ew3_y38a Royal Borough of Greenwich ✔️ Rural Transport Planning 🌾 Addressing transport needs in rural communities. https://lnkd.in/eMPW42vk Wiltshire Council ✔️ Nationwide Cycling Survey 🚴♂️ Scaling Active Travel projects regionally and nationally. https://lnkd.in/eByMbpFR Sustrans ✔️ Rural LCWIP 📊 Supporting long-term local Active Travel strategies. https://lnkd.in/eb7-jBKh Central Bedfordshire Council ✔️ Sustrans Scotland Projects Hub – Driving change across Scotland with innovative engagement. 🏴 https://lnkd.in/eZW9_H5j 💡 One key insight: While Active Travel can be a divisive topic at first, long-term engagement leads to positive sentiment shifts. Councils and decision-makers who continuously involve communities over multiple quarters see growing support for Active Travel and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. If you're looking to connect communities, gather meaningful insights, and drive real change, let’s chat! 🚀 Commonplace Did you know - we have a bespoke AI engagement analysis model for Active Travel? #ActiveTravel #SustainableTransport #CommunityEngagement #Cycling #Walking #Placemaking #UrbanPlanning #Decarbonisation #FutureCities
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Commonplace was used as an insight gathering solution for this brilliant research piece. An interesting read for those in the BTR / Tenant & Resident engagement space.
Build-to-Rent (BTR) tenants are happier with their homes than the national average - 89% say they’re satisfied, compared to 82% of renters overall. They’re also more likely to feel they have enough opportunities for exercise. But here’s the kicker: they feel way less safe at night... Brand new research from our pals at the Quality of Life Foundation, the British Property Federation, and the The Association for Rental Living found that while 87% of men and 83% of women nationwide feel safe walking around after dark, those numbers drop to just 73% and 59% for BTR residents. One tenant summed it up: “We need more police presence, 24-hour security... There have been daily robberies and multiple stabbings, making the neighborhood very unsafe.” This is where real engagement and data-driven insights matter! Commonplace helps give residents a voice, allowing developers to listen and make changes that actually improve tenant happiness. Meanwhile, (our new owners) Zencity’s 'pulse surveys' provide ongoing benchmarking to track these issues over time. And with Zencity’s 'Blockwise' solution, cities and property managers can go even deeper - using real-time public safety data to understand crime trends, deploy resources effectively, and build safer communities. Sentiment data isn’t just useful - it’s essential for future-proofing developments and making sure people aren’t just living in these homes, but actually thriving in them! Thanks to The Developer and Festival of Place for sharing this insightful piece! #BuildToRent #TenantExperience #PublicSafety #FutureOfLiving #UrbanDevelopment #CommunityEngagement #SmartCities #DataDriven #ResidentVoice #QualityOfLife #Zencity #Commonplace #RealEstateInnovation
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Here are some excellent thoughts from our CEO and co-founder on the upcoming planning changes featured in The Municipal Journal! Read his full thoughts here: https://lnkd.in/ecVWHcMY
Do you think the upcoming planning changes will lead to stronger local engagement and democracy? I am fascinated by the opportunity for social technologies to bring local communities together rather than pull them apart, to expand democracy rather than restrict it. So far it hasn’t felt that 2025 will change much. Big tech does not appear to be covering itself in democratic glory. But maybe, in the weeds of the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, there are the seeds of something very positive. It's highly likely that the bill will include provisions that look a bit like 'zoning', and others such as the ‘brownfield passport’, which will create a stronger presumption in favour of development. Is this a good or bad thing for communities who want a meaningful say in how their neighbourhood changes? I argue in a recent MJ article, that these planning changes could create more rather than less opportunity for communities: 🚳 In close to 4,000 engagements run on Commonplace, I’ve observed that those seeking a ‘yes’ or ’no’ tend to produce more polarised and often bad tempered responses ✅ Whereas those that seek to address the ‘what’ rather than the ‘if’ tend to be more constructive, and have a greater impact on the outcome 🤝 Could YIMBYs and NIMBYs to be replaced by ’SVIMBYs’ (something of value in my back yard)? Empowered communities pushing for outcomes they need, enabled by development There are also great opportunities for councils and developers: in a report published last year with Landsec, British Land and Berkeley Homes, we showed that strong engagement can result in increased viability. https://lnkd.in/eFxtCvEp Technology has a huge role to play in this movement. Being part of Zencity means that Commonplace now brings even more value to the table in building trust and connecting people to the places they live, work and play. The full piece is in the The Municipal Journal: https://lnkd.in/esKhnBEy #urbanplanning #sustainability #housing #NPPF #planning #urbandesign #buildbackbetter #communityengagement Max Farrell Chris Hogwood Michael Meadows Andrew White Sean Groves Kate Honey Ed Watson Tom Kerr Jane Groom Martyn Evans Hon FRIBA Camilla Mankabady Chris Scott Debbie Jackson Hon FRIBA Pete Gladwell Dinny Shaw Sam Emery
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Check out Charlotte Dove Bowen's latest article (3 minute read) all about how we at Commonplace guarantee contributions are coming from real residents.
Public consultations were supposed to be about giving people a voice. A way for communities to weigh in on the decisions that shape their neighbourhoods, cities, and futures. But in 2025, that voice isn’t always human. 🤖 Bots, AI-generated responses, and mass-coordinated campaigns are infiltrating engagement platforms, manipulating results, and drowning out real opinions. From infrastructure projects to social policies, online consultations are being gamed - and not by accident. Bad actors are leveraging technology to flood responses, sway decisions, and shut down initiatives they don’t like. The result? A process meant to be democratic is turning into a battleground of misinformation and manipulation. ⌚ But not on our watch! At Commonplace, we’re fighting back! With over a decade of data and millions of responses analysed, we’ve built a consultation platform that doesn’t just collect feedback - it protects it. This is how we’re making sure only REAL voices get heard, and fake ones get shut out! Find out HOW in my latest article... #RealVoicesOnly #StopTheBots #PublicConsultation #CommunityVoices #TrustInTech #FightMisinformation #DigitalDemocracy #DigitalEngagement #AuthenticEngagement #TechForGood #ProtectTheProcess
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Exciting news! Commonplace has recently partnered with property and planning data platform Landcycle.com. Landcycle is the most accessible and advanced property sourcing tool available in the UK. It is here to help professionals get fast and accurate information and now, you can get an overview of local Commonplace projects using their open map hub! Explore both live and closed Commonplaces in your area, what the site is for, and what phase the project is currently in. Perfect for gathering essential information on how the community feels about these sites and what the future holds for them. Take a look now by clicking here: https://hubs.ly/Q035ynM00
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Today is Global ✨Community Engagement Day✨, a day focused on organisations, individuals, and businesses better engaging with their community. At Commonplace we have spent over 10 years creating the tools for local authorities to better communicate with citizens and put them at the centre of place-based decision processes. It is those that live work and play in a area that truly know it and we couldn't be prouder to have helped over 10 million people have their say! With Zencity's acquisition of Commonplace, this mission of bettering community engagement globally will only get stronger. So on this day we want to give thanks to all of our staff as well as out partners, customers and every person who left their thoughts on a Commonplace site. Let's make the world a better and more engaged place. (Read about the acquisition below) https://hubs.ly/Q034gsMq0 #GlobalCommunityEngagementDay
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It's time for another customer spotlight!✨ This time we have 3 strategies to share. Haringey Council are currently consulting on 3 crucial strategies to support people in their local communities. There's still time to have your say! If you live or work in and around the area they want to hear form you 📍Older People's Housing Strategy - https://hubs.ly/Q0345sl50 📍Homelessness Strategy - https://hubs.ly/Q0345wWM0 📍Youth Strategy - https://hubs.ly/Q0345R1y0
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You can now find Commonplace on the Digital Planning Directory! 🔗https://hubs.ly/Q033t_-f0 Created by the Digital Task Force for Planning and funded by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, this directory is here to point you towards the right provider for your digital planning needs.✨ As leaders in the digital community engagement space and with our ever-expanding services, we are thrilled to be a part of this launch. Make sure to check out our listing to discover our range of offerings (including new ai-powered services) as well as some carefully selected case studies. Let's see how Commonplace can help you! 👉https://hubs.ly/Q033t_-f0 #communityengagement #engagement #digital #directory
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Commonplace reposted this
At Commonplace, we’re transforming public engagement with advanced sentiment mapping technology, allowing local geolocated insights to be captured digitally in a way that’s more impactful, accessible, and inclusive. Here’s why that matters: 🔹 Increased participation: We’re seeing up to a 25% increase in project proposals! 🔹 Improved data quality: Get more accurate and insightful feedback. 🔹 Clearer communication: Complex issues are made easier to understand through visualisation. 🔹 Greater inclusivity: Everyone’s voice is heard, regardless of location. 🔹 Real-time monitoring: Track engagement and ensure diverse perspectives are captured across geographic areas. From mapping safety concerns to understanding mobility patterns or designing better public spaces, interactive maps bring real-time feedback and data-driven decisions together. Check out my latest article for an in-depth look at some of the best Commonplace features and examples in action. Useful for anyone looking to use maps on future engagements! #communityengagement #datadriven #interactivemaps #gis #publicengagement #techforgood #sentimentmapping #inclusivedesign #urbanplanning #innovation