{"id":332,"date":"2024-10-01T11:02:53","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T10:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/?page_id=332"},"modified":"2024-10-29T16:49:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T16:49:07","slug":"lifespring-stories","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifespring Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cInclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space and better space for everyone\u201d – <\/i><\/strong>George Dei, 2006<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Oxford Road Stories Research project has shown great potential from the start of 2020 due to the methods used in participatory action research that engage with communities that are seldom heard in research. In 2022, funded by Reading Borough Council, a second phase of the High Street Heritage Action Zone<\/a> (HSHAZ) project was co-designed with local people and community groups who frequent a community space, the Lifespring Church\/Pavilion<\/a>, to have conversations about community, highlight how the Oxford Road\u2019s vibrant history is connected to and through their lives, and what Lifespring means to them. Collaborating with Baker Street Productions and University of Reading students, the team curated a series of interviews, life histories, artefacts, and photographs to explore and share a series of Lifespring Stories, which was exhibited in Reading libraries, Reading Museum<\/a> and Oxford Road venues.<\/p>\n

The people of Oxford Road have many things that connect them to this space. Everything makes their identity unique, and they find commonality on one road \u2013 Oxford Road. These are their stories.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#848484″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1728574819416{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1730220546491{padding-left: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Read our book<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With continued support from Reading Borough Council, the University of Reading and Baker Street,\u00a0Lifespring Stories: the Many Faces of Oxford Road, Reading Town, United Kingdom,<\/i> a book that captures the audio stories has been published and is available here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

To reference the book please use: Mpofu-Coles, A.,\u00a0Woronka, R.,\u00a0Bishop, C.\u00a0and\u00a0Hewson, O.\u00a0(2024)\u00a0Lifespring stories: the many faces of Oxford Road, Reading Town, United Kingdom.<\/i> University of Reading, Reading, UK. ISBN 9780704916142 DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.48683\/1926.00118420<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_media_grid element_width=”12″ item=”435″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1730220426069-c0155b18-d81b-2″ include=”493,496″ css=”.vc_custom_1728573756572{padding-right: 20px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1728574829469{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #e0e0e0 !important;}”][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1728469985216{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_media_grid element_width=”12″ item=”477″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1730220426071-ab7173c5-6079-9″ include=”491″ css=”.vc_custom_1728573766217{padding-left: 20px !important;}”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1728561666821{padding-right: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Hear their stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hear the first-hand accounts of Oxford Road residents overcoming adversity like addiction, settling in the UK, and finding their place in the community.
\n<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”300px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#848484″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/5″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/5″][vc_single_image image=”506″ onclick=”custom_link” link=”https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https:\/\/media.reading.gov.uk\/news\/oxford-road-stories-brought-to-life-in-new-exhibition-lifespring-stories&ved=2ahUKEwibsYHLkYSJAxXbZkEAHbziN0oQFnoECBUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw26PI1oTceuh4enqnqFJNKy”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/5″][vc_single_image image=”503″ onclick=”custom_link” link=”https:\/\/www.readingmuseum.org.uk\/online-exhibitions\/oxford-road-lifespring-stories”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/5″][vc_single_image image=”504″ onclick=”custom_link” link=”https:\/\/www.bakerstreetproductions.co.uk\/lifespring-stories\/”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/5″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \u201cInclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space and better space for everyone\u201d – George Dei, 2006 The Oxford Road Stories Research…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":969,"featured_media":0,"parent":232,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[19],"class_list":["post-332","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLifespring Stories - Oxford Road Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lifespring Stories - Oxford Road Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \u201cInclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space and better space for everyone\u201d – George Dei, 2006 The Oxford Road Stories Research...Read More >\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Oxford Road Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-29T16:49:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"Conor Byrne\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/\",\"name\":\"Lifespring Stories - Oxford Road Stories\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-01T10:02:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-29T16:49:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Our projects\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Lifespring Stories\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/\",\"name\":\"Oxford Road Stories\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lifespring Stories - Oxford Road Stories","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lifespring Stories - Oxford Road Stories","og_description":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \u201cInclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space and better space for everyone\u201d – George Dei, 2006 The Oxford Road Stories Research...Read More >","og_url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/","og_site_name":"Oxford Road Stories","article_modified_time":"2024-10-29T16:49:07+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"3 minutes","Written by":"Conor Byrne"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/","url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/","name":"Lifespring Stories - Oxford Road Stories","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-10-01T10:02:53+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-29T16:49:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/lifespring-stories\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Our projects","item":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/our-projects\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Lifespring Stories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/","name":"Oxford Road Stories","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":547,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/332\/revisions\/547"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/oxford-road-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}