The legacy of the Peckham Experiment at 100 years: pioneering neighbourhood health and wellbeing past, present and future

This session marks the 100 year anniversary of the Peckham Experiment based around the Pioneer Health Centre in Southwark. The Peckham Experiment was a pioneering community health study in south-east London that investigated human health and development rather than merely treating illness.

The experiment was fundamentally interdisciplinary as it formed to draw on different forms of knowledge to inform practice and evidence around the question of "what creates health in a community?".

These ideas are again at the forefront with the government’s 10 year plan for the NHS emphasising prevention and neighbourhood health. In order to fully explore the centre’s legacy, and its relevance for contemporary policy and practice, an interdisciplinary approach is needed.

This seminar brings together colleagues at King's to reflect on its history, examine its relevance to contemporary challenges in community and place-based health, and explore what its ideas and experiences might offer for the future. We hope that through these initial discussions of the past, present, and future, we can find opportunities to come together to identify new questions, avenues for interdisciplinary research, and possibilities for collaboration.

Contributors

Daniel Liston
Dan is a current resident of the Pioneer Health Building. He alongside other residents have formed the Peckham Experiment CIC to explore, preserve and share the history of the Peckham Experiment in the 21^st Century.

Ilona Sagar
Ilona is a current resident artist at Somerset House Studios and is a recipient of the Stanley Picker Fellowship in Design and Fine Art. She worked with young people at the South London Gallery to explore the archives of the Peckham Experiment. She has a forthcoming solo commission with Kings College London in partnership with the Science Gallery (2027).

Gabriel Lawson
Gabriel is a historian and health policy researcher at the Policy Institute at King's, interested in questions surrounding mental health, place, and community.

Facilitators

Dr Siavash Ali Madadi Jani and Dr Shuo Zhang