It is time for a public conversation about land ownership, environmental, housing and racial justice.

A story of co-learning

Throughout 2024, a group of 8 community Researchers collaborated with academics at the University of Birmingham, Birmingham Voluntary Services Council and national advisors on the natural environment.

We gathered new data on cultural barriers to accessing green spaces. We learnt together about intersectional climate justice, nature as kin, green gentrification, and multispecies urbanism.

This quickly grew into a forum for collective environmental action.

We co-designed on Urban Greenroom public event, collaborated with public bodies to develop priority actions.

We connected struggles in Birmingham through a new Housing-led Regeneration Research Group to challenge how community consultation is done.

Birmingham - a city of churn

Our city is at a crossroads. It is a city with a reputation for permanent 'creative destruction' and waves of internal displacement and neighbourhood decline. The largest municipality in Europe is in financial crisis, declared bankrupt in 2024.

The modernist impulse to control nature has a long history in this city. There are dangers that environmental protection and urban greening could deepen injustices. This happens where large scale regeneration contracts are granted to developers who promise a tame green vision but who fail to deliver affordable and good quality housing to enable residents to live well.

When the basic environmental health of social housing is neglected, the promise of a green future rings hollow.

Reclaiming the future city now

We must resist tokenism in community consultation and strive for authentic community involvement in decision-making and accountability.

We have to address the sense of trauma that some communities feel in relation to a loss of land and connection to land.

We will investigate land ownership and draw public attention to historical legacies of inequalities and injustices.

We need governmental community engagement activities to be binding - we call for a formal Citizens Assembly to energise community representation.

We must connect pro-active community and environment groups across the city and support them financially. They find obvious and workable solutions which start small but have big impacts.