Birmingham community action
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Birmingham.
News
"Laying the foundations for the hopeful, creative, just transition that we know is in our hearts". Civic Square mapping eco-possibilities for the West Midlands, Daily Alternative (Dec 03, 2024) - ‘Building something better’: the UK residents retrofitting their homes amid the climate crisis, theguardian.com (Aug 03, 2024) — From weekly skills-sharing to rewilding streets, communities are working to improve the planet while bolstering the health of people
- The Guardian view on the planning bill: new towns must be for people who need them, Editorial, theguardian.com (Mar 11, 2025)
- Six climate change activists sentences reduced by appeal court, BBC News (Mar 07, 2025)
- Dramatic fall in London’s levels of deadly pollutants after Ulez expansion, theguardian.com (Mar 07, 2025) — People in capital breathing much cleaner air, with significant improvements in capital’s most deprived areas
- ‘Global weirding’: climate whiplash hitting world’s biggest cities, study reveals, theguardian.com (Mar 12, 2025)
- Only seven countries worldwide meet WHO dirty air guidelines, study shows, theguardian.com (Mar 11, 2025) — Governments could clean their air with policies such as funding renewable energy projects and public transport; building infrastructure to encourage walking and cycling; and banning people from burning farm waste.
- Many cities are banning ads for airlines, SUVs and fossil fuels – and yours could be next, theconversation.com (Mar 10, 2025)
Video
Networks and sustainability initiatives
- CIVIC SQUARE, "A bold approach to visioning, building and investing in civic infrastructure for neighbourhoods of the future."
- Balsall Heath Is Our Planet
- Birmingham Friends of the Earth
- Kings Heath Transition Initiative
- Northfield Ecocentre
- University of Birmingham People and Planet Society on facebook
Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Wales community resources, Climate action Scotland, London community resources / ...This week's Global videos
Bioregionalism
- Bioregion Birmingham, "A resilient, sustainable city embracing a bioregional approach to economics, governance and culture." (historical initiative, link no longer available)
Community involvement
- The Front Room, "the beginnings of an ambitious, long-term neighbourhood platform in Birmingham to be designed, grown and co-owned by local communities."
Communities online
Hyperlocal sites in Birmingham, June 2014
Food activism
Martineau Gardens is a community garden on Priory Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It adjoins the Priory Hospital on Bristol Road. It features over two acres of woodland and formal gardens.The Gardens are administered by a registered charity and are a member of the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens.
- Martineau Gardens, link checked 16:24, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
- Slow Food Birmingham
- Growing Birmingham
Community energy
BirminghamEnergy Savers, Birmingham City Council originated scheme
Towards sustainable economies
FutureShift, programme to encourage civic innovation in Birmingham and the Black Country...podnosh.com
Arts, sport and culture
Health and wellbeing
- The Active Wellbeing Society, community benefit society and cooperative working to develop healthy, happy communities living active and connected lives, added 17:16, 30 April 2020 (UTC)
Climate action
- Retrofit Balsall Heath on facebook.com, added 12:19, 7 November 2023 (UTC)
- Zero carbon house, "…has been designed so there’s no need to use fossil fuels. No carbon is released into the atmosphere from this unique family home and there are no fuel bills either. zero carbon house is the UK’s first zero carbon retrofit – the only existing house to have been upgraded to one of the most exacting standards in green design, Level 6 of the original UK Code for Sustainable Homes."...thealternative.org.uk/dailyalternative, 29 July 2023, added 10:45, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
Sustainable transport activism
Birmingham is at the hub of England's canal network. There are 35 miles (56 km) of canals within the city, of which most are navigable.
- Birmingham Transport Plan 2031, Draft Birmingham transport plan
- Birmingham public transport maps are available from Network West Midlands as follows:
Cycling activism
Big Birmingham Bikes, information from Birmingham City Council - Bike North Birmingham, Birmingham City Council project delivered in partnership with Sustrans and Be Active, working to transform the profile of cycling in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield - Birmingham Cycle Revolution,part of the Birmingham Connected vision to reinvent the way people and goods move across the city - Critical Mass bicycle rides in Birmingham - Green Bike Project, community-led bicycle workshop and co-operative based at the University of Birmingham
Environment quality
- Brum Breathes, added 16:12, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
Resources
- School Streets: Reducing children's exposure to toxic air pollution and road danger, mumsforlungs.org, Research concerning 4 cities: London, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds, Jan 2021
Open spaces
Birmingham has 571 parks totalling over 3,500 hectares (14 sq mi) of public open space, more than any other European city. The city also has five Local Nature Reserves, one National Nature Reserve and a number of Wildlife Trust nature reserves.
Trees, woodland and forest
News archive
- Neighbours band together to tackle energy bills and show how climate action starts at home, bigissue.com (Nov 06, 2023)
- Birmingham's Zero Carbon House is doable, scalable and beautiful - and expresses what the "climate majority" want, says Rupert Read, The Daily Alternative (Jul 29, 2023)
- Birmingham’s Civic Square, so inspirational to many seeking to strengthen community power, is “refounding” itself, The Daily Alternative (Mar 30, 2023)
2013-2021
SMW:off- The Political Opportunity, Alternative Editorial (Jul 25, 2021)
- 'Cities have been invaded by cars. Now they are being liberated' - Positive News, Apr 7, 2020...positive.news
- How a Belgian port city (Ghent) inspired Birmingham's car-free ambitions, Jan 20, 2020...theguardian.com
- "Play Out Til Tea" is a great Birmingham Impact Hub idea - but their "neighbourhood of the future" is even better, Jul 21, 2019...The Alternative UK
- From Impact Hub Birmingham to Civic Square, Jun 16, 2019...birmingham.impacthub.net
- Pedal power to the people: Brum's £24m cycling boost, August 12, 2013...Birmingham Mail
Community resources
Citizens data initiative
- Data to decarbonise in a decade, makes available a range of data sets including open data on housing, travel, waste, energy, and emissions. Easy to use, with some features to help with visualisation. added 15:43, 18 November 2021 (UTC)
Funding sources
- Birmingham SOUP
- LoveBrum, charity supporting 'hard-to-reach' projects across Birmingham that are often volunteer led and that deliver real change, with outcomes that can be seen, measured, enjoyed, and loved.
Other resources
About Birmingham
Past events
- Apr 17, 2017, Beyond (un)employment, collaborative learning circle, Programme starts Wednesday 19th April 2017 birmingham.impacthub.net
- March 7, 2015, Birmingham GreenFest, Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Birmingham (BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest city, urban area and metropolitan area in England and the United Kingdom, with roughly 1.1 million inhabitants within the city area, 2.9 million inhabitants within the urban area and 4.3 million inhabitants within the metropolitan area and lies within the most populated English district.Birmingham is commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom.
Located in the West Midlands county and region in England, approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Central London, Birmingham, as one of the United Kingdom's major cities, is considered to be the social, cultural, financial, and commercial centre of both the East and West Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre.
External links
- Green Commission, Birmingham City Council