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Community action/Birmingham

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The Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal between the International Convention Centre (left), Brindleyplace (right), and Broad Street Tunnel (ahead) in central Birmingham, England. A part of the canal originally called Deep Cutting. Photo by G-Man Nov 2004
Location data
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Location Birmingham, West Midlands
Coordinates 52° 29' 38.47" N, 1° 54' 42.10" W

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.

Birmingham
West Midlands
UK
Europe
Cosmolocal
  • News Climate storytelling often ignores young people – arts-based research can change that, theconversation.com (Feb 06, 2026)
  • News ‘Brummies united against racism’: poster campaign takes on the far right, theguardian.com (Oct 12, 2025)
  • News Re:Assembling The Future, Alternative Editorial (Jun 08, 2025)
Read more
  • News How volunteers are saving the River Wye with citizen science, cpre.org.uk (Mar 30, 2026)
  • News Heritage railway launches hydrogen-powered train, BBC News (Feb 27, 2026)
  • News Climate storytelling often ignores young people – arts-based research can change that, theconversation.com (Feb 06, 2026)
  • News WL Meets: Zoe Gilbertson who is refashioning textiles from the ground up, wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk (May 13, 2026) — Nick Easen meets designer Zoe Gilbertson who wants to revive the UK textile sector, with sustainability woven in from the start
  • News Fixing social care: Report highlights potential of co-op model in the UK, thenews.coop (May 08, 2026) — Commissioned by Co-operatives UK and Cwmpas, the study found co-ops provide ‘fairer, better quality, community-rooted care’
  • News Our Land: who owns the countryside? New documentary explores the access divide in England and Wale, theconversation.com (May 08, 2026)
  • News Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary, theguardian.com (May 07, 2026)
  • News Sail-power offers passengers new crossing between England and France, reuters.com (Apr 28, 2026)
  • News Europe needs affordable, low‑carbon homes – here’s how Barcelona is reimagining its housing system, theconversation.com (Apr 08, 2026)
  • News How one Kenyan community is building a new future on reclaimed ground, globalvoices.org (May 14, 2026)
  • News Data Centres Need a Social License to Operate, demnext.substack.com (May 13, 2026) — How lessons from citizens' assemblies are highly relevant for the future of AI infrastructure and data centres, Another Democratic Future and Claudia Chwalisz
  • News Argentina’s co-operativas escolares: A case study in co-op education, thenews.coop (May 12, 2026) — In 1946, national legislation formally established the teaching of co-operativism and the creation of school co-operatives

Networks and sustainability initiatives

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CDC videos

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Cosmolocal discovery club

Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.

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Future Rural Voices: perspectives on the countryside’s future
Authors: Campaign to Protect Rural England, 2.35 mins.
Date: 2026-05-07
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Local Power, Lower Bills: Up the Energy!
Authors: Community Energy England, 1.38 mins.
Date: 2026-03-10
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Tiree - This is Community Wealth Building
Authors: Scottish Community Alliance, 3.44 mins.
Date: 2025-11-18

Rural sustainability UK, Community energy UK, Community action/Argyll and Bute / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism

UK and international events

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UK events

UK community action events

Global or international events

  • Event May 1 - 3, 2026 (Fri - Sun) first weekend of May every yearJane's Walk, How to Lead a Jane's Walk, Video, janeswalk.org
  • Event May 03, 2026 (Sun) — International dawn chorus day, first Sunday of May, wildlifetrusts.org
  • Event May 3 - 9, 2026 (Sun - Sat) — International Compost Awareness Week, compostfoundation.org
  • Event May 9 and Oct 10, 2026 — World Migratory Bird Day, worldmigratorybirdday.org
  • Event May 20, 2026 (Wed) — World Bee Day, May 20 each year, fao.org
  • Event May 21, 2026 (Thu) — Outdoor Classroom Day, celebrating and inspiring outdoor learning and play, outdoorclassroomday.com
  • Event May 22, 2026 (Fri) — International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22 every year, cbd.int

2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events

Birmingham video

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The Green Heart of Birmingham: Celebrating Our Parks and Open Spaces Volunteers
Authors: Birmingham Open Spaces Forum, 7.15 mins.
Date: 2025-12-05
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2025 Birmingham Museums Citizens' Jury
Authors: DemocracyNext, 1.55 mins.
Date: 2025-04-18
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CIVIC SQUARE 2022
Authors: CIVIC SQUARE, Dec 21, 2022
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Gardens Where People Grow
Authors: Martineau Gardens, May 11, 2022
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Brum Breathes: A Better Birmingham
Authors: Birmingham City Council, May 13, 2021
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Car Free Birmingham: An Introduction
Authors: Possible, Mar 15, 2021

Bioregionalism

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  • Bioregion Birmingham, "A resilient, sustainable city embracing a bioregional approach to economics, governance and culture." (historical initiative, link no longer available)

Community involvement

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  • 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

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Hyperlocal sites in Birmingham, June 2014

Food activism

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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.

Community energy

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BirminghamEnergy Savers, Birmingham City Council originated scheme

Towards sustainable economies

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FutureShift, programme to encourage civic innovation in Birmingham and the Black Country...podnosh.com

Community resources

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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

Arts, sport and culture

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Health and wellbeing

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  • 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

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  • 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

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Birmingham Transport Plan
Authors: Birmingham City Council, 1.55 mins.
Date: 2020-02-05

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. W

Cycling activism

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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

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Resources

Open spaces

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  • Birmingham Open Spaces Forum, volunteer-led network connecting and supporting the people who care for the city’s open spaces. added 17:42, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

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. W

Trees, woodland and forest

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Birmingham Trees for Life

News archive

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  • 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)
  • News ‘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
  • News Neighbours band together to tackle energy bills and show how climate action starts at home, bigissue.com (Nov 06, 2023)
  • News 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)
  • News Birmingham’s Civic Square, so inspirational to many seeking to strengthen community power, is “refounding” itself, The Daily Alternative (Mar 30, 2023)

2013-2021

  • '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

About Birmingham

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Past events

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. W

External links

Page data
Keywords Cities, UK cities
SDG SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 2 pages link here
Redirects Birmingham, Birmingham community action
Views 88 page views (analytics)
Created June 26, 2014 by Phil Green
Last edit February 19, 2026 by Phil Green
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