The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups across Birmingham.
‘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
Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]
- 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
- Bioregion Birmingham, "A resilient, sustainable city embracing a bioregional approach to economics, governance and culture." (historical initiative, link no longer available)
Community involvement[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
Hyperlocal sites in Birmingham, June 2014
Community energy[edit | edit source]
BirminghamEnergy Savers, Birmingham City Council originated scheme
Climate action[edit | edit source]
- 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.",[1] added 10:45, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
Sustainable transport activism[edit | edit source]
- Birmingham Transport Plan 2031, Draft Birmingham transport plan
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.[2]
Cycling activism[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
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.[3]
Martineau Gardens, (Wikipedia) - Wikipedia: Parks and open spaces in Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park
Trees, woodland and forest[edit | edit source]
Arts, sport and culture[edit | edit source]
Food activism[edit | edit source]
Martineau Gardens[edit | edit source]
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)
Other inititives[edit | edit source]
Health and wellbeing[edit | edit source]
- 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)
Towards sustainable economies[edit | edit source]
FutureShift, programme to encourage civic innovation in Birmingham and the Black Country[4]
News and comment[edit | edit source]
2023
- 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)
2021
- The Political Opportunity, Alternative Editorial (Jul 25, 2021)
2020
'Cities have been invaded by cars. Now they are being liberated' - Positive News, Apr 7[5]
How a Belgian port city (Ghent) inspired Birmingham's car-free ambitions, Jan 20[6]
2019
"Play Out Til Tea" is a great Birmingham Impact Hub idea - but their "neighbourhood of the future" is even better, Jul 21[7]
From Impact Hub Birmingham to Civic Square, Jun 16[8]
2013
Pedal power to the people: Brum's £24m cycling boost, August 12[9]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Citizens data initiative[edit | edit source]
- 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 community action[edit | edit source]
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.
Maps for community action[edit | edit source]
Public Transport Maps:[10]
- Birmingham public transport maps are available from Network West Midlands as follows:
Other resources[edit | edit source]
Past events[edit | edit source]
2017
Beyond (un)employment, collaborative learning circle, Programme starts Wednesday 19th April 2017 birmingham.impacthub.net
2015
March 7 Birmingham GreenFest, Birmingham Botanical Gardens
About Birmingham[edit | edit source]
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
- Green Commission, Birmingham City Council
References
- ↑ thealternative.org.uk/dailyalternative, 29 July 2023
- ↑ wikipedia:Transport in Birmingham#Canals
- ↑ wikipedia:Parks and open spaces in Birmingham
- ↑ podnosh.com
- ↑ positive.news
- ↑ theguardian.com
- ↑ The Alternative UK
- ↑ birmingham.impacthub.net
- ↑ Birmingham Mail
- ↑ wikipedia:Transport in Birmingham#Public Transport Maps
