Community action/York
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 York.
News
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What if we stopped treating social care like a service? A small village community in Yorkshire showed me another way, theconversation.com (Aug 20, 2026) - West Yorkshire moor brought under community ownership, thenews.coop (Oct 30, 2025) — Bridestones Moor, near Todmorden, will be managed by a CIC led by local ecologists, naturalists and residents
- Campaign launched to buy waterfall beauty spot, BBC News (Jul 17, 2025) — Campaigners say the community is ready to take responsibility for the future of the ancient woodland and waterfall
- Half a million trees to be planted in England in three years, says government, theguardian.com (Sep 30, 2026)
- The Space Time Continuum, Alternative Editorial (Sep 27, 2026) — Empty spaces will be put back into use, Andy Burnham said, turning them into "community hubs, health centres, shared workspaces, cafés and the local services that people actually want to see.”
- UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer, theguardian.com (Sep 23, 2026) — El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers
- Citizens need to power Europe's future, demnext.substack.com (Oct 02, 2026) — The EU can enable new democratic institutions: in European countries; with a European Citizens’ Assembly as a 4th branch of government, and by legally enforcing the Global Citizens’ Assembly on AI, Claudia Chwalisz and Another Democratic Future
- Reclaiming the streets: the architects clawing back Europe’s car-centric spaces, theguardian.com (Sep 09, 2026) — The European Prize for Urban Public Space’s shortlist highlights projects helping people cope with climate crisis
- We’re the mayors of Paris, Milan and Phoenix. The heat crisis has us all facing the same question, Emmanuel Grégoire, Giuseppe Sala and Kate Gallego, theguardian.com (Sep 07, 2026) — Our three cities are learning from each other about how to protect residents. These climate policies are also public health measures
- Citizens need to power Europe's future, demnext.substack.com (Oct 02, 2026) — The EU can enable new democratic institutions: in European countries; with a European Citizens’ Assembly as a 4th branch of government, and by legally enforcing the Global Citizens’ Assembly on AI, Claudia Chwalisz and Another Democratic Future
- Fifty Billion Seedlings: Can Ethiopia Replant Its Ravaged Forests?, e360.yale.edu (Oct 01, 2026)
- Want solar but don’t own a roof? California just legalized plug-in panels, no permission required, latimes.com (Sep 30, 2026)
Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]- York Together, group of like-minded individuals from across York who are all passionate about community empowerment and creating change.
- Open Shop, York
CDC video
[edit | edit source]Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Community action/Dorset, Community action/Gloucestershire, Community action/United Kingdom/Cycling activism / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
UK and international events
[edit | edit source]UK events
Sep 7 - 11, 2026 (Mon-Fri) — Zero Waste Week, zerowasteweek.co.uk- Sep 11 - 20, 2026 (Fri-Sun) — Heritage Open Days, celebrating our fantastic history and culture. Your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore, heritageopendays.org.uk
- Sep 18 - 27, 2026 (Fri-Sun) — Great British Beach Clean, mcsuk.org
Global or international events
- Sep 15, 2026 (Tue) — Free Money Day, Global invitation for people to explore, in a liberating and fun way, what it might be like if our relationship to money was a little different. Sep 15, annually, freemoneyday.org
- Sep 18, 2026 (Fri) — Park(ing) day, global, public, participatory project where people across the world temporarily repurpose curbside parking spaces and convert them into public parks and social spaces to advocate for safer, greener, and more equitable streets for people, myparkingday.org
- Sep 21-27, 2026 (Mon-Sun) — Global Week Of Action For Peace And Climate Justice, climatemilitarism.org
- Sep 21, 2026 (Mon) — International Day of Peace, Globally shared date, Sep 21 each year for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace, internationaldayofpeace.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
York video
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Community and voluntary action
[edit | edit source]- York CVS, supporting and championing York’s Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector
Community energy
[edit | edit source]Housing
[edit | edit source]- YorSpace, bringing a fairer kind of housing to York, added 07:54, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
- Low carbon housing: lessons from Elm Tree Mews, York, 2010
Towards sustainable economies
[edit | edit source]- Good Organisation, community-led tourism initiative. "When residents and communities are empowered to lead, tourism becomes more inclusive, more sustainable and a powerful driver of social good."
Social inclusion
[edit | edit source]- Lived Insights, works "to ensure that every voice is valued and every experience has the power to create change by envisioning a society where lived experience drives lasting change."
- Carecent centre for all homeless, unemployed or disadvantaged members of York's community
- Stamp Out Poverty campaign, York
Funding community action
[edit | edit source]- York Community Fund, york.gov.uk, supporting vibrant and purposeful community action that actively improves the wellbeing of everyone in the city.
Sustainable transport activism
[edit | edit source]- i-Travel York, (iTY) programme to encourage greater use of sustainable and active modes of travel (walking, cycling, public transport, car-sharing and eco-driving).
Open space
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York's urbanised areas are surrounded by a green belt that restricts development in the rural areas and parts of surrounding villages, to preserve the setting and historic character of the city. The green belt surrounds nearly all of the city and its outer villages, extending out into North Yorkshire.
Trees, woodland and forest
[edit | edit source]York Community Woodland is a site managed by Forestry England near Knapton in York, England. The site covers 78 hectares (193 acres), and by its opening in 2024, 210,000 trees had been planted. The site is owned by the City of York Council, and offers an open space on the western side of the City of York. Spare land has been allocated on the eastern side for a possible ring road expansion, and when the landfill site to the west is remediated, provision has been made for the woodland to expand over that area.
- York Community Woodland, forestryengland.uk
News archive
[edit | edit source]2014-2019
- York to ban private car journeys from city centre within three years...The Guardian, Dec 31, 2019
- Can York's bid to become a poverty-free city succeed? July 16, 2014...The Guardian
About York
[edit | edit source]York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, including the minster, castle and city walls, all of which are Grade I listed. It is the traditional county town of Yorkshire, and the administrative centre of the City of York district. It is located 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Leeds, 90 miles (140 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 207 miles (333 km) north of London. York's built-up area had a recorded population of 141,685 at the 2021 census.
The city was founded under the name of Eboracum in AD 71. It then became the capital of Britannia Inferior, a province of the Roman Empire, and was later the capital of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria, and Scandinavian York. In the Middle Ages it became the northern England ecclesiastical province's centre, and grew as a wool-trading centre. In the 19th century, it became a major railway network hub and confectionery-manufacturing centre. During the Second World War, York was bombed in the Baedeker Blitz; although it was targeted less during the war than other more industrialised northern cities, several historic buildings were gutted and restoration lasted until the 1960s.
Historic local governance of the city was as a county corporate, not included in the county's riding system. The city has since been governed locally as a municipal borough, county borough, non-metropolitan district and since 1996, by the City of York unitary authority which also includes surrounding villages, rural areas and the town of Haxby. The current district's local council, City of York Council, is responsible for providing all local services and facilities throughout this area.
York was voted European Tourism City of the Year by European Cities Marketing in June 2007, beating 130 other European cities to gain first place, surpassing Gothenburg in Sweden (second) and Valencia in Spain (third). York was also voted safest place to visit in the 2010 Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards. In 2018 The Sunday Times deemed York to be its overall 'Best Place to Live' in Britain, highlighting the city's "perfect mix of heritage and hi-tech" and as a "mini-metropolis with cool cafes, destination restaurants, innovative companies – plus the fastest internet in Britain".[53][54] The result was confirmed in a YouGov survey, reported in August 2018, with 92 per cent of respondents saying that they liked the city, more than any of 56 other British cities. W
Near you
[edit | edit source]| Authors | Phil Green |
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| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2025–2026). "Community action/York". Appropedia. Retrieved October 3, 2026. |