Urban sustainability UK

This article focuses on information specific to United Kingdom. Please see our Urban sustainability page for a topic overview.

Campaigns

Empty Homes, works to help people create homes from empty properties and campaigns for more empty homes to be brought into use for the benefit of those in housing need. ^W

Neighbourhood Planning

Since 2012, (and as of Sep 2017) over 2,200 groups have started the neighbourhood planning process, covering areas of nearly 12 million people across England. Over 400 successful neighbourhood planning referendums have now taken place, with an average ‘yes’ vote of 88%. ^[1]

Neighbourhood Planning, Planning Aid England
Neighbourhood Planning, information from My Community
Neighbourhood planning, Woodland Trust
Crowd-sourced #NeighbourhoodPlanning Bibliography
A Transition Guide to Neighbourhood Plans

Rainwater harvesting

UK homes using some form of rainwater harvesting system can reduce their mains water usage by 50% or more. ^W

Resources

Book reviews

'How to Save Town Centres' by Julian Dobson. Transition Network, March 31, 2015

How to's

How to Create Streets: a communities' guide createstreets.com
How to CREATE STRETS - a councillors' guide, createstreets.com
HowToPopUp, Empty Shops wiki
How To Get Planning Permission on Non-Development Land, Permaculture Magazine, 2012
Local Sustainable Homes, How to Make Them Happen in Your Community, Chris Bird, October 2010

Maps

SAVE PUBLIC LAND

Other resources

100 ways to help the high street, information from the Local Government Association
Cheap (potentially free) to build & free to run houses, Permaculture Magazine, 2013
Collaborative Planning for All guide published by Civic Voice with support from JTP
Green Infrastructure Valuation Toolkit, Green Infrastructure North West
Permeable surfacing of front gardens: guidance, information from Gov.uk
Planning Aid provides free urban and environmental planning advice to individuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay a professional consultant, via a number of charitable organisations throughout the UK. ^W
Spinwatch report on lobbying & abuses in planning, Anna Minton, March 2013 (PDF)

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Susdrain, Free interactive community supporting the delivery of sustainable drainage (managed by CIRIA) ^W
Ten simple ways to make your street a safe and green place to live, sustrans.org.uk

Video

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more video:

Invest in Green Infrastructure on youtube

3Space - Turning Empty Space into an Opportunity on youtube

News and comment

2019

Jan 4 London news: Cars, lorries and taxis to be banned from Tottenham Court Road, Jan 4 ^[2]

2018

Timpson says a locally-driven approach needed to rejuvenate high streets. Retail industry experts have called for a community-focused approach to tackling the challenges facing high streets and town centres. Dec 20 ^[3]

The government-appointed panel made up representatives from the retail, property and design sectors has published practical recommendations to reinvigorate town centres by creating a community hub which, alongside retail, includes leisure and social services and more residential property.

The report puts community involvement and local leadership at the centre of a plan to create the town centres of the future.

Create Streets say: We don't want NIMBYs, but YIMBYs and BIMBYs (Y for "Yes", B for "Beautiful"), Oct 15 ^[4]

Government faces court action over 'illegal' planning policy, Sep 4 ^[5]

Oxfordshire: This disastrous new project will change the face of Britain, yet no debate is allowed, George Monbiot, Aug 22 ^[6]

Government commits to further support for neighbourhood planning, Mar 19 ^[7]

Kent: We could build more than a million homes on brownfield land… so why aren’t we? Feb 28 ^[8]

People-powered housing: is it the answer to our housing crisis? Feb 23 ^[9]

2017

Haringey: Community group builds plans for genuinely affordable housing, Nov 2 ^[10]

Funding of around £5.5 million per year until 2022, to provide communities with specialist support to help develop a Neighbourhood Plan, Sep 20 ^[11]

Southwark: Borough Market to phase out plastic bottle sales with free fountains, Aug 23 ^[12]

London news: The @MayorofLondon is aiming to make London one of the greenest cities on Earth, Aug 21 ^[13]

Are you currently preparing a neighbourhood plan? Could community-led housing meet the needs of your area? Jul 24 ^[14]

2016

Putting people in control of public land, Nov 2 ^[15]

Peers vote for new neighbourhood right of appeal, Apr 22 ^[16]

Neighbourhood Planning and Transition initiatives: an update. February 5 ^[17]

Community-led housing: top of the agenda! Jan 20 ^[18]

2015

It’s in all our interests to know who owns our land, and who benefits from it, September 28 ^[19]

Charity Sustrans unveil new modular street furniture system, September 21 ^[20]

Five Radical Ideas for a Better Planning System, April ^[21]

Atmos Totnes and the Power to Convene, January 22 ^[22]

2014

Our month on rethinking real estate: Why I’m proud to be a SWIMBY, October 2 ^[23]

Why I'm not a planner, nor proud of planning, May 23 ^[24]

2013

A Right to Build: Local homes for local people, March 14 ^[25]

New alliance calls for “Smart Growth” investment in cities, not more 1980s-style sprawl, February 21 ^[26]

Interwiki links

Wikipedia: Rainwater harvesting in the United Kingdom, Town and country planning in the United Kingdom (category)

External links

3space
Association for Environment Conscious Building, network for sustainable building professionals in the United Kingdom. Membership of the AECB includes local authorities, housing associations, builders, architects, designers, consultants and manufacturers. The Association was Founded in 1989 to increase awareness within the construction industry of the need to respect, protect, preserve and enhance the environment and to develop, share and promote best practice in environmentally sustainable building. ^W
Centre for Accessible Environments
Cittaslow UK
Civic Voice
CommuniTree
Create Streets
Empty Shops Network
Landscape Institute ^W
livingroofs.org
National Custom & Self Build Association
NOVUS/Public Planners
PublicRealm.org, create elegant, practical, safe streets
Town and Country Planning Association, independent charity which campaigns for the reform of the UK’s planning system to make it more responsive to people’s needs and aspirations and to promote sustainable development. Representing the views of membership organisations and individuals from local authorities, planning academics and practitioners under the policy guidance of its Policy Council, the TCPA claims to put social justice and the environment at the heart of policy debate and aims to inspire government, industry and campaigners to take a fresh perspective on major issues. ^W

Self-build

BuildHUB, social network aimed at the self-build community

References Template:Attrib sca ref

[1] v.uk

[2] London Evening Standard

[3] GOV.UK

[4] The Alternative UK

[5] The Guardian

[6] The Guardian

[7] v.uk

[8] rekent.org.uk

[9] weconomics.org

[10] weconomics.org

[11] v.uk

[12] The Guardian

[13] velopmentfinancetoday.co.uk

[14] urneighbourhoodplanning.org.uk

[15] weconomics.org

[16] re.org.uk

[17] transition Network

[18] ty.org.uk

[19] NEF

[20] The Arch Biz

[21] UCL Bartlett School of Planning

[22] Transition Network

[23] Transition Network

[24] Urban policy and practice

[25] yexchange.org.uk

[26] Housingnet

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