Community-led, climate-ready: How public spaces can spark grassroots action on the climate crisis

When we launched the Think & Do Camden space with communities, we gave ourselves two weeks to set it up and six weeks to learn. It wasn’t just about putting on activities. It was about creating a shared space where people could work together, experiment and imagine new ways to tackle the climate crisis — not through top-down services, but through grassroots action.

It felt like building a movement, not a meeting room. And that shift is what this blog is all about.

Because if we want to create systems that are resilient, adaptive and inclusive, we need spaces where people can think together, do together, and make change together.

🌍 1. Start with shared purpose, not fixed plans

The space came from a Citizens’ Assembly on the Climate Crisis — where one of the top recommendations was to “mobilise community groups to address the climate crisis.”

We didn’t start with a detailed delivery plan. We started with an invitation: come co-design this space with us.

The outcome? A pop-up in the old Flapjacks cafe in Kentish Town, co-designed with local residents and full of activities from community suppers to repair cafes, campaign making to furniture building.

Try this: Begin with a public challenge or assembly to define the issue together. Then invite community partners to shape the space, the programme and the outcomes.

2. 🪡 From service delivery to movement building

Public services are often great at designing for users. But what if we designed with people as makers, collaborators and convenors?

Think & Do Camden was co-led by local residents, artists, campaigners and council staff. The council didn’t control the space. It hosted, learned, and supported others to lead.

That meant shifting our roles: from delivery managers to facilitators, convenors, storytellers, testers, listeners.

Try this: Run a sprint with local residents or groups to shape roles beyond service delivery: what does a steward, weaver, or commoner look like in your context?

3. 🏠 Use place to unlock participation

The physical space mattered. We didn’t just rent a hall. We reopened a disused local cafe and let the community redesign it to feel open, creative, and shared.

People came in off the street. They stayed for coffee, conversations, repair clubs or simply because it felt like theirs.

Try this: Map underused community assets. Use pop-ups and temporary spaces to lower the barrier to entry. Let residents influence how it looks, feels and flows.

Examples:

• Meanwhile Space for activating vacant units
• Commoning Kits by Public Works for designing participatory spaces

4. 🧩 Create pathways from participation to practice

One-off workshops are easy. But how do you help people move from ideas to real, lasting change?

We brought together 30+ groups and individuals to run activities linked to the Citizens’ Assembly themes — from food and fashion to energy and transport. We gave people the chance to co-design and test projects in real time.

Some projects grew roots. Others fizzled. But the point wasn’t perfection. It was learning, together.

Try this: Pair drop-in participation with scaffolded project development. Use light-touch coaching, project clinics, or peer review circles.

Examples:

• Participatory City’s Everyone Every Day model in Barking
• Edventure Frome for supporting community enterprise through hands-on learning

5. 🪜 Make the council a learner, not just a leader

We had a council group who weren’t there to manage. They were there to test, observe, adapt. They joined activities, listened to feedback, and reflected in real time.

We didn’t get everything right. We worried we weren’t being inclusive enough. That we weren’t giving enough notice. That we were replicating our own assumptions. But we shared those worries — openly.

Try this: Set up a shared learning board between staff and residents. Make learning visible through wall charts, blogs or even WhatsApp groups. Embed iteration into the schedule.

Examples:

• Civic Square’s learning rhythms
• Centre for Knowledge Equity’s peer learning communities

6. 💫 From testing projects to transforming relationships

In the end, what we created wasn’t just a space. It was a shift in how we relate to each other. Staff stretched into new roles. Residents found new collaborators. Artists, campaigners, and community workers found common ground.

We started testing an idea. But we ended up transforming how we work.

📈 So what does success look like?

Not just activities delivered or outputs measured.
But:

• People connecting across backgrounds
• New ideas forming from unexpected meetings
• Groups building shared infrastructure
• Residents seeing themselves as leaders
• Councils seeing themselves as stewards

🚴 Final thoughts: build what you want to belong to

Tackling the climate crisis isn’t just about emissions. It’s about connection. Imagination. Collective action.

We can’t face it with the same tools that built the old system. We need new spaces, new roles, and new relationships.

That’s what Think & Do Camden taught me: that if you want people to co-create the future, you need to create the space to do it.

So what kind of space would help your community Think, Do and Make?

I’d love to hear what you’re creating.