Building Strong Communities

I'm always inspired by how London’s communities so willingly come together to lead the
enhancement of the local open spaces that matter to them. Whether through active participation in consultation and design engagement exercises in our larger parks, or by simply rolling up their sleeves to transform the smallest unloved and unused open spaces on their doorsteps, this active involvement leads to people feeling more connected to where they live, strengthens communities and fosters civic pride. We’ve seen a huge appreciation for our open spaces through lockdown and the importance they hold for improving our physical and mental health and wellbeing.

I’m equally encouraged by the early lockdown reporting on reduced carbon emissions and cleaner air, and hope that our need and commitment to tackling the climate emergency will see more people across the capital taking action and making their own commitments to live more sustainable lives. Covid-19 has somewhat obscured the climate emergency from view, and has also led to increases in domestic energy and water use, and increased waste production associated with people spending more time at home. There's no doubt that people are becoming increasingly concerned about the environment, more children expressing climate anxieties and growing evidence that exposure to green space may potentially increase pro-social and pro-environmental behaviour. My ‘Reimagine London’ idea would see residents from London’s streets coming together to learn more about how they can live more sustainably and competing against other streets across the capital for the accolade of ‘greenest street’. Measured by both participation rates and the impact of their collective positive actions, the leading streets in the challenge would be rewarded with funding and support to both green and enhance their streetscapes or local open spaces. More pro-environmental behaviour, and a series of greener and more resilient open spaces. Win Win.