What if we did it all, in one place? A big idea to bring the future to life in our cities
What do the neighbourhoods of the future need to look and feel like if we are to rise to the challenge of the climate emergency in our cities? They will need to be buzzing with life and generate more energy than they use. Spaces between buildings and on rooftops and balconies will be bursting with fruit and vegetables (not to mention space for hydroponics). There will be spaces and places to connect people, perhaps with children and older people sharing daycare facilities and making the most of all the green space. Resources — tools, electric cars, bikes, leisure and sports equipment — will be shared through libraries of things and collaborative ownership models. And all of this will have to happen in the spaces where we already live; it can’t all be built from scratch (however brilliant models like this one in Norwich are).
All of these ideas already somewhere, of course, a point Rob Hopkins makes powerfully in his new book, From what is to what if — Unleashing the power of imagination to create the future we want. The challenge is the imagination and the political will to bring the change to life. And the examples are generally very spread out. So there’s an urban rewilding project here, a best-practice energy project here, a liveable neighbourhood (transport) project there.
But… what if we did it all in one place? What if one estate or small neighbourhood became a focus for re-imagining the whole system? Just as Edison chose to illuminate a whole street to demonstrate the potential of electric lighting, or Barcelona is creating ‘super-blocks’ to bring a traffic-free future to life, what if a rapid transition could happen in one small location? And what if we tested a ‘neighbourhood donut’ model to plan priorities and measure progress? Not only would this transformation inspire others, it would also help amplify and demonstrate the co-benefits (for example, how access to nature, warm homes and traffic reduction all improve well-being together).
We’ve been wondering about this for a while; it’s part of the philosophy behind our postcode gardener project, for example. So when I dropped in to Camden Council’s brilliant think-and-do pop-up on Saturday this idea jumped out at me. Together with a small group of local people — activists, social entrepreneurs, designers — all of whom had given up their Saturday morning to take part in this visioning activity — we started to dream and plan. We were quickly into “yes ,and… “ mode. “Yes, and it could be an all-age estate!” “Yes, and it could generate energy from the pavements!” “ Yes, and food-growing could bring jobs!”
This a bold vision: it’s big and ambitious and it will need supporters and partners. If you can contribute your skills in any way or would like a further conversation with Camden email them at thinkanddo@camden.gov.uk. (It also needs a *really* good name…)
