The Future Neighbourhoods 2030 (FN2030) initiative is a transformative programme  aimed at making London greener, healthier, and more resilient by 2030. Funded by the  Mayor of London’s Green New Deal Fund, it focuses on co-designed solutions in 12  neighbourhoods.  

Of these projects, Somers Town in Camden and Notting Dale in Kensington and Chelsea  have been selected as exemplar neighbourhoods, receiving funding to both develop  strategies and to deliver a wide range of community-led, innovative and pioneering  projects. 

Key to the success of FN 2030 is its appreciation of the value a place-based approach to  decarbonisation can have. Evidence from the programme so far shows that this place specific approach has been highly cost-effective with wide societal and economic  benefits.  

By promoting community ownership and co-design, FN2030 not only stimulates  behavioural change but also ensures that projects are deeply rooted in local needs and  aspirations. This collaborative framework is designed to be replicable, offering a  blueprint for other areas to follow in creating sustainable urban environments.  

The programme is a three-year initiative with a phased approach. Designed to adapt  dynamically, it focuses on immediate impact and long-term planning through practical  projects aligned with the Mayor’s Green New Deal themes: Retrofitting buildings; Smart  energy; Circular economy; Air quality; and Greening and climate adaptation.

The objective of Sharing Spaces is to share skills, reduce waste, save money and get more people involved in climate action. The intention is to find out what’s important for local people and then look at linking this into climate action, rather than overtly pushing the climate message. 

Sharing Spaces is primarily focused on the Green New Deal’s aim of encouraging and  enabling a circular economy and has several additional objectives as well: Circular economy: there are regular Sharing Spaces events focused on fixing and  swapping, for example: 

• A popular fixture is a weekly ‘big swap’ of homewares, toys or clothes that residents no longer use, which they bring along to the session to exchange for something else. 
• Local residents have run a number of workshops teaching people how to make and mend their own clothes, create jewellery from recycled materials, and home-made personal care products amongst others. 
• Bike, clothing and electronics fixing sessions are also held with support from specialist organisations. 

Cutting carbon: Reusing and sharing items reduces consumption and thus cuts carbon emissions. In addition, the Energy Savers Club and Light Fantastic Project are supporting people to reduce their energy consumption through the provision of low-cost energy efficiency items as well as advice on using energy more efficiently. 

Co-benefits – Sharing Spaces delivers a multitude of co-benefits including: Social cohesion and fun

“The social element of Sharing Spaces is really strong. We design the sessions to be fun and then participants are more likely to encourage their family and friends to  attend.”
Ellie Bryant, Think & Do

• A critical part of the project is paying residents to share their skills, whether that be crafting, DIY, cooking or other practical advice. In this way, passing on valuable knowledge and lived experience is properly rewarded. This also creates local employment and economic opportunity. 
• Think & Do also supports residents to explore the possibility of selling what they make by linking them with the local market and events. 

“We’ve taken on a local resident to run one of the Sharing Spaces. She talked about the  confidence that she and some of those sharing their skills at her sessions have gained some of whom have never worked outside of the home before”
Ellie Bryant, Think & Do

Camden Council was instrumental in setting up Think & Do ahead of the FN2030  programme; it was one of the recommendations of the Camden Citizens’ Climate  Assembly. Additional funding provided through Future Neighbourhoods 2030 has enabled  Think & Do to build on and expand its programme for residents. 

In addition to working with the council, Think & Do works in partnership with many of the  other FN2030 projects in delivering Sharing Space. For example:

The following factors have been critical to the project’s success:

Community engagement : Working with the community to find out what is important for them is absolutely vital. 

“A lot of the people in Somers Town have low-impact lives; most of them do not own a car,  they walk to school, they’re not buying loads of stuff. So, our aim is to find out what matters to them and then engage them in climate action via that. This might be through learning how to mend clothes rather than throw them away. This can be a great way of  starting conversations about climate.”
Ellie Bryant, Think & Do 

Valuing the input of residents: Paying residents in vouchers to share their skills is an important part of the project’s success.

“Paying those who are sharing their skills demonstrates that people’s knowledge has  real value and helps to grow their confidence.”
Ellie Bryant, Think & Do

Funding from Future Neighbourhoods has made the continuation of this project possible. Sharing Spaces was allocated £57,000 from Phases 1 and 2 of FN2030  and has also been able to leverage funding from various other sources including the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Venues – gaining regular access to spaces has been the foundation for making this project a success.

Skills – finding residents willing to share skills is essential.

Equipment – running a Sharing Space also requires a range of equipment  including access to tables and chairs, crafting materials, stationary, posters,  banners and promotional materials, and sewing kits. 

Food is an important feature of the Sharing Spaces, this is always vegetarian for the environmental and health benefits.

Volunteers are important in making the Sharing Spaces a success. It is important that they are given proper training, supervision and support.