Engaging Local Communities

In neighbourhoods across Berlin, a quiet rebellion is unfolding in the form of Kiezblocks (or “neighbourhood blocks”). What began as a grassroots response to political inertia and rat-running cars has evolved into a compelling experiment in bottom-up urbanism coordinated by Changing Cities e.V. For years, Berliners have complained about the rise of through traffic onto quieter side streets never designed to carry such volumes. While their 2018 Mobility Act promised a shift toward alternatives, progress on traffic calming has been slow and uneven. In that vacuum, residents began organising. Kiezblocks propose a simple idea: prevent cars from cutting across neighbourhoods by installing modal filters—planters, bollards, parklets—that limit access to local destinations. They draw inspiration from Barcelona's Superblocks, but here, the momentum comes not from city hall, but kitchen tables. Enter Changing Cities. Founded as a civic advocacy group, the foundation has become the administrative backbone of the Kiezblocks movement. It provides legal guidance, communications support, and a citywide platform for dozens of neighbourhood groups pushing for traffic calming in their local areas. Instead of dictating a top-down approach, they operate as a facilitator. Residents identify problem corridors, gather signatures, and present proposals to district councils. The foundation helps them navigate bureaucratic processes, coordinate campaigns, and share best practices between communities. More than 70 initiatives are active in Berlin’s 12 boroughs. Some are in the petition stage, others are pilot or permanent projects. Their rapid growth reflects a dual energy: frustration at the political reluctance to tackle through traffic, and optimism that collective action can shift the debate. Residents, emergency services and deliveries still have access. The incentive to use local streets as shortcuts is just removed. Traffic volumes drop. Children regain space to play. Conversations replace engines. Streets start to function less as corridors for movement and more as places for living. In an age of climate urgency and political inertia, Kiezblocks tell a different story: residents refusing to wait for grand masterplans, and reclaiming their own streets. Where shortcutting cars once ruled, planters and plazas now signal a new priority: places for passing time, not passing through.

Fascinating new paper from University College Cork on the impacts of arts, creative and cultural initiatives in fostering citizen engagement and advancing climate action. The research, published in #Current_Research_Environmental_Sustainability, evaluated five distinct creative projects, each addressing critical themes such as sustainable agriculture, circular economy, repair culture, consumption habits, sea-level rise, biodiversity, and community-driven climate action. These community based initiatives to enhance public participation in climate action were supported by the Creative Ireland Creative Climate Action Programme funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The results showed that that interactive, participatory-style creative mediums led by artists and practitioners, such as demonstrations, workshops, presentations, and discussion, effectively engaged participants across cognitive, emotional, and practical dimensions. Respondents reported an increased sense of self-efficacy and capacity to take achievable climate actions. Community-centred, peer-sharing formats emerged as trusted and valued opportunities for accessing relevant climate information, aiding constructive dialogue on complex topics. Artists' unique perspectives and creative expressions generated positive energy and an openness to engage, renewing participants' motivation to act. Findings suggest that targeted creative community events can significantly support climate policy efforts by fostering high-quality citizen engagement. The research was undertaken by Prof Marguerite Nyhan's team and Alexandra Revez at UCC Environmental Research Institute and Research Ireland MaREI Centre. The paper is freely available to download from https://lnkd.in/eKBzyevN

Next time you find yourself in the middle of a debate about wolves, beavers, etc., here are some direct benefits to local communities to keep in mind: 🦦 Beaver Flood Control & Water Management: Beaver-made wetlands regulate water flow, reducing flood damage and ensuring a steady water supply during dry spells. Enhanced Biodiversity & Recreation: These wetlands become thriving habitats, supporting fisheries and ecotourism that boost local economies. 🐺 Wolf Ecosystem Balance: By controlling herbivore numbers, wolves help maintain productive forests and grasslands that are vital for clean water and fertile soils. Eco-Tourism & Conservation Funding: Healthy, balanced ecosystems attract visitors and support local economies through tourism and conservation initiatives. 🐻 Bear Forest Health & Carbon Storage: Robust forests, regenerated in part through bear-mediated seed dispersal, act as carbon sinks and provide clean air and water. Cultural & Economic Value: Bears often hold cultural significance and draw wildlife enthusiasts, contributing to regional tourism and conservation efforts. 🦅 Golden Eagle Natural Pest Control: Their predation on rodents helps protect crops and reduce the spread of disease, supporting agricultural productivity and public health. Indicator of Ecosystem Health: The presence of golden eagles signals a balanced, thriving environment that benefits all species, including humans. 🦦 Sea Otter Coastal Protection & Climate Mitigation: Healthy kelp forests shield coastlines from erosion and capture carbon, aiding in climate regulation. Economic Support: Rich marine ecosystems bolster fisheries and attract eco-tourism, vital for coastal community economies. 🐃 Bison Grassland Preservation: Open, well-managed grasslands contribute to soil conservation and act as carbon sinks, helping mitigate climate change. Tourism & Heritage: Bison are symbols of natural heritage that attract visitors and foster sustainable economic opportunities for local communities. When we protect these species, we protect the natural foundations that sustain human life, ensuring a healthier planet for generations to come. #Coexistence #Rewilding #NatureRestoration #EarthRegeneration #KeystoneSpecies #Biodiversity #SustainableLiving Photo: Jeroen Helmer / ARK Nature https://lnkd.in/d_3KjUpn

🌍 Community-Based Approaches to Climate Resilience 🌱 When it comes to climate resilience, communities are not just beneficiaries—they are agents of change. Top-down strategies alone are rarely enough. Sustainable climate action requires solutions that are locally led, context-specific, and inclusive. Here’s why community-based approaches matter: 🔹 Local Knowledge & Ownership Communities understand their environment better than anyone else. By integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific evidence, resilience plans become both practical and sustainable. 🔹 Inclusive & Equitable When women, youth, and marginalized groups are actively engaged, solutions are more just and representative of everyone’s needs. 🔹 Scalable & Replicable Small, community-driven innovations—like early warning systems, climate-smart agriculture, or water conservation—can be adapted and scaled across regions. 🔹 Stronger Social Fabric Resilience is not just about infrastructure; it’s about solidarity. Community participation strengthens trust, cooperation, and collective action. 💡 Building climate resilience with communities, not just for them, is the way forward. 👉 What community-led climate initiatives have inspired you the most? #ClimateResilience #CommunityDevelopment #Sustainability #ClimateAction #Adaptation

Less crisis, more agency For a movement so often framed by loss—and navigating a particularly difficult moment—conservation is relearning how to talk about itself. This feels like more than a messaging shift. It’s a recalibration of what persuades people to care, to fund, and to act, as we edge toward 2030 amid ecological strain, political volatility, and thinning public trust. A few months ago, I invited people across the conservation sector to share how they’re navigating what many describe as a crisis. That invitation resurfaced yesterday during a fireside chat at the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) 20th anniversary event when Crystal DiMiceli asked what themes are emerging so far. One answer comes up again and again: less crisis, more agency. Not because the crisis has eased, but because alarm on its own no longer mobilizes as it once did. If anything, it exhausts. When people are offered only catastrophe, many disengage. What seems to resonate more now is optimism grounded in evidence: conservation framed as something people actively do, not something that merely happens to nature. From these conversations, a few patterns stand out: Emerging themes 🌿 Reframing conservation around agency and demonstrated success, not crisis alone 🌿 Broadening the constituency by linking conservation to livelihoods, health, and rights 🌿 Recognizing the connection between territorial rights and durable conservation outcomes 🌿 Diversifying funding to reduce fragility What makes efforts more scalable or replicable ☑️ Genuine local ownership, not consultation after the fact ☑️ Transparency and accessible evidence ☑️ Narrative clarity: showing visible benefits and explaining how they were achieved One model that brings these ideas together is Health In Harmony’s “health for forests” approach in Borneo. Instead of asking communities to protect forests for abstract global reasons, it begins with a simpler question: What do you need? Often, the answer is affordable health care. What follows less of a transaction, but a shift in how forests are understood—no longer a global asset preserved at local expense, but part of community health, security, and dignity. I see parallels here with journalism. Accountability, trust, and agency matter in both fields. At Mongabay, we’ve tried to pair investigations with solutions reporting—not to soften the crisis, but to document what’s actually working and why. Evidence, not cheerleading. So what keeps me hopeful? 🌈 People doing extraordinary things with modest resources 🌈 Recovery demonstrated, not promised 🌈 Enough now known that ignorance is no longer a plausible excuse 🌈 A constituency for conservation that is widening, slowly but perceptibly 🌈 Time spent in nature itself It’s also why I’ve been writing more tributes to those we’ve lost. Remembering them isn’t just elegy—it’s a way of showing what one person can do, and of inviting others to ask: what might I carry forward?

Standing in a bustling Seoul street last year, I watched something remarkable unfold. What started as a typical city block transformed into a canvas for environmental change, vibrant artwork surrounding drains, turning potential litter spots into visual reminders of our shared responsibility. This wasn't just street art. It was community engagement in action. In #SouthKorea 🇰🇷, our Philip Morris International Korea team partnered with local government, the Korea Green Foundation, and local artists to tackle cigarette butt litter differently. Instead of just organizing clean-ups, they created an ecosystem of change: 400+ volunteers collecting 300 bags of waste, students creating anti-littering artwork, and entire neighborhoods becoming part of the solution. What struck me most was the ripple effect. One clean-up event in Yangsan evolved into a year-round sustainability hub. By September, 666 volunteers had collected over 18,000 cigarette butts, but more importantly, sparked conversations that are changing behaviors. Meanwhile in #Tunisia 🇹🇳, a different challenge led to equally innovative collaboration. Young entrepreneurs at startup Wayout developed "Zigofiltres"—simple cages for drains that prevent flooding by capturing cigarette butt litter before it blocks waterways. 246 of these devices now protect one of Tunisia's most flood-prone municipalities. Two countries. Two different ways of addressing a same challenge. One powerful lesson: when business, government, local innovators, and communities work together, environmental problems become opportunities for creative solutions. #Sustainability isn't just about corporate initiatives—it's about creating platforms where local ingenuity can flourish. 🌱 ♥️ Link to full case study here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ePU_Bwkt #CommunityEngagement Cc: Borhann Rachdi, Abla Benslimane, Hannah Yun, Miguel Coleta, Maria V Agelvis, Kelly Lavender, Euigyum Hong

How can we use storytelling to support India’s Endangered Species? When you give an animal a name, a backstory, a song - you make it unforgettable. So how can we tell stories that don’t just inform, but protect? Let’s explore. Step 1 – Start with a character, not a cause Conservation begins with emotion. Before the science, help people feel the life behind the species. Take Collarwali, the legendary tigress of Pench Tiger Reserve. She raised 29 cubs, was known by name, and featured in Tiger: Spy in the Jungle. Her story became a living emblem of India’s Project Tiger and a symbol of motherhood and survival. Step 2 – Let communities lead the narrative When storytelling comes from within, it sticks. Culture becomes conservation. A powerful example: The Hargila Army in Assam. Led by Purnima Devi Barman, this women-led movement turned the once-reviled greater adjutant stork into a beloved icon - celebrated through sarees, songs, and community rituals. Step 3 – Use creative mediums to build connection Not everyone reads reports, but everyone responds to emotion. Look at The Photo Ark by Joel Sartore. With portraits of 16,000 species on black or white backgrounds, it makes the viewer focus on one thing: the face of a vanishing life. It’s science told through stillness - and it’s unforgettable. Step 4 – Celebrate what’s working Hope motivates more than guilt. Share recovery, not just risk. For instance, the revival of the one-horned rhino in Kaziranga. Once near extinction, their population surged thanks to patrols, community education, and strong will. Today, they are a success story and a symbol of resilience. Step 5 – Bridge science and emotion Facts need feeling to travel far. Make the research relatable and real. One great example is Wildlife Messengers, a documentary filmed by researchers in Peru. By handing the camera to scientists and communities, it turns data into something human. The result? A story that raised funds, awareness and empathy. Endangered species don’t just need conservation plans. They need stories. And when told with care and truth, those stories can help entire ecosystems survive. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/dZR9y46e . . . . #visualstorytelling #wildlife #environment #creativeagency #simitbhagatstudios

When we talk about #climateaction, the focus is often on infrastructure, technology, and policy. Yet the most resilient societies rely on something less visible but equally critical: strong #communities. In the #MiddleEast, social cohesion has long been a natural resilience system enabling faster recovery from shocks, safeguarding livelihoods, and keeping value within local economies. Examples from the region show the power of community in climate resilience: - Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia: Farmers have revived ancient irrigation systems, sharing water resources collectively. This heritage-based approach reduces drought vulnerability while strengthening cultural identity. - Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia: Fishing communities regulate catch levels through local agreements that align with national marine protection, helping ecosystems adapt to rising sea temperatures. - Liwa, UAE: Date farming cooperatives pool resources for irrigation and storage, protecting livelihoods during extreme heat. These are examples showing that climate resilience is built as much through social infrastructure as physical infrastructure. In preparing for the future, investing in people’s connections, culture, and shared responsibility is as important as any technical solution. Strong communities are not just part of the solution, they are the foundation of it. #resilience #sustainability #adaptation #socialsustainability #CenterforSustainableFuture Elie El Khoury Mario Sanchez Ibrahim Saleh Farah Assaad Valentin Lavaill Kearney Kearney Middle East and Africa

My content consumption and browsing patterns regularly pull news and features on #climate, #health, and #livelihoods, and I see a pattern that much of the global climate discourse remains dominated by “carbon elitism” - an emphasis on emissions accounting, net-zero targets, carbon credits, offsets, etc., all shaped by the priorities of affluent economies. What’s missing is the lived reality of climate change for the most vulnerable in LMICs: rural, tribal, and coastal communities that face its impacts every single day. Erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, and shifting seasons are reducing crop yields, degrading fodder availability, and diminishing livestock productivity. Coastal populations face permanent inundation and flooding threats from sea level rise, storm surges, and heavy rains. This ecological stress is already driving a full-blown livelihood crisis, leading to climate-induced migration. Layered on top are growing health threats — from heat-related illnesses and infectious diseases to worsening air and water quality, food insecurity, and mental health distress. These communities, who have contributed the least to global emissions, are paying the highest price, with little say in shaping solutions. Meanwhile, we are witnessing a wave of elitist opportunism in the name of climate tech and impact investing. We continue to prioritise mitigation over adaptation. So-called "climate finance" continues to bypass the urgent need to build grassroots resilience, leaving adaptation efforts severely underfunded. True climate justice demands that we centre the needs of those on the front lines. We must invest in inclusive innovation, resilient livelihoods, and community-led adaptation to ensure a just and equitable response to the climate crisis. #climatechange #climateaction #healthcare #climatehealthnexus #livelihoods #poverty #globalwarming #carbon #climatefinance

It’s one thing to simulate thermal dynamics on a computer. It’s another to prove it works in the sweltering red dirt of Hale County, Alabama. Today, I want to share the human story behind our recent paper in Energy and Buildings (link in comments below). Because where we built this experiment, and who built it, matters just as much as the data. For over three decades, Auburn University Rural Studio has been doing remarkable, hands-on work—immersing architecture students directly into underserved communities to learn by building. It was a humbling and profoundly enjoyable experience for me to step into that ongoing legacy and collaborate with them. This specific project was driven by a relentless student team: Livia Subasic (née Barrett), Cory Subasic, Jeff Jeong, and Rowe Price. In October 2019, they started mapping this out over morning coffee. At the time, they knew very little about thermal mass. What followed were countless hours on Zoom with Kiel Moe, David Kennedy, and Rural Studio director Andrew Freear, and me, painstakingly unpacking and mastering the thermodynamic theory and the implications for how to build the project. They didn't just accept the math; they interrogated it. We built an initial prototype to test the heat transfer and fluid mechanics in action, pushing through the friction of translating equations into physical reality, before finally taking the leap to scale up the design. By the time they built the final test pods, they had become domain experts and free-cooling activists They obsessed over every physical detail. They designed custom jigs for precise plywood cuts. To limit heat loss from metal fasteners, they calculated that using fewer, but larger concrete panels was optimal—meaning Jeff had to master the vibrating table (earning the nickname "Mr. Smooth" on their project blog). They even hand-built the "Cooling Porch" beneath the elevated buildings, filling it with a mosaic of reclaimed concrete sidewalk scraps. This isn't just an academic exercise. In a historically under-resourced region of the rural South, the energy burden of mechanical AC is economically punishing. These test buildings now serve as ground truth data for the community. Every new building Rural Studio designs here now has a tangible reference for exactly how much free cooling an optimized thermal mass can deliver. You don't need to read our data to know it works. You can sit in that Cooling Porch on a hot afternoon and physically feel the architecture doing the work. A steady, cool downdraft spills out of the upside-down chimneys directly onto your lap. The building harnesses thermal mass not just for cooling but to power the ventilation flow. It's evidence you can viscerally feel. Photos 1-4: Tim Hursley