CityChangers.org

Are your local shops still chucking away perfectly decent grub? Some people are salvaging it, while Matt Homewood uses it to raise awareness of waste.

Transforming Urban Spaces with AllotMe 🌇   Finding land for urban agriculture in crowded cities can be tough—but AllotMe 🌱, the "Airbnb for gardens," offers a creative solution!   This London-based platform connects property owners with unused green spaces to gardeners eager to grow their own food -- from backyards to balconies.    Founder Conor Gallagher launched AllotMe in 2021 to tackle long wait times for traditional allotments and promote sustainability, mental health, and community connection. 🌍💚   Join the movement to green our cities and grow together! 🌱 👉 Check out this CityChangers.org article now: https://lnkd.in/dYSxtg_Z

Urban farming has a range of benefits! 🙌🏽 From supplying us with fresh, healthy produce ➡️ to providing much-needed contact with nature, ➡️ to reducing food miles, ➡️ to educating children about where food comes from.   But setting up an urban agricultural system can be tricky. 😩   The European Forum on Urban Agriculture (EFUA) has the challenging task of syncing policy at EU, national, and city levels. EFUA also provides direct guidance for cities that want to promote farming in urban and peri-urban environments.   Ian Whitehead says: “It’s not just about food. It’s about a better environment.”   And it's a chance for communities to have a say in how to transforms the places where they live. 💫   Ian shares his top tips for advocating for urban agriculture and tells us more about EFUA's achievements over at CityChangers.org: https://lnkd.in/dfyvwFwn

What motivates you to keep working for better cities? For us, it's knowing we're part of a global community. What might seem to be small steps in a neighbourhood can inspire big change in a city. That's why Hanah Lahe's popup park matters. Literally the size of a car parking space, it proves how desperately we crave nature in urban environments. And how straightforward it can be to achieve. The lessons taken from our talk with Hanah: make use of an opportunity to create change, and create (unlikely) allies by finding common ground.

Haarlem no longer allows advertising of meat products in public, including billboards and at bus stops - for the sake of the environment. 🌱🌍   Because globally, meat production emits as much as the transport industry.  And the Netherlands is Europe's largest meat exporter. Ouch! 😖    With opposition from a strong meat lobby and public outrage from as far away as Australia, objections ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime - most questioning how a city that promotes equality can stop people from eating meat. Answer: they didn't!   Ziggy Klazes originally motioned the ban. She says that it isn't even proven to reduce meat consumption. But it does start an important conversation about the responsibility cities have in tackling climate change. 👊🏽   "People are questioning these ads and the way we tempt people to make choices that affect the climate in a negative way. It’s no longer just a left-wing issue.”   👉🏾 Find the full account and Ziggy's call to action at https://lnkd.in/dDiCKzaG

Hanah Lahe talks the talk AND walks the walk. As a politician, she works for a fairer, greener society. As a citizen, she makes it happen! Seizing an impromptu opportunity, Hanah grabbed some discarded plants from Estonia's parliament building and transformed a single parking space outside into a parklet. The popularity of this bold move proves how the right sustainable solutions have mass appeal, regardless of political persuasions.

Would you eat snails? As we look for more sustainable sources of nutrition, some predict snails will become a more common feature on our plates. There's an added bonus: snails need a lot less land than larger farm animals. Plus, we can feed them on food waste, saving it from landfill. It's all going on at Zukunftshof! The locals in this neighbourhood on the edge of Vienna prevented valuable agricultural land from being lost when developers and urban sprawl came knocking. It's living proof of what can be achieved when a community pulls together to protect and nurture what's important to them. Now, this thriving suburb hums with locals working on urban farms and enjoying communal spaces. The snails are enjoying their free-range lives as well, making the most of the closed system, where one person's veggie peels is another snails dinner. So, are you convinced by escargot? What other unconventional foods might you be tempted with for the sake of the planet?

Have you ever seen a more visually arresting bus stop? When CityChangers featured Umeå, Sweden, in our podcast about designing #inclusive urban spaces, we had no idea the city had this up its sleeve! Station of Being puts waiting passengers' needs first. It prioritises safety considerations and offers privacy, respite & a clear indication of bus arrivals - via light. It may be one of the most radical examples of what good can be achieved at micro level with a serious commitment to sustainability & thoughtful design. "We reframed the sustainability question, because we felt we could make a much bigger impact to the environment in the long-term if we can make public transport more attractive than taking cars." - Rombout Frieling (source: https://lnkd.in/dPcYGj9g) For more on Umeå, catch the #feminist cities podcast again at: https://lnkd.in/dbJEtjJ8

Urban agriculture can't be left to farmers and keen gardeners alone. Spaces for crops must be designed into cities: https://lnkd.in/d3DVGg5C

In January, the potential for urban rooftops was the subject of our very first podcast (https://lnkd.in/d7XKZZQS). The class from Rotterdam Business School which features in the episode is now embarking on a new experiment: to see if community fundraising works as an incentive for landlords to transform their untapped rooftops into useful, more sustainable spaces. We look forward to learning about the outcomes.