Where We Live Next
- Start date
- 2021
- Departments
- Policy
- Programme status
- Ongoing
- Programmes
- Sustainability for People and Planet
Pages in this section
About the programme
The 'Where we live next' programme supersedes and builds on the Academy's previous work 'Where we live now' which established the importance of place in terms of the design and resourcing of effective and efficient policymaking. We aim to explore how a place-sensitive approach to policymaking can also help us navigate the complex and dynamic changes required to be able to address the growing environmental challenges we face.
The first set of activities for the programme was to develop a multi-disciplinary evidence base. As part of this, in early 2022 the Academy commissioned six research projects and a piece of social media research that explored various facets of environmental sustainability using a place-sensitive lens. Research projects were asked to respond to one or more of the following areas:
- The social, cultural, and educational factors affecting just transition
- The voices, spaces, and scales of environmental governance
- Multidisciplinary insights on place and the delivery of a sustainable and productive economy
- The relationship between businesses and communities in local sustainability approaches.
In order to bring the insights of these projects together, the Academy has produced a synthesises to help stakeholders better understand the role of place-sensitive policymaking and its application to environmental sustainability. In doing so, we hope to put forth evidence for how engaging with people in the places where they live leads to better and more effective and efficient policymaking in practice, reflecting the diversity of communities and the local environments in which they live. The evidence base covered by this report, along with the further activities, will form a portfolio of work that will be used to develop a set of guiding principles for place-sensitive policymaking on environmental sustainability.
The full range of outputs produced by these projects can be found in our 'Where we live next' evidence hub, alongside a summary report of the main insights from our existing evidence base.
The project is led by a Working Group that includes Professor Harriet Bulkeley (University of Durham), Professor Susan Owens (University of Cambridge), Professor Tim O'Riordan FBA (University of East Anglia).
Understanding the role of place in environmental sustainability
In 2022, the British Academy commissioned six projects that examined various facets of environmental sustainability using a place-sensitive lens. This report synthesises this evidence base and brings together insights to help stakeholders better understand the role of place-sensitive policymaking and its application to environmental sustainability. In doing so, it examines how engaging with people in the places where they live leads to better and more effective and efficient policymaking in practice, reflecting the diversity of communities and local environments.
Key publications
Where We Live Next (2023)
Evidence Synthesis Report
In 2022, the British Academy commissioned six projects that examined various facets of environmental sustainability using a place-sensitive lens. This report synthesises this evidence base and brings together insights to help stakeholders better understand the role of place-sensitive policymaking and its application to environmental sustainability. It examines how engaging with people in the places where they live leads to better and more effective and efficient policymaking in practice, reflecting the diversity of communities and local environments.
Where We Live Now
Perspectives on Place and Policy
This publication is a collection of opinion pieces, case studies, poetry and imagery, towards a better understanding of the concept of place, its impact on people and relationships, and practical approaches towards policy.
Where We Live Now
Making the Case for Place-based Policy
This paper sets out the key findings of the Where We Live Now project, notably from a set of roundtable workshops in Manchester, Cornwall, Cardiff and London. These ‘Productivity+’ roundtables provided an opportunity to consider the qualitative analysis of, and creative solutions to, place-based growth, moving beyond solely economic concepts to encompass well-being, culture and the environment.
