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Advice & support for local government:
Involving communities in sustainable development

 

Local government can encourage people to make different, more sustainable choices by involving them in creating sustainable communities. This page includes information on the different ways local authorities are doing this.

Including people in local decision-making and providing support for community groups taking action on sustainable development are both ways of encouraging communities to get involved in sustainability. Local authorities also have a role to play in inspiring people to make more sustainable lifestyle choices. Follow the links below to find out how local authorities are involving people in building sustainable communities.


"The true devolution of power means. giving local people the tools to make improvements in their own neighbourhoods."
Empowerment and the deal for devolution, Chancellor Gordon Brown, 2002

Creating informed public debate on sustainable development

Local government has a responsibility to encourage and enable community involvement in sustainable development issues. Incorporating the views of citizens into community planning and local decision-making is an important part of this.

Community participation involves local government listening to the views of citizens as well as informing them of the consequences - social, environmental and economic - of any local plans. There are a number of ways that local authorities can encourage informed community decision-making, for example, through public consultation and visioning processes.

Consulting with citizens is a fundamental role of councils of all tiers. In rural communities, for example, many Councils are helping to produce parish plans, which involves gathering together the views, needs and informed opinions of the whole community to create an action plan for improving the area. Below are examples of local government creating informed debate through visioning and consultation processes.

Making it happen

  • Homes for Life was a major consultation and communication exercise run by Southampton City Council looking at public sector housing in Southampton. It included an stakeholder day with facilitated group discussions and a bespoke questionnaire, which forced tenants to trade off different types of improvements. Read the case study on the Improvement and Development Agency website.
  • Planit-NW is a sustainable development learning tool used by local authorities, LSPs and schools in the North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions. Simulating a local community in the North West of England, it asks participants to make decisions affecting the community and then shows them the implications of their decisions on others. For more information, visit the Planit-NW website.
  • The Commission for Rural Communities' database of parish plans contains examples of visioning and community consultation in the creation of plan.

Further information

Supporting community action on sustainable development

Sustainable development often works best when driven by people acting together. Around the country, community groups are already delivering real change by taking action on issues such as renewable energy, access to local food and improving green spaces.

Government is committed to boosting community involvement in sustainable development through Every Action Counts , a programme of support for voluntary and community groups. Visit the Every Action Counts section for more information.

Local government has a crucial role to play in taking this forward by working with and supporting local community groups. Below are just a few examples from the thousands of community action projects around the country helping to create sustainable communities.

Making it happen

  • Over the past decade, Durham County Council has built up a network of nearly 2000 local organisations and individuals working towards a sustainable future for Durham. Visit Durham County Council's website for more information.
  • The Older Persons Energy Network trains retired people to provide energy efficiency advice within their community in partnership with North Somerset Council. Visit the Energy Saving Trust's website to read the case study.
  • Sustainable Development Commission's database of case studies has further examples of local authority supported community action projects.

Further information

Communicating sustainable development locally

Citizens need to be motivated to make different choices if the vision of sustainable communities is to be achieved. Providing leadership on sustainable development means local authorities engaging and inspiring their local communities to take action to live more sustainable lives.

Many local authorities have already shown that they can communicate effectively with communities on issues like waste and recycling. The challenge now is to inspire behaviour change on other important issues. For example, can citizens be motivated to reduce home energy consumption, use their cars less, or save water?

Making it happen

  • Behaviour change projects are an important part of Motivate London, a programme aiming to identify what inspires Londoners to take up environmentally sustainable lifestyles. Pilot projects include a recycling scheme working with a Turkish speaking community, energy efficiency advice for BME communities and a project to promote domestic installations of solar power. Visit Motivate London's website to read case studies of the pilots.
  • ChangeLAB - changing lifestyles, attitude and behaviour - has created a European-wide knowledge base on how to promote sustainable patterns of consumption particularly regarding waste, transport, energy and water use. Visit ChangeLAB's website to learn more.
  • Awareness of energy efficiency and climate change is high among Leicester's residents, which is due, in part, to the work the City Council has been doing with the community. Read more about sustainable energy in Leicester on the Improvement and Development Agency's website.

Further information

 

Useful links

 
 

Updated: 20 April 2006

  
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