The project “Reinventing Urban Spaces through Co-Production” brought together University of Leeds academics Dr. Paul Chatterton, Dr. Marie Avril Berthet, and Dr. Rebecca Brunk, alongside Hyde Park Source’s Pete Tatham and Leeds City Council’s Mark Mills and Neil Young. Supported by Policy Leeds, they explored how the council and community groups could co-manage disused land in Leeds. The team studied public-civic partnerships, promoting shared governance of urban spaces to involve communities in decision-making and sustainable development.
Workshops were held to discuss existing models and case studies demonstrating how these partnerships can transform underused spaces into valuable community assets. Outcomes included policy recommendations and tools to facilitate community access to council land, aiming to democratize urban space management for nature recovery and regeneration.
The maps below represent my contribution to the project. I spent several days walking with residents, mapping both Seacroft and Alwoodly, then drawing a map that present the neighbourhoods through the lens of nature recovery, including urban agriculture.
Nature recovery in Alwoodley, Leeds, UK.
Community mapping sessions in Seacroft, Leeds.
Dr. Marie Avril Berthet, and Dr. Rebecca Brunk present the findings from the project.
Rover and Claire from Oatly 2030 present their work on urban nature recovery.
A1 printed map of Alwoodly.