A Story of Two Neighbourhoods Shaping Their Future
In the winter of 2025/26, it started with a simple question: What does a better neighbourhood look like to you?
In community halls, on local walks, over cups of tea and shared conversations, residents across Hall Green South and Balsall Heath & Sparkbrook began to answer. Not with grand statements, but with everyday experiences—stories about their homes, their streets, their families.
What unfolded wasn’t just feedback. It was a picture of what change really means, from the ground up.
Where It Begins: Daily Life
One resident spoke about keeping the heating on all day just to stay warm. Another described avoiding nearby parks because they didn’t feel safe or welcoming. A parent explained why their children only cycle in parks, never on the road.
These aren’t separate issues. They are the reality people live with—and they shape how, and whether, environmental action is even possible.
Because here, sustainability isn’t an abstract goal. It’s about whether your home is warm enough. Whether your street feels safe. Whether there’s somewhere nearby to walk, breathe, and spend time together.
The Will Is There
Across every conversation, there was energy and intent.
People talked about wanting to walk more, cycle more, grow food, spend time outdoors, and improve their homes. In one session, children made up nearly half of those taking part in sustainability activities—drawn to nature, curious, engaged.
But again and again, the same tension surfaced: people want to act, but something gets in the way.
“I’d cycle more, but it just doesn’t feel safe on the roads.”
That single sentence captures a wider truth. The barriers aren’t about motivation—they’re about the conditions around people.
Rediscovering What’s Already There
On one activity, residents were asked about local green spaces. Some struggled to answer at first. A few didn’t know where their nearest park was, or how to get there. And yet, when the conversation shifted – away from maps and into lived experience—something changed.
People spoke about how nature makes them feel:
- calmer
- less stressed
- more connected
Children lit up—naming birds, spotting wildlife, showing a confidence that many adults felt they had lost. There was a quiet realisation in the room: the connection to nature isn’t gone. It’s just been interrupted.
Streets, Parks, and the Space In Between
A guided photography walk brought these contrasts into sharp focus.
There were moments of appreciation—green corridors, murals, places to sit. But also frustration: fly-tipping, broken paths, cars blocking pavements, traffic dominating space.
One participant summed it up simply:
“Traffic levels and driver behaviour can disincentivise people from cycling.”
Parks felt like safe havens. Streets did not. And so, everyday journeys—short, simple, local—become harder than they should be.
Warmth, Cost, and the Fabric of Homes
Inside people’s homes, another story emerged. Residents spoke with clarity about what makes a house cold: poor insulation, bad windows, draughts. These weren’t guesses—they were repeated patterns.
In Hall Green South, insulation issues came up more than anything else. In Balsall Heath & Sparkbrook, insulation was the most commonly suggested solution, mentioned 17 times.
People understand what needs to change. But many are left managing as best they can—layering clothes, closing doors, keeping heating on longer than they can afford.
Growing More Than Food
When the conversation turned to food, it quickly became about more than what’s on the plate.
Residents imagined shared growing spaces, allotments, places to learn and connect. Growing food wasn’t just practical – it was social. It was about bringing people together. A way to build community, as much as resilience.
The Thread That Runs Through It All
Across every theme—energy, transport, nature, food—one thing kept coming back: connection.
- Connection to place.
- Connection to each other.
- Connection to the ability to take part.
People spoke about the need for spaces to meet, activities for young people, clearer ways to get involved. They spoke about isolation, about not knowing what’s available, about wanting to do more and having more power—together.
illustrations created by Anna Geyer.
What This Story Tells Us
This isn’t a story about apathy. It’s a story about readiness. People care. They notice. They understand the problems and often the solutions too. But the systems around them—physical, social, economic—don’t always make it easy to act.
And so, the opportunity becomes clear:
Not to persuade people to care more, but to make it easier for them to act on what they already care about.
What Comes Next
These conversations tell a hopeful story. If there is one image that stays with you, it might be this:
A group of residents on a winter walk, noticing both the beauty and the neglect around them. Talking, sharing, imagining what could be different.
Small moments. Honest conversations. A shared sense that things could be better. And underneath it all, a quiet but powerful truth: The foundations for change are already here.
As one resident put it:
“We want a place that’s cleaner, safer, greener—and where people actually come together.”
That’s the future people are already imagining—and starting to create.
