Happy Labour Day, today marks the international day of celebration of the labour movement and its achievements. Have a read of our article from last month on what it means to be a worker’s cooperative.
Please read on for some exciting events and updates to share for the month ahead!
Reimagining Housing in the UK: Radical Solutions & Reflections from the margins
We had an incredible time hearing from our three amazing speakers Tim Oshodi, Jon Broome, Kay Sentance and the session being brilliantly chaired by Lucy Warin. Key takeaways were:
💡 The opportunity of activating the imagination of communities
💷 We need greater investment in alternatives to housing
🗳️ Housing is a political, social and emotional issue
🤝🏿 Collective resilience requires support
🔁 Rethinking ownership and equity
Read more about the panel discussion event in this article.
We’ve been inspired by our previous 3-day event on creative solutions to housing (House of the Commons) and this event energised us to see if there’s interest in us running a follow on event(s) in 2025-26? Let us know your thoughts! 🙋🏿
Panel on affordable housing for workers
On the 22nd of May, Liv will be speaking at the UK Atomic Energy Authority on the affordability of Oxfordshire housing for workers. The panel includes speakers from the New Economics Foundation and South Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse District Councils. Liv will be sharing her insights on why housing is so expensive in the UK, whether rent controls would be effective and how we can make housing more affordable through community-led approaches.
What we’re reading: DemocracyNext Spaces for Deliberation
New research from DemocracyNext reveals how the spaces where we gather to deliberate – from lighting to layout – directly shape the quality of our democratic decisions. Spaces for Deliberation: Eight Spatial Qualities for Designing Deliberative Assemblies is a new paper written by, DemocracyNext Cities Programme Lead, James MacDonald-Nelson and DemocracyNext Fellow Gustav Kjær Vad Nielsen. It explores how the built environment shapes what’s possible in citizens’ assemblies. Drawing from interviews with leading practitioners across six countries, they bring attention to a surprisingly overlooked factor in democratic innovation: space.
Beyond Four Walls – How do we nurture care, connection and belonging?
On the 29th of May Liv will be speaking on a panel for the Disobedient Buildings series, bringing together academics, practitioners, and experts to explore a range of issues on housing, welfare and wellbeing. This last session in the series will focus on creating housing for older and vulnerable adults. You can sign up to the event and find about the other sessions here.
Working together, local housing can be different…..come along and find out more!
There is growing interest in Oxfordshire for how local communities can be more influential in creating future homes for local people …..creating, planning, developing, managing and renting/owning community-led housing to meet their own needs.
Community First Oxfordshire is hosting two events where communities who have already created local homes, or are on the journey, can share their experiences and answer questions. With presentations from the Collaborative Housing Hub, Oxfordshire Community Land Trust and at least one rural Community Land Trust.
These are taking place at:
20th May 2025 at 7.30 at Didcot Civic Hall , Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN and 10th June 2025 at 7.30 in Chesterton Village Hall, Alchester Road, Chesterton, Bicester, OX26 1UN
You can save a free place at either event by booking on the following Eventbrite link. Tickets are free.
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