Summary of Policy Insight Case Studies

Place has become an increasingly prominent lens in sustainability practice, as explored in our 2023 report. Places have a broad set of defining but continually evolving features, including physical landscape and geographical features, as well as the people, cultures, processes and flows that characterise everyday practice (Massey, 2008; Cresswell, 2009). Intersecting factors will influence and inform both the environmental challenge, and the change required.

As part of the British Academy’s Where We Live Next programme exploring the role of place in public policy for environment and climate the Academy funded four research teams to produce a set of Policy Insight Case Studies. These draw on SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Environment) insights to provide practical illustrations of cross-cutting themes and principles for place-sensitive policymaking.

The four policy insight case studies provide a richer nuance and depth to the themes of the Where We Live Next programme which include factors of knowledge, education and language, engagement and participation, and voices and scales of governance. These insights will continue to be incorporated into the programme findings, alongside the insights from the regional and national policy workshops, culminating in a final report setting out principles and an application framework for place-sensitive sustainability policymaking.

People, Place, and Planet: Place-Sensitive Participatory Policy Development for a Just Transition to Net Zero

Authors: Tania Carregha and Samanthi Theminimulle; Institute for Community Studies

This paper presents Participatory Policy Development as a tool through which a fair and just transition to net zero can be achieved. They explore the barriers and policies which would enable person-centred, place-sensitive policymaking through a series of workshops in Luton, Hartlepool and Newcastle.

Planning for Future Generations

Authors: Dr Yael Lifshitz, Alessandro Di Stefano, Tom Spencer, Emanuela Lipari, Louis Triggs, Gianguido Ghelardi, Jun Qing Bryan Chia, Frederick Taylor; Kings College London

This research highlights the importance of inclusive policy design through its call to value not just current publics, but future generations within planning and development law. It explores to what extent local authorities in England consider the interests of future generations in their local plans and decision making on issues such as renewable energy installations and sea level rise.

UK Climate Commissions and Place-Based Climate Action: Evaluating Policies, Governance, Networks and Scales

Authors: Dr Andrew Kythreotis, Dr Andrea Armstrong, Dr Candice Howarth; University of Lincoln; Silent Springs Consultants; Place-based Climate Action Network; London School of Economics

The third research project focuses on climate commissions: place-based partnerships where public, private and civic sectors work collaboratively with the local authority to help drive climate action. This research explores the scalar relationships between climate commissions and local, national, and international agendas to better understand place-based climate governance challenges.

Warmer Homes: How can Grant Subsidy Schemes Improve Engagement with Participants?

Authors: Kate Betteridge, Francisco Calafate-Faria, Sam Johnson-Schlee; London South Bank University

The final research project considers the Greater London Authority’s Warmer Homes grant programme to examine the challenges and policy opportunities of public engagement in means-tested decarbonisation schemes. The research offers insight into how a place-sensitive approach could support both the knowledge and delivery challenges of decarbonisation schemes.

Knowledge, education and language

As set out in the programmes’ 2023 report, knowledge, education and language are powerful tools that, if harnessed effectively, can support delivery of a more equitable and inclusive transition to a sustainable future. The case studies illustrate the importance of valuing lived experience and local knowledges of nature, the built environment, and socio-cultural influences of a place. As the insights show, discourse around sustainability varies across places, and so ensuring policymakers use language that resonates with community experience and expertise is important. However, even though there is increasing engagement with sustainability and environmental action, terms frequently used are still poorly defined and inconsistently used.

Engagement and participation

As the UK government’s 2023 Net Zero Review report found, despite many successful place-based examples, local participation is not systematically embedded in sustainability agendas and lacks a framework for formal engagement between local authorities and the private sector (Skidmore and Houchen, 2023). Yet public engagement and participation are key to addressing issues of fairness and diversity in environmental policy. The four commissioned case studies identify the importance of ensuring engagement addresses barriers to inclusion and builds long-term trusted relationships.

Voices and scales of governance

Urgent and effective environmental governance is required if the UK is to meet climate targets and promote long-term sustainability. In the Academy’s report 'Governance for Net Zero', we identify the importance of multi-level governance that connects stakeholders, creates clear strategic vision, encompasses the importance of accountability, and adapts to places, organisations and people.

However, governance structures and mechanisms are complex and frequently evolving, and can be perceived as part of a 'messy and complex scalar climate policy landscape' (Armstrong et al., 2024, p12). There are many actors involved, working at different levels. Siloed working and unclear delegated responsibilities continue to be barriers (Hatzisavvidou et al., 2023).The case studies for this programme identified and provided insights to these issues at hand.