Statement of Intent

Driving Change Through Collaboration

In short, the status quo benefits the few at the expense of the common good. So how do we address this imbalance? One answer is to support the coming together of all groups who have a stake in this fight, be that urban housing and planning advocates, rural land and farming communities, health campaigners or climate change activists.

What sort of conversations would residents of a council estate up for redevelopment have with a young farmer? What common ground would be found between people campaigning for less sugar in our diets and people campaigning to reduce the negative environmental impacts of farming? What can an urban planning expert learn from people campaigning to protect our public footpaths in areas of natural beauty, and vice-versa.

Finding Common Issues

These groups, and indeed the population as a whole, share a common issue – that land is not being used for the common good. They also share potential campaign targets – the planning system, land-based subsidies, and transparency and distribution of ownership, to name just a few.

Who knows what else they share? Up to now there has been little overlap between these groups, and almost no focus on land as a common issue. Framing our struggles in terms of land rights, ownership and usage, will allow us to find much in common with a wide range of people.

Building A Movement

On November 12th – 13th a coalition of activist networks and organisations are coming together to begin building a movement, hosting a two day series of conversations under the banner of ‘Land For What?’. Gathering in Resource for London, Holloway Road, we aim to raise awareness of land as a common struggle. This means increasing people’s knowledge about land ownership and the history of land struggles; connecting people to share skills and experiences; and inspiring people and groups to take learning and energy for change back to their communities.

Click on ‘Who’ below to find out about the coalition that have made this possible inlcuding the Community Food Growers Network, Just Space, Landworkers’ Alliance, New Economics Foundation, Radical Housing Network, London Quaker Housing, Shared Assets, Three Acres And A Cow, London Community Neighbourhood Co-operative and Ubele. Please join us.