Stakeholders have continuously referred to the need for spaces for reflection to have different kinds of discussions about sustainability in Greater Manchester. This work creates such spaces and contributes to the possibility of more coordinated coherent action for sustainability.

What values do stakeholders have for sustainability? What are the implications for how the city-region is organised, what decisions are taken and who is involved? How can the city-region better learn, reflect and engage its citizens in developing more sustainable futures?

Underpinned by these broader concerns, this initiative specifically supports the evaluation of the GMLIP projects and programmes, creating a context for movement from individual to collaborative reflexivity and a holistic evaluation framework for qualitative research-practice relationships, trialled in real-time through the Greater Manchester platform.

Blog post: Thinking Allowed

In this short essay Tim May examines how, in our dialogue around sustainability, we anaesthetise ourselves against the effects of current actions on the environment because we are not faced with the voices from future generations.

Read the blog post by Tim May here 

Short facts

Project title: Values and Learning in Urban Environments

Partners: University of Salford Manchester, Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations, GM Low Carbon Hub, Creative Concern, Social Action Research Foundation, Biospheric Foundation.

Funding: Mistra Urban Futures, University of Salford and the Greater Manchester partners.

Project period: 2013 - 2015

Project leads

Academic:

• Tim May, Professor, SURF University of Salford of Manchester, t.may@salford.ac.uk (learning)
• Alex Wharton, Research Fellow, SURF University of Salford Manchester, a.wharton@salford.ac.uk (evaluation)