WM-Net Zero participated in a vibrant cross-sector Climate Skills Sharing Workshop hosted at the University of Birmingham. Co-organised with WM-Adapt, WM-Net Zero, CIVIC Square, and the Centre for Urban Wellbeing, this event brought together researchers, practitioners, and community collaborators to explore tools and approaches for building ecologically safe and socially just neighbourhoods.
The session was designed to foster dialogue and shared learning across projects tackling climate adaptation, urban health, and participatory systems change. WM-Net Zero’s contribution focused on neighbourhood-level research in the West Midlands and its role in evaluating how net zero policies impact air quality and health.
Dr. Suzanne Bartington introduced the project’s Theory of Change and the CLIMATE Life Course Assessment Toolkit, outlining the conceptual framework used to assess policy impact. Dr Yuqing Dai provided an overview of outdoor air quality monitoring methods and the street sensor network used in the Net Zero Neighbourhoods. Dr Naomi Bennett-Steele introduced Participatory Systems Mapping (PSM), highlighting its use to navigate complexity in policy co-design with local authorities.
The workshop closed with a session exploring how the different organisations could collaborate—from retrofitting initiatives to community-led data collection and dashboard development.
WM-Net Zero extends its thanks to Jessica Pykett for curating such a thoughtful and generative gathering, and looks forward to continued collaboration with CIVIC Square, WM-Adapt, and others working at the intersection of place, policy, and planetary health.