Civic Organising
| Authors: | Lindsay K. Campbell, Erika Svendsen, Michelle L. Johnson, Laura Landau |
| Year: | 2026 |
| Type: | Book Chapter |
| Station: | Northern Research Station |
| Source: | Bristol University Press |
Abstract
Urban sustainability systems, including green, blue, and grey infrastructures and spaces, require ongoing coordination, collaboration, and comanagement in order to function. Municipal agencies often do not have the resources to maintain these systems alone and rely on a network of civic organisations and volunteers as well as job trainees, temporary employees, and welfare- to- work staff, alongside permanent public employees (Krinsky and Simonet, 2017). Civic groups, however, are more than just a labour force; they envision and shape the public realm in their own right. The majority of civic stewardship groups in this study formed in part as a response to hyperlocal concerns – such as access to parks, input on neighbourhood design, and desire for culturally responsive programming. Civic stewardship groups are part of environmental governance networks of the city, along with government entities and private sector actors, as they advocate for, manage, and programme urban spaces (Connolly et al, 2013). As cities seek to steer toward sustainability, there is a crucial role for civic stewards in those processes.