Young people are often cast as humanity’s last hope in the face of climate catastrophe. However, just 9% of British 18–24-year-olds believe that young people significantly input into climate decision-making, according to a 2023 YouGov Poll. Eco-anxiety, climate scepticism driven by online disinformation, and disillusionment with formal political institutions are feeding youth disengagement with environmental politics.
This project aims to further an alternative cultural politics of urban green transitions that brings young people to the heart of public and policy debates.
Through participatory research, we aim to:
- Engage young Londoners in imagining, narrating and debating green transitions in the physical and digital spaces of Islington.
- Work with policymakers at Islington Council to identify concrete pathways to bring young voices into policymaking and public debates around green transitions.
- Inform broader conversations on just and green urban transitions, including by developing a model for future participatory research exploring youth climate action in cities.
Building on Islington Council’s recent Climate Panel, this project is delivered in collaboration with a team of young researchers in Islington and policymakers from Islington Council, our Project Partner. Our research questions, methods and outputs are developing in dialogue with our young researchers and their peers, and in relation to Islington Council’s ongoing work programmes, ensuring our findings resonate day-to-day.
Urban and digital ethnography – in sites from TikTok to contested low-traffic streets to Islington Climate Panel events – allow us to track the formation of young people’s imaginaries of local transitions online and offline. Creative visual methods will shape a participatory workshop with young people and policymakers and underpin our final output: a neighbourhood communications campaign complemented by policy briefs for Islington Council and local governments across urban Europe.
LSE Cities
Imogen Hamilton Jones, Programme Manager for the European Cities Programme
Catarina Heeckt, Policy Fellow
LSE Department of Media and Communications
Myria Georgiou, Professor of Media and Communications
Young Researchers
Maryam Jimale
Maanya Jones
Joe Rees
Maddy Westhead
Islington Council
Max Edgington, Policy Coordinator
Monika Milewska, Policy and Innovation Officer
- Blog
A fairer, greener city needs young Londoners at its heart
6 August 2025
Today’s young people stand to benefit the most from the green transition, yet they are mostly kept out of environmental policy discussions. Deputy Mayor of London Mete Coban argues this needs to change and makes the case for why young Londoners have the knowledge, creativity and drive to help bring about a fairer, greener city.
- Press article
Worried Generation Z get chance to make environmental impact
1 August 2025
- Blog
The green transition: what do young Londoners want for their future?
28 July 2025
Max Edgington, a policy coordinator at Islington Council, shares an overview of the youth-led peer research project, Rethinking Green Transitions.
- Film
Living in London: How can we make our communities greener?
28 July 2025
- Press article
Green transition policies disconnected from young people’s ‘everyday realities’ says report
24 July 2025
- Publication
Rethinking Green Transitions
July 2025
The final report for the Rethinking Green Transitions project explored how youth experience and envision climate action. Engaging over 150 young people, it found that climate efforts must prioritise social justice, safety, and inclusive public spaces. The report outlines ten recommendations to make green transitions more youth-led and equitable.