What if London and Londoners thrived because it had built a local economic system from the ground up?
There is an abundance of vision in every neighbourhood that can reveal some of the most creative pathways to the Doughnut…
Civic Square
What is a Neighbourhood Doughnut Portrait?
Put simply, it’s when we look at our place (and community) through the four lenses of the Doughnut, record, make visible, and share what we find. Launched as a tool by the Doughnut Economics Action Lab to unroll the doughnut at a grassroots level, there is a wide variety of precedents with wildly different approaches.
We’ve spent 18 months experimenting - working with a multitude of community organisations, organisers and creatives in Old Kent Road and Brixton, to use the Doughnut’s four lenses to reimagine a better future in which people and nature could better thrive there.
The journeys in each were very different. Yet, both created something beautiful, insightful and provocative and have reached similar realisations: That the process of creating a Neighbourhood Doughnut Portrait has fostered or strengthened relationships between local groups and organisers. They also found that a Local Commons might be the answer to the challenges faced by people and planet alike.
To find out more about our journey, how we started, the tools we developed and the lessons we learnt, read the Neighbourhood Portrait Report
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Back to our work
“People have come out realising that they have been doing Doughnut things and they can continue to do them.”Valeria Del Torros, young creative
The Old Kent Road working group embraced the project in the knowledge that mass-regeneration is rolling into the neighbourhood. Now seemed a timely moment to try and engage the local community with a framework that might join up a lot of separate efforts with disperate areas of expertise - and see what could emerge. |
They kicked off with a three-way birthday street party to kick things off, and followed up with listening circles, walkshops, collage workshops and an exhibition to bring everything together. They produced four films and a zine.
Their tools and approach are summarised in the LDEC Report above.
Click to read their final zine
“The Doughnut is embedded in the thinking even if not labelled - the portrait is a living thing.” Binki, The Brixton Project
Brixton has an incredibly rich and developed organisations, organisers and active residents. There was some scepticism at first that this was yet another shortlived, extractive project - the sort Brixton has been subjected to numerous times over the decades. But as the freedom of the brief landed, the possibilities began to inspire.
The Brixton Project took the lead, having a wealth of experience using the arts to explore, engage and “shape inclusive communities through the arts and culture.” As such, they chose to build on creative vehicles they’d previously developed, weaving in the doughnut framework. They worked with many groups, including the Advocacy Academy to bring in three paid young creatives to help craft the work.
There were three phases to their engagement - all public event based - spotlighting other community groups in the area as well as inviting those with experience from further afield to share their stories. This complimented a concurrent Rewired Earth programme, where community organisations were more actively involved in workshops.
You can read more about the programme and tools they used in our Pilot Report. See their Final Zine here
Brixton have launch the Brixton Commons and Old Kent Road are scoping a similar project.
We’re supporting Wandsworth with a Neighbourhood Portrait and will have updates as they progress.
If you’d like support to do something in your area, please get in touch.
